Does Socialism Violate the Eighth Commandment?

In a book published by the Gospel Coalition, Thaddeus Williams of Biola University explains that the church’s lack of concern for economic and social justice is a primary reason that many of those raised in Christian homes are deconstructing their faith. He writes, “The conclusion that Christianity is hardly the beacon of social justice that it should be is a common theme in many deconstruction stories.” “Instead of advocating for the poor by embracing economic justice, today’s church,” it is argued, “embraces capitalistic greed, which oppresses the poor.” No teen raised in a Christian home wants to be part of a movement that oppresses the poor. No wonder so many are jettisoning biblical Christianity in favor of joining “social justice” ideologies that they believe support the poor instead of American consumerism. Is ECONOMIC EQUALITY something that all justice-loving people should pursue? Does the biblical call to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8) require American Christians to admit that the basis of our wealth, capitalism, is greed, and admit that socialism is a far more just economic system? That is the question we seek to answer in this episode.

Today’s Christians should be confronting the evils of poverty, racism, and economic oppression. I’m glad the rising generation in my denomination is much more concerned about poverty in our cities, repenting of racism, and confronting the materialism of the Christian West than my generations has been. Because of this reawakening to be concerned for the poor Christians, today, are suspicious of capitalism.  Didn’t Paul say, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils (1 Tim 6:10)? Isn’t free market capitalism’s whole motivational system based on love of money that fosters greed, which the Bible condemns? In contrast to the selfish capitalism of the West, young Christians are drawn to the idyllic society promised by socialism—a just and equitable society and guarantee of a basic standard of living for everyone. Socialism brings mental pictures of picturesque Scandinavian villages, farmers’ markets, smiling people working together for a common cause, an idyllic Camelot where everyone has his needs met, lives in harmony, and prospers. John Lennon’s song, “Imagine” describes this idyllic dream:

Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too.

Imagine all the people living life in peace.You may say that I am a dreamer. But I'm not the only one.

I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one.

Imagine no possessions. I wonder if you can. No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man.

Imagine all the people sharing all the world. You may say that I am a dreamer. But I'm not the only one.

I hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as one

Certainly, it is argued that the socialist ideal of sharing with others is to be preferred over the pursuit of the almighty buck under free market capitalism. Didn’t Jesus say, “No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and money.” Moreover, capitalism has led to American Christians being enslaved to consumerism. Here are some hard facts:

• The average America home contains 300,000 items.
• The average American house has almost tripled in size over the past 50 years.
• Of the world’s children, 3.1 percent live in America but Americans purchase 40 percent of the toys sold worldwide.
• On average, American women have 30 outfits (that figure was 9 in 1930).
• There are more television sets than people in the average American home.
• Americans spend 11.2% of total consumer spending on non-necessary goods like jewelry, alcohol, recreation, gambling, etc. compared to 4% in 1959.

Capitalism has led to materialism, and socialism is much closer to the biblical ideal, it is argued. And isn’t that the picture of the early church in Acts. We read.

And no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common… There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need (Acts 4: 32-35).

Based on this example, shouldn’t Christians support economic systems like communism or socialism which redistribute wealth? Actually, absolutely not. God’s protection of private property through the Eighth Commandment by itself, proves that socialism is evil since it is the government seizure of property and means of production. Unfortunately, many Christians have been deceived by politicians promoting this evil which masquerades as the light of “economic justice.” Let’s expose the evil of socialism to light of Scripture.

SOCIALISM IS EVIL TO ITS CORE

Acts 4:32-35 provides ZERO biblical support for socialism.

• In fact, it proves the opposite. Because the Christians in Jerusalem owned private property protected by the 8th Commandment, they were able to sell it and meet this short-term crisis in the church.

