Socialism (e.g., Marxism; communism; statism; or other forms of collective utopian-isms) is the involuntary taking—by force, by the government—of the money, power, and wealth of the masses, and then giving part of this money to some of the people, and calling it “justice.”
This is also known as: redistribution of wealth; economic justice; re-distributive justice; and social justice.
While the stated goal of socialism is a utopian society of equality, the functional reality is an ever-increasing concentration of power which inevitably results in the government having complete control over every individual. Bertrand de Jouvenel adds even more clarity with this observation:
The more one considers the matter, the clearer it becomes that redistribution is in effect far less a redistribution of free income from the richer to the poorer, as we imagined, than a redistribution of power from the individual to the State.
Bertrand de Jouvenel
As history has shown us time and time again (although socialist proponents deny), much of this wealth and all of the power is consequently usurped by ruthless and corrupt elites who preach justice, fairness, and equality for all. As one expert economist explains:
[Socialistic] economic planning, regulation, and intervention pave the way to totalitarianism by building a power structure that will inevitably be seized by the most power-hungry and unscrupulous.
Dr. Friedrich Hayek
Therefore, the State not only holds all the power, it then chooses—after (inefficiently) consuming massive amounts of money—who gets what is left, who gets less or nothing at all, and who gets punished. In socialism, everyone is entirely vulnerable, utterly defenseless, and truly and fully dependent on what the government decides—or, more accurately, on what certain elite people choose. While many individuals eagerly desire to live under this collectivist-condition, there are a multitude of downsides to this faux-utopia, all of which are minimized or ignored by advocates of Marxism.
When a government takes over a people’s economic life it becomes absolute, and when it has become absolute it destroys the arts, the minds, the liberties and the meaning of the people it governs.
Maxwell Anderson
So who would want to establish and live in such circumstances? What is their rationale for doing so? Walter Williams explains the mindsets of many who want the rest of us to live in coercive collectivisms:
People who denounce the free market and voluntary exchange, and are for control and coercion, believe they have more intelligence and superior wisdom to the masses. What’s more, they believe they’ve been ordained to forcibly impose that wisdom on the rest of us. Of course, they have what they consider good reasons for doing so, but every tyrant that has ever existed has had what he believed were good reasons for restricting the liberty of others.
Dr. Walter E. Willaims
One key reality of Marxism that is worth repeating is this: There is never any giving by anyone in socialism. There is only taking from people—forcibly—by the State. Governments never, ever produce anything. All that it possesses has, in fact, been taken from the people it rules over.
Furthermore, governments are entities which always have been, and always will be hyper-flawed, grossly inefficient, and prone to corruption, failure, and incompetence—and which are filled with, and run by people who are also prone to corruption, greed, sin, failure, and worse—just like all of us are (Rom 3:10-18). Yet, within socialism, everyone’s life is in the hands of this very group. In other words, all citizens are at the mercy of a government which has no mercy, and very little competence.
Socialism would gather all power to the supreme party and party leaders, rising like stately pinnacles above their vast bureaucracies of civil servants no longer servants, no longer civil.
Winston Churchill
Christianity, in complete contrast, always involves willing individuals. It teaches people to voluntarily give of their time, talent, and treasures, and to do so with the right heart (e.g., “cheerfully;” 2 Cor 9:7). This is also done individually—for God and through the church, and never through the government—to the specific individuals or causes which they individually choose to help (cp. 2 Cor 9). And when they do give, they do so privately and freely—not out of coercion or by being forced. Nor is anything ever taken from them by the church (cp. Acts 5:4). Even more, they are giving their own money, not that of others, as is always the case in Marxism.
So what harmony do you find between the following?
Marxism/Socialism = Forcibly taking power, wealth, and freedom away from individuals (i.e., no choice). Everything belongs to and is run by the secular State. Part of the money is given to some people, while a large part ends up with the elite rulers (elitists who often obtain their power by condemning elitism).
Christianity = Willing individuals who have 100% freedom to choose to privately give of their own possessions and wealth to other individuals (also to churches, ministries, or other causes); yet they only give the absolute minimum of what is required to the government (i.e., taxes).
When it comes to rating the compatibility of the above ideologies, with 10 being perfect harmony, and -10 the perfect opposite, what number would you assign? How do you think any objective person would answer? What number would be assigned by those who claim Jesus was a socialist?
On one hand, there are many people who simply lack awareness of the infinite difference between socialism and Christianity. However, there are many who know the obvious truths yet still try to equate the two beliefs, attempt to somehow combine them, or even claim that Jesus was a socialist. This, then, exposes the bigger problem, which is: a stunning willingness to delude one’s own self and, in turn, to deceive others.
How can this happen with sometimes otherwise wonderful people? While this profound deceit is grievous and baffling, it is often cemented through the self-deceit of the Marxists’ goal of a utopia of equality, characterized by mantras like: “The end justifies the means” and “It’s all for the greater good.”
On another note, while justice has its obvious importance, truly Christian giving is never done as a matter of “justice.” Instead it is motivated by mercy, charity, and compassion. Those who give do so out of wisdom, discernment, and biblical principles—and out of love for God and others as encouraged and commanded in God’s Word. Also, it goes without saying, it should never be done according to an ideology that was derived from aggressively anti-Christian atheists such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (cp. Col 2:8; Is 8:19-20; Ps 1:1-3; Jas 3:14-16).
This otherwise-obvious distinction about justice and mercy is important to keep in mind as there are many self-proclaiming Christ-followers—including many wolves in sheep’s clothing—who are actively working to bring Marxism into the church. They can be easily detected by their proclamations of various forms of counterfeit “justice” (e.g., redistributive justice; social justice), as well as their attempts to equate that which is never deserved (mercy and compassion) with what is deserved (justice). This lie inevitably results in the spreading of a counterfeit love, Jesus, gospel, and, of course, several schemes of counterfeit justice, which we will discuss at length in subsequent chapters.
Therefore, every true believer in the true Jesus has a loving and solemn responsibility to discern and avoid the countless counterfeits that deceive and destroy others, especially when it comes to counterfeit justice, counterfeit love, and counterfeit Christs (Phil 1:9-11; Jas 5:19-20; 2 Cor 11:3-4; Gal 2:4-5).
If anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
James 5:19-20
Excerpt taken from Jesus Was A Socialist? now available at Amazon and Hope For Life.
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