It is not uncommon for people to use the Bible to promote state socialism. They refer to passages like Acts 2:44-45 where it says the believers “had all things in common” or verses that say, “love your neighbor” (Matthew 19:19). Of course the obvious problem is the first passage refers to believers who voluntarily shared with each other whereas in socialism, the government takes from those who have and gives to those they deem more worthy. In like manner, “love your neighbor” is voluntary giving to others. It is definitely not a plan justifying the insatiable appetite of burgeoning governments.
Actually, while Jesus denounced greed, he never challenged nor abrogated the Mosaic Law, which regarded private property as God’s desire; for example, “thou shall not steal” is predicated on the fact of private property. The same principle is found in the New Testament. Paul said, “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
Leon Trotsky observed in 1937, “In a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation.”[1] We need look no further than the repressions of the Soviet Union or Communist China for chilling evidence of Trotsky’s dictum.
| [1] | Leon Trotsky quoted in F. A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1944), 119. |
