Politics

Can a Christian be a socialist? Of course, for anyone may become a Christian. But with conversion comes growth and change. One's old ideas are all on the line. One's former beliefs and tenets are challenged. A well grounded Christian exposes all his views to God's critique and finds that no man can serve two masters. Mammon, whether wearing the mask of capitalism or socialism, must not hold sway.

Socialism begins in covetousness and ends in misery. It is Mammon's cleverest mask. Socialism is obsessed with money--other people's money, and how to demand it from them and spend it for them. Its hallmark is boundless enthusiasm for society's future, but the glorious socialist future never arrives. If you look at socialism in history, you see that it promises comfort to the poor, but ends up oppressing everybody.

We must not imagine that supporting socialism absolves a Christian of his responsibility for personal giving; care for the poor is not a matter where we can 'let George do it.' However, the money anyone has for personal charity is reduced under socialism, due to the vast inefficiency of the economy.

The poor are less apt to look to the church for help when the government is there, taking upon itself the role of charitable giver, separating the administration of charity from offering and demonstrating the love of God. Thus we lose opportunities for outreach.

The Christian must be suspicious (to say the least) of leftism's remora causes: philosophical naturalism, abortion and euthanasia, abandonment of stodgy restrictions on sexual conduct, and antipathy toward religion.

I suppose that for balance some critique of unbridled capitalism needs to be set alongside the above, though truly unbridled examples of capitalism are rare in today's world. But detailed critiques of capitalism are so commonly available that I do not think I need to post one here. Mammon is Mammon, no matter what mask he is wearing today.

On behalf of capitalism we must admit that it is where the money is; countries tend to prosper to the extent that they put free market principles into effect. But here the Christian, particularly, must be careful to observe the biblical principle and not oppress laborers. That is always where capitalism's spiritual failing lies. "Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts."

So we need to be spiritually aware and responsible whatever sort of economy we are dealing with. Unity among the faithful is best served when all realize that earthly politics have only a tenuous connection to our true calling and vital purpose in this world. Well and good if we influence politics for the better, but we should be very careful about how politics influence us.