Socialism endorses Stealing Encourages Envy & Class Warfare and Seeks to Destroy Marriage & Family
By Julie Roys Tuesday July 12 2016
WASHINGTON D.C. (Texas Insider Report) To socialists what Bernie describes is a utopia. Sen. Sanders has called for a revolution in childcare and for the government to provide early childhood education beginning with children as young as six-weeks-old.
But to Christians Socialism is a dystopia. Thats because theres nothing Christian about socialism and theres absolutely no way Jesus would ever support it.
Jesus confronted the money-changers and challenged believers to give to the needy. But would he support socialism?
Increasingly Americans think he would. In fact a recent Barna poll found that more Americans think Jesus would prefer socialism (24) than those who believe he would prefer capitalism (14). The other 62 responded neither or not sure but the poll still reveals a disturbing trend.
- According to a Reason-Rupe survey 53 of Americans under 30 view socialism favorably compared to less than a third of Americans over 30.
- Similarly Gallup found that 69 of those under 30 said they would be willing to vote for a socialist presidential candidate.
I understand why Millennials are wary of the current system. Theyve witnessed:
- A Consistently Declining Economy;
- One of the most partisan eras in American History;
- The fall of the Twin Towers; and
- A war predicated on weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
I agree with them that our political system desperately needs reform. But socialism is not the answer.
Though it may sound compassionate and Christian its actually antithetical to everything Christianity teaches.
Heres why:
1. Socialism is Based on a Materialistic Worldview
According to socialists like Bernie Sanders the greatest problem in the world is the unequal distribution of wealth.
His website declares: The issue of wealth and income inequality is the great moral issue of our time it is the great economic issue of our time and it is the great political issue of our time.
This betrays a fundamentally materialistic worldview which is the basis of socialism.
To socialists all that really exists is the material world.
In fact Karl Marx the father of socialism/communism invented the notion of dialectical materialism the belief that matter contains a creative power within itself.
This enabled Marx to eliminate the need for a creator essentially erasing the existence of anything non-material.
To socialists suffering is caused by the unequal distribution of stuff and salvation is achieved by the re-distribution of stuff. Theres no acknowledgment of spiritual issues. Theres just an assumption that if everyone is given equal stuff all the problems in society will somehow dissolve.
This worldview contradicts Christianity which affirms the existence of both a material and a non-material world and teaches that mankinds greatest problems are spiritual. The Bible says the cause of suffering is sin and salvation is found in the cross of Christ which liberates us from sin. Because of sin though there will always be inequalities in wealth.
As the parable of the talents shows those with good character tend to accumulate more; those with bad character may lose everything they have. Yet even if we are unable to accumulate wealth Christianity teaches that we can still have an abundant life. Thats because our quality of life is not determined by how much stuff we have but by our relationship to Christ.
2. Socialism Punishes Virtue
Socialists want to distribute wealth to individuals according to their need regardless of virtue. As Karl Marx famously said From each according to his ability to each according to his needs.
However whenever any institution provides aid it runs the risk of removing God-designed rewards and consequences. It can punish those who are industrious by making them pay for those who are not. And it can reward those who arent industrious by giving them the fruits of another mans labor.
- This is precisely what socialism does.
- Interestingly Marx mooched off others his whole life and failed to provide for his wife and children.
- As Aristotle once noted Men start revolutionary changes for reasons connected with their private lives.
The Bible teaches that aid should be tied to responsibility. First anyone who refuses to work should be refused aid.
Next no one should be given aid whose family can provide for him. In fact the Apostle Paul said that a man who fails to provide for his family is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Tim. 5:8)
The church also required widows receiving aid to have a reputation of good works. (1 Tim. 5:10) So even in dispensing aid the church rewarded virtue and discouraged vice. Unfortunately socialism does just the opposite.
3. Socialism Endorses Stealing
Barack Obama once defended his socialist policies to a little girl by saying
Weve got to make sure that people who have more money help the people who have less money.
If you had a whole pizza and your friend had no pizza would you give him a slice?
That sounds pretty Christian right? What Christian wouldnt endorse sharing your abundance with someone who has nothing? However Obama wasnt endorsing people voluntarily sharing their wealth with others; he was endorsing the government forcibly taking a piece of the pie from one person and giving it to someone else.
Put another way thats saying that if you have three cars and your neighbor has none the government has a right to take your car and give it to your neighbor. Thats not Christian; thats stealing!
But socialists dont believe in private property. And some Christian socialists actually assert that the Bible doesnt either. Thats preposterous.
Both the Old Testament and New Testament unequivocally affirm private property. We cant even obey the eighth commandment to not steal unless we accept the notion of private ownership. Nor can we steward our money as the Bible commands if the state owns our money not us.
So for an economic and political system to be Christian it must protect private ownership and allow individuals freedom to allocate their resources according to their conscience.
4. Socialism Encourages Envy and Class Warfare
Socialists demonize the rich blaming all of societys problems on them.
Bernie Sanders once posted to his Facebook Page: Let us wage a moral and political war against the billionaires and corporate leaders on Wall Street and elsewhere whose policies and greed are destroying the middle class of America.
Here Sanders is mimicking Karl Marx who viewed history as a series of class struggles between the rich and the poor and advocated overthrowing the ruling class.
Scripture strongly warns the rich and powerful not to oppress the poor.In fact Proverbs 14:31 says Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for his maker...
But Sanders and other Leftists including Hillary Clinton go far beyond decrying specific acts of injustice. They basically condemn an entire class of people simply for possessing wealth. And they encourage those who are poor to overthrow them. In fact Clinton once said the U.S. economy required a toppling of the wealthiest 1.
The rich are not causing all the problems in American society. People like Bill Gates are not acquiring wealth by stealing from the masses. Theyre creating great products which produce wealth and actually provide jobs for many people.
But even if they were exploiting the poor nowhere does Scripture support the have-nots demanding money from the haves. Instead it teaches that we should not covet (Exodus 20:17) and should be content in all circumstances (Phil. 4:11-13).
5. Socialism Seeks to Destroy Marriage & Family
A little known fact about socialism is that from its beginning it has sought to destroy marriage and family. Grove City Professor Paul Kengor explains this in detail in his book Takedown: From Communists to Progressives How the Left Has Sabotaged Marriage and Family. Essentially what socialism seeks is for the state to replace the family. That way it can indoctrinate children in its Leftist way of thinking and remove from them any notions of God and religion.
Friedrich Engels co-author with Marx of the The Communist Manifesto once wrote that the society he envisioned would be one where the single family ceases to be the economic unit of society. Private housekeeping is transformed into a social industry. The care and education of the children becomes a public affair.
Similarly today Bernie Sanders calls for a revolution in childcare and for the government to provide early childhood education beginning with children as young as six-weeks-old. And hes a proud supporter of gay marriage what Kengor calls communisms Trojan Horse to secure the final takedown of traditional marriage.
To socialists what Bernie describes is a utopia. But to Christians its a dystopia. Thats because theres nothing Christian about socialism and theres absolutely no way Jesus would ever support it.
Julie Roys is a speaker freelance journalist and blogger at www.julieroys.com. Follow her on Facebook at Reach Julie Roys.