• The property was voluntarily, freely sold, not forcibly confiscated which is what socialism does.
• The economic sharing of wealth in Acts was not done on the basis of class warfare, as socialism is. There is no hint that private ownership is deemed immoral.
• The state is nowhere in sight. No government is confiscating property and collectivizing industry. Socialism is government ownership of the means of production and control of the distribution of goods.
• Acts 4 is an example of voluntary generosity to meet a temporary crisis, not a state run economy. Scholars estimate that Jerusalem’s population swelled by 100,000 as Jews from around the Mediterranean returned to Jerusalem to celebrate The Day of Pentecost. When Peter stood up and preached 3,000 came to faith in Christ. A few days later the number came to 5,000 just men. The only source of teaching about this new life was in Jerusalem. So, thousands decided to extend their stay in Jerusalem—putting an enormous burden on their hometown brothers and sisters in Christ to provide hospitality for them.
• There is nothing about the generosity of the hometown believers doing everything they could to take care of their brothers and sisters in Christ who overstayed the shekels they had brought on their trip to Jerusalem to suggest the state confiscating property or crushing the market economy that allowed the believers to sell their privately owned land and give the proceeds to care for their brothers and sisters. That would have been socialism.

Viewing Socialism Through a Biblical Lens

A. Socialism is based upon a corrupt view of justice. At the core of American culture is a belief in equality. Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams had built their case for the Declaration of Independence from Britain upon the famous words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created EQUAL.” Believing in EQUALITY is as American as apple pie and watching the Superbowl. However, our founding fathers used the term EQUALITY to refer to a specific kind of EQUALITY, equal justice under the law. Lady Justice is blindfolded because justice is unbiased and must not be based on a person's appearance or other outside influences. She holds scales to represent the impartiality of the laws and courts.

But the concept of EQUALITY has been hijacked by socialists. It has been changed by radical ideologues from EQUAL OPPORTUNITY to EQUAL OUTCOMES (which means redistributing wealth, everybody gets a trophy, no one fails math class). Again, they steal the concept of EQUAL JUSTICE for ALL and turn it into EQUAL TREATMENT for ALL.  

Let’s consider the question, “Is justice equal outcomes or equal opportunity. We must help the rising generation think through the radical implications of this change in the meaning of “EQUALITY,” which has come from Karl Marx.

• Should a lawbreaker and a law-keeper be treated the same way or receive justice?
• Should a rapist and the woman he abused be treated the same way or should the rapist receive justice?
• Should a murderer and his victim be treated the same way or should they both receive justice?
• Should a summer high school worker be treated to the same income as a medical doctor who spent 10 years and $500,000 getting his education, or should the doctor receive just payment for his services?
• Should biological boys who claim trans identity, who have 36% more muscle mass and greater lung capacity than biological girls, be treated the same way as the biological girls being allowed to compete in women’s sports or does justice demand that biological boys compete against other biological boys?
• Should a doctor who has become a highly skilled eye surgeon be treated to the same economic rewarded as a Starbucks clerk who is a skilled video game player or should the highly skilled worker whose work is more highly valued be justly paid more?

Radical ideologues have substituted EQUAL TREATMENT for EQUAL JUSTICE when in fact EQUAL JUSTCE requires treating two parties DIFFERENTLY. The origin of this corrupt violation of justice is the thought of Karl Marx. Marx played on the class envy of the poor workers (whom he called the proletariat) convincing them that they were being exploited by the business owners, (the bourgeoisie). He awakened resentment, hatred, and jealousy in the hearts of the unskilled laborers towards the owners of business. He created hatred in the hearts of the proletariat towards the bourgeoisie by arguing that ECONOMIC INEQUALITY WAS UNJUST. Marx demonized a market economy with private ownership, which enabled capital investment to increase productivity as the exploitation of the masses. He came to power based on promising the poor that he would redistribute wealth and set up the utopian ideal where the operating principle would be “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” but forgot to mention that the Marxist leaders were the ones who would decide what each person needed.  

B. Socialism promotes and depends upon a dishonest view of economics. The entire system is based upon economic mythology that is as out of touch with reality as Greek mythology was. The primary economic myth is this: Rich people having more means poor people have less. You might have heard the argument, “In America, the richest 1% have 40% of all the wealth. This kind of inequality is unjust.” The wealth gap between the upper class and everyone else is almost always framed in terms of inequality and fairness. However, this apparent injustice is based upon the FALSE idea that the total amount of wealth in a society is FIXED, like the size of an apple pie. If someone gets a bigger slice, that means someone else will only get a smaller slice. If there is only so much to go around, the richer Tom is the poorer Harry is. No one should have more than his fair share.

