Jesus was a Capitalist?????

April 14, 2009, 6:45 am by dc-agape.

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I happened on the most horrific re-write of the Word of God today.  It was an article in the Knoxville Focus written by Richie Beeler.  The article was called Jesus was a Capitalist (starting on page A3).  This has to be one of the worst examples of Christian Ethics I have come across.  The amount of rationalizing greed in this article is overwhelming.  But even worse is that this lesson was directed at a college student from a Director of College Ministries. 

First he does agree that Christians should have “feeling of compassion and empathy” and uses this verse to show that it is OK to have compassion:

Luke 6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?

But he stops there and does not even finish the verse: Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners” expecting to be repaid in full.

The next verse is the clincher:

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Jesus teaches his disciples to give.  Not to give on occasions, not to give whatever you can, but to give everything you have…even to your enemy and to the ungrateful.

Just to make sure you understand, read Mark 10:17-31, but this verse is the crucial point:

Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him.  “One thing you lack,” he said.  “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”

Before this man could be a disciple Jesus required him to sell everything and give it to the poor.  Not just a special type of poor, but just the poor.  But combine that with Luke 6:35 and it is clear that Jesus meant the ungrateful poor not just those on hard times.

But our illustrious Christian leader goes further.  He uses the Parable of the Talents to prove that Jesus really was a Capitalist (yes, he really uses the capitalization).  He Jesus uses a parable (in my other two verses Jesus taught directly to the masses) to describe how hard one must work to please a supernatural being that:

Matt 25:26 His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

Sign me up! I want to live my life for this type of creature and then praise him for eternity…there could be no greater hell than that!  To top it off, the good workers don’t get to share in the profit:

Matt 25:21 His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few thing; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share in your master’s happiness!”

Nothing about getting paid more, no, the faithful servant (slave) gets more work loaded on top of what he is already responsible for.  Basically, he does not get thrown out into the darkness.  This is just like a good dog gets to stay indoors on a cold winter night if he behaves.

Oh, but our author is not finished yet.  No he has to bring up Socialism (yes with a capital).  Richie even goes so far as to claim that Jesus was no Socialist!  He goes on to say that it is the free market of Capitalism that empowers people to “truly blossom as human beings”.  I guess the Book of Acts was not meant to be followed:

Acts 2:44-45 All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

And of course the story of Ananias and Sapphira is meaningless as well:

Acts 5:3 then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?

Acts 5:5 When Ananias, heard this, he fell down and died.  And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.

But that is not the end of the story.  Sapphira comes to Peter within three hours and Peter confronts her as well.  And this is how that story ends:

Acts 5:10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died.  Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

So Jesus was a Capitalist?  I don’t think so and it certainly does not look like the Word of God shows any sign that Jesus was anything but a Socialist!

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