Reopen:Jesus and Socialism

Question

The question can be found here.

I do not believe that it is an opinion (or not) if there is supporting information that Jesus' teaching fit Socialism or not.

Answer 1

From your comment above:

I obviously am focused on debunking or proving socialism.

This is the wrong approach, and is why you're having a difficult time making your question fit our site.

The Bible, and specifically the teachings and person of Jesus, have been used to defend practically every social, economic, and political system in existence since the crucifixion, including, but not limited to:

1. Imperial rule (by the Roman Empire, the British Empire, the Spanish Empire, the American Empire, and others)
2. Capitalism
3. Socialism (including extreme forms, such as the Nazi party)
4. Communism
5. Anarchism
6. The list could go on and on

Looking for proof texts for your flavor-of-the-day (or literally any other case: Think anti-gay marriage, pro-gay marriage, young earth, old earth, pro-racism, anti-racism, pro-feminism, anti-feminism, etc, etc, etc) is possible. But it's not a very meaningful exercise for two reasons:

1. Generally, I believe this to be an abuse of scripture. Rather than saying "I want to (dis)prove X, how can the Bible help me?" a much better approach is "What does is the Bible trying to say?" And after answering that question, you may find that it either does (or does not) address your chosen topic.

   Consider any other piece of literature. Let's say Romeo and Juliet. One could approach the text and say "I think socialism is bad. How can Romeo and Juliet help make my case?" And you will almost certainly come up with something (with enough creativity). But this is clearly not how the text is intended to be used. A much more appropriate use of the literature is to read Romeo and Juliet asking "What does this text want to say?" And only then, can you answer the question "Does it offer anything to a discussion about socialism?" And the answer is that it may well add something to a discussion about socialism, but what it adds will be far different when read in the context of "What does R&J want to say?" than if you scour the play for proof texts.

2. More specifically, for our site, seeking proof texts is inappropriate simply because it is such an exercise in subjective creativity. With enough creativity, you can make any verse ("Jesus wept"!) about socialism. Or about gay marriage. Or about feminism. Or about Romeo and Juliet!

   That makes every such question a list question of the worst kind.

Answer 2

I recommend that you ask specifically for biblical passages which are used by Christians to defend specific political ideologies. I wouldn't bring the person of Jesus into it at all since that makes it more speculative (i.e. it makes it sound like a WWJD sort of thing). Also, mentioning Jesus makes it sound like a NT-only sort of thing, even though many politically-relevant passages will come from the OT.

I also recommend asking separate questions for each specific ideology with which you are most concerned. I also recommend being as specific as possible about the ideology. Rather than asking something like "What biblical passages are used to support socialism", I would narrow it down to "What biblical passages are used to support wealth re-distribution to help the poor?" If you are then curious, you could ask the opposite: "What biblical passages are used to denounce the redistribution of wealth to help the poor?"

Inherently, all questions such as these are list-request questions which are naturally problematic. Therefore, in order for them to be acceptable, they need to be as specific as possible.

Answer 3

As it is, I think the question is way too broad.

What biblical evidence do we have that biblical teachings are more aligned with Socialism?

You'd have to start by defining exactly what you mean by socialism. Then, what does "more aligned" mean? More aligned with socialism than some other political system? If so, you'd have to define that one, too.

If the whole world were Christian, what would the political and economic look like based on teachings from the bible?

I don't see how this part can be anything other than opinion-based, since there are so many different interpretations of the bible.