However, that is NOT how economies work. That is a delusion right from the corrupt, envious lips of Karl Marx. God’s design for Kingdom Earth was for us to develop the potential of the resources he built into every part of the planet. God’s design is to make the pie double or triple or quadruple in size, over and again.  God’s design for cultivating the garden so that humans flourish is for mankind to have the economic and political freedom TO CREATE WEALTH. Such freedom empowers humans to work with 1) material resources, 2) an understanding of human needs, 3) creativity, 4) legal protections (private ownership, patents), 5) information, and 6) technology—to transform natural resources into products that make life better for everyone. That is the way wealth is created, and this process is what socialism CRUSHES.

God has gifted and called humans to develop the potential of creation. Often humans do this by transforming things that have little economic value into resources and technologies that have great economic value. Light, for instance, has been turned into lasers. Wind turned into electricity. And sand is transformed into fiber optic cables and computer chips. Humans innovate. The late Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, didn’t steal iPhones from homeless people. He invented them, and by being free to create and sell them, Steve Jobs created new wealth. Economic and political freedom enabled Steve Jobs to grow rich; but that same FREEDOM is what led millions of others get richer. The pie grew. Steve Jobs getting richer didn’t make everyone else poorer. In fact, the wealth he added to the pie, provided jobs and economic value to millions of people in the US and around the world.

In fact, economic INEQUALITY is the mark of a TRULY FREE society, one that respects the right of every individual to make his own decisions about his gifts, and the career he will follow. Because everyone is created in God’s image, everyone should be treated equally before the law. But that doesn’t mean that our efforts produce identical outcomes. Some choose jobs they love that barely pay the bills. Others choose to pursue careers that are risky or boring but lucrative. Others prefer regular work hours that pay less but are stable. A free society allows us to make these different choices. Having the economic and political freedom to choose the career that you WANT to choose is an enormous benefit, because it gives you a greater sense of purpose and satisfaction, and even makes life more enjoyable. The only way to level economic outcomes is to deprive people of this freedom. And whenever that’s been done, it has never worked. Rather than make everyone equally prosperous, governments who try to force economic equality only succeed in making everyone more equal in their poverty and misery.

C. Socialism is rooted in the sinful corruption of the human heart—ENVY.

The concept of ECONOMIC EQUALITY is not based upon the virtue of JUSTICE, but upon the evil of ENVY of the RICH. It is imperative that we help the rising generation understand that at its very core the ideology that promotes ECONOMIC EQUALITY is morally repugnant.

• It turns economic parity into an idol, which violates the First Commandment against idolatry. The pursuit of the so-called virtue of “economic justice” caused naïve teens in Mao’s Red Guard to slaughter land and factory owners to confiscate their land. This false God of ECONOMIC EQUALITY is seen in Critical Theory, which justified the looting and burning of business in our cities by BLM because business owners are part of the “oppressor class.”
• It embraces the forcible redistribution of wealth. It justifies whoever controls the government stealing money, goods, lands, and the means of production from their rightful owners, violating the 8th commandment, “You shall not steal.” It robs those deemed “too wealthy” to give what is stolen to “the deserving poor” who happen to be the supporters of their political party.
• ECONOMIC EQUALITY is rooted in a violation of the Tenth Commandment, “You shall not covet.” Proponents of this destructive ideology deceive followers into thinking that their feelings of coveting what the rich have is not the evil of coveting, but the virtue of being offended by injustice.
• As scholar, Art Lindsley points out (“Does Jubilee Require the Redistribution of Wealth or Land”, tifwe.org) the biblical year of Jubilee does not support the redistribution of wealth. To the contrary, it guaranteed that the land given by God to own by specific tribes in Israel could only be leased, the details of the lease requiring it to be paid up by the Year of Jubilee.
• Finally, as we’ve seen, EONOMIC EQUALITY, which masquerades as a virtue, is really based on envy. But notice how the class hatred generated by Marxism, Critical Theory, and gender theory fit the works of the sinful nature described by Paul in Galatians 5:20: enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions.

