Does the New Testament promote socialism?

3/2/18               Dean       about 50

It was a nice day at the park for a friendly conversation about religion and politics. And yes, that’s still possible, even between a Christian and a socialist, both of us very set in our positions.

I talked with Dean, from New Zealand, who is convinced socialism is the answer for the world’s problems. A passage about the early church might lead some Christian's to believe socialism is promoted in the Bible. Acts 2 says “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”

But this passage describes a local church, not a national system of government. Even though we shared many of the same ideals about what the world could look like, we found our differences irreconcilable for a variety of reasons.

A fundamental difference would be our understanding of basic human nature. Dean told me all humans are basically good at heart, and that the problems of the world come from the capitalist system that trains us to be selfish and put others down for our own gain. He believes we are products of our evil environment and therefore innocent of wrongdoing, that we as individuals can’t be blamed for the moral problems of the world.

His ardent belief in socialism allows him to dodge personal responsibility to a holy God, casting blame on society and, ultimately, on God for the evil all around us. Dean claims he doesn’t believe in any sort of deity because of this, but ultimately, he is attempting to be the judge himself. He sees man, not God, as the solution to world problems, and his promotion of socialism allows him to feel he has the moral high ground in doing so.

By contrast as a Christian I would say that, although we have a knowledge of good and evil and try to justify our actions, we are basically sinful and self-centered at heart, and that the problems of the world stem from the selfishness, covetousness, pride and laziness within all of us as individuals. We will be held accountable for our many sins, and God, who loves justice, punishes sin, either in hell or at the cross for those who trust in Jesus.

For us as Christians the solution to the problems in this present world is the response of gratitude and changed hearts and lives people can have as a result of the Gospel. We aren’t just working for souls in eternity, we can be salt and light in our society today. And a healthy local church is the place where God’s kingdom can best be portrayed to a world that so desperately needs salt and light, as demonstrated by the believers of Acts 2 sacrificing willingly for one another, not out of coercion by a socialistic government or even by legislation in a democratic one.

Dean happily agreed to allow me to record the conversation, and took advantage of the opportunity to share his socialist views. For my part, I feel I didn’t do a very good job of communicating the Gospel. I had a hard time keeping the conversation on a spiritual focus. When I began to emphasize our individual guilt and need for forgiveness in Jesus, he kept deflecting blame toward the capitalist system.

Dean was evangelical in his enthusiasm for an unproven system based on the goodwill of mankind. How much more should I be committed to our time-tested faith based on the goodwill of God?

Thanks for allowing me to record our conversation Dean! It can be seen at https://youtu.be/G1LJwgaCZ10 on my YouTube channel.