D. Socialist politicians lie to their naïve followers, deceiving them into giving their political power to them. The twentieth century was one giant lab experiment. Political leaders, Lenin, then Stalin in Russia, Mao Zedong in China, Pol Pot in Cambodia, and Fidel Castro of Cuba, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela played on class envy, the hallmark of Marxism, fomented rage by the poor against the land, business, and factory owners. They armed their brain-washed followers, who murdered millions of land and factory owners, in the name of promised a utopia of justice. In every single case overthrowing the free market economic system, to force so-called equality led to the complete loss of political freedom--totalitarian control by the government, foolishly yielded by their early naïve followers.

• Communism did not come to Russia as the result of a popular uprising: it was imposed on her by intellectuals hiding behind slogans of “equality.”
• Vladimir Lenin led his Bolshevik Party to victory in a three-year civil war. He began to centralize large chunks of the Russian economy.
• In China, Mao Zedong’s “Great Leap Forward” led to the slaughter of millions of landowners by his brain-washed teenaged Red Guard in the 1950’s.

E. Socialism always fails as an economic system. In every single case, it has been a disaster, causing enormous slaughter and human suffering—the kind of suffering every Christian should oppose. Here are some of the stunning, brutal facts:

• Remember, socialism is the government ownership of property and control of the means of production “to guarantee economic justice.”
• Lenin discovered that bureaucrats in Moscow were neither motivated nor competent to manage distant factories and farms. Disaster ensued.
• Restrictions on trade created a black market bigger than the economy.
• Lenin’s regime dumped banknotes into the market causing catastrophic inflation. In 1923 prices were 1 million times greater than prices before Lenin’s revolution. The starvation that ensued was horrific.
• After Lenin took over the economy, large-scale industrial production in 1920 was 18% of what it had been in 1913 causing enormous suffering.
• Lenin slaughtered the wealthy peasants, then tried to force poorer peasants to sell their grain below market prices, ending in massive starvation.
• Under Stalin, the livelihood of workers was decimated, while millions of peasants died from a forced famine in 1932 and 1933.
• An unfathomable 20 million Russians perished as a result of Stalin and Lenin’s socialist takeover of the economy.
• Mao’s takeover of the Chinese economy was even more costly on suffering and lives lost.
• Mao’s attempt to further his utopian promise, “We shall create a new heaven and earth for man” was catastrophic: 20 million Chinese died in the famine that resulted from this “heaven on earth” construction project, alone.
• An astounding 65 million Chinese died through Mao’s socialist policies.

There are similar statistics about Cambodia, North Korea, Cuba, and other socialist regimes. Frenchman, Stephane Courtois, whose group documented the socialist atrocities of the 20th century wrote, “Between 85 million and 100 million human beings lost their lives to communist experiments in the twentieth century. Never has an idea had such catastrophic consequences” (Money, Greed, and God, Jay Richards). I think Thomas Sowell is right when he says, “Socialism in general has a record if failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.”

Perhaps the disastrous results of socialism should not surprise us. After all, it is a political and economic system rooted in a violation of the fundamental building blocks for society—The Ten Commandments. It violates the 8th Commandment, confiscating privately owned property and foments class envy, which violates the 10th Commandment, “You Shall Not Covet.” What IS surprising is the number of Christians who believe socialism’s mythology instead of the truth. But Scripture warns us, "The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” (Prov 18:17). Christians need to speak about the evils of socialism.

For Further Prayerful Thought.

1. How would you respond to the average Christian dad who says, “understanding economics is not part of my calling. I can’t answer my kid’s accusations that Christianity is hypocritical and that they can’t embrace a religion that favors American consumerism instead of ECONOMIC EQUALITY as Jesus would have?”
2. What most stood out to you about current ideologues who have replaced the content of the word EQUALITY as equal justice under the law with the concept of equal outcomes?
3. In seeking to put a biblical lens over socialism, which components of socialism seem most evil?
4. How can we better help our kids recognize politicians who demonize the wealthy, thus subtly fomenting the evil motivation of class envy?