A Christian View of Primitivism and Primitive Cultures

by Pastor Paul Wolff

Darwinists, or those who see macro-evolution as a viable theory, have always had a strange fascination with primitive cultures. Since they believe that people have evolved over time, and advanced from lower, inferior beings and creatures, they think that all civilized people advanced from a primitive state to a sophisticated, evolved, civilized state. This makes a somewhat (though not completely) plausible and compelling story. People want to believe this story because it makes us look better than the primitives (both ancient and contemporary). “We are the more advanced people. We have evolved. We are better, and are only getting better.” One major problem with this is that it views the primitive peoples as inferior, and lesser, and even less human, which quickly leads to racism and hatred. If some person is inferior, then they can be treated as of less worth than those who are seen as superior, and “less worth” is quickly seen as “worthless” and those people are soon viewed as less than human. And if some people are less human, then they can be exploited and enslaved, and sometimes killed at will. This has all happened in the past two centuries, as I will show below, but this is not the only problem with the evolutionary view.

The Darwinist view is completely backward.

Civilization began on the Sixth Day of Creation with the creation of Adam and Eve

There is another way to look at primitive cultures which is, perhaps, not quite as compelling to people who want to see themselves as “evolved” and “advanced” and better than other people, but it has the advantages of having better historical evidence, and better fitting the facts we see in people who live in primitive cultures. The Christian view tells us that we all descend from the first two people God made, Adam and Eve. When God made Adam and Eve He made them in His image. They were fully formed adults (husband and wife) from their first breath, and perfect in body and soul. They not only were given language skills and understanding on the day they were made (Day Six of creation), but their intellectual capabilities were untainted by sin and guilt until they rebelled against God by disobeying His simple, clear command. Adam and Eve were also created to be immortal. As long as they did not disobey God they would not have diminished in their health and strength nor “grown old” as we understand it, nor would they have died from illness or injury. This also suggests the reason why the first generations of people in the antediluvian (“pre-flood”) period lived such long lives. Many are described as having lived hundreds of years, as the effects of sin only began to accumulate as the generations went by and took hold in people to limit their maximum life spans.  

Adam and Eve were civilized people from the beginning. They were husband and wife, and formed a family unit from their creation. Adam was the head, and Eve was the helper, and together they were a family. This is the basis for civilization. They were curious about the world around them and wanted to learn all they could about God’s wonderful creation. Even after the fall into sin, the Scriptures show that although the murderer, Cain, was destined to be “a restless wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:12), yet, he built a city for his son. Cain’s descendants also raised livestock, developed musical instruments, and learned to forge tools of bronze and iron, all within about six generations (see Genesis 4:17-22). After that, the descendants of Cain seemed to descend into violence and murder. (See Genesis 4:23 and 6:1-13) So already here we see civilized people becoming uncivilized. The Canites also seduced the descendants of Seth (Genesis 6:2) into their sinful depravity, and the whole world became so violent and evil that God was determined to destroy them all, except that He spared Noah and his family to keep the promise He had made to Adam and Eve to send a savior.

Brilliant thinkers like Martin Luther Come from a well educated civilized society.

The history that the Bible gives shows that civilization comes first, and then, as the people fall into idolatry and rebel against God, they become more violent and less civilized. We can also see this in the study of modern primitive peoples, if we view the evidence with an open mind. Primitivism is a dead end. You don’t get great civilizations rising out of primitive cultures. You get primitive cultures out of great civilizations that have been destroyed by war or disease or famine and infected with idolatry and violence. Remember that the European “Dark Ages” followed the fall of the Roman empire. You don’t get great thinkers like Plato, Euclid, or Aristotle, and those like them, from primitive cultures, even though the people themselves are genetically just as capable of producing intellectual and artistic brilliance as any other people. The problem isn’t that the people are inferior, but the social structures that have been put in place discourage the development of great thinkers and the development of greater societal structures. This discouragement is primarily in the form of false teaching, or if that doesn’t work, then there are stronger societal pressures to conform or be punished, and if those don’t work, then there is always violence and murder. Thus, primitive cultures persist for centuries without advancing to become greater civilizations.  

If you read writings from ancient civilized peoples you will see that, though they have different cultures and different ways of looking at things, they are in many ways just like modern people. The ancients had very similar wants and desires as modern people. They viewed the world in similar ways as modern people, and are very relatable to modern people. We all can learn much by studying ancient writings. Conversely, there is not a lot that we can learn from primitive cultures that survived into the 20^th century and beyond. Whatever wisdom those people once had, was lost. Wisdom and learning are discouraged and driven out of such societies, so that most of what is left is bare subsistence for survival.  

I recall hearing a missionary to New Guinea tell of the effects of bringing the Christian Gospel to the cannibal savages of that island. Not all the people and tribes accepted the Gospel, but those who did were set free from the tyranny of their false gods and the fear that their “ancestors” would haunt them and punish them if they didn’t do what the spiritual leaders (shamans, or witch doctor figures) told them to do. The Christians lived better, built better homes and better communities. They ate better and cooperated better so that they trusted each other, and could band together for mutual support and protection against enemies, and also for building their communities and providing food and education for their neighbors. Those who did not embrace the Christian teaching, but held on to the idol worship and ancestor worship continued to live a primitive existence, closer to animals than civilized people. The idol worshipers weren’t animals, and they had some basic rules for civilization, but their cultural structures prevented them from developing a more complex and functional society as their Christian neighbors did. The missionaries did not come to teach the people “civilization” or “Democracy” or 19^th and 20^th century technology. That would not have worked. The people were first set free from the tyranny of their false gods, and only then were they able to leave behind their primitive lifestyle.

The Past is Prologue.

Progress or Regress?

The irony of the Darwinist fascination with primitive cultures is that although they imagine that such a culture is where they came from, it is actually where they are going! Look at the tactics that progressive Darwinists use: false teaching, societal pressures to conform or be punished, violence and murder. The result of evolutionary thinking is not progress, but regress to primitive animalistic barbarism. Progressivism is not progressive, but is actually regressive. George Santayana wrote in the early 20^th Century: “Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” {The Life of Reason (1905-1906) Vol.1, Reason in Common Sense} Santayana was no Christian, but he could see that a healthy society builds on the successes of the past, and learns from the mistakes and the accomplishments of history. If you forget the past, or if your society forbids you from remembering the truth of history, then you have to start over from scratch with every generation, and are likely to make the same mistakes that were also done in the past. However if you learn from history, then you can avoid or overcome the mistakes, and move forward. 

We saw something like this in a developed country in the early 21^st century. When U.S. President, George W. Bush, conquered Iraq, he set up a democratic government, but without imposing Christianity or even establishing freedom of religion, so that those who wanted to become Christian could openly do so. The result was that the people were quickly re-conquered and dominated by the most violent and radical Islamic groups, and the benefits of democracy in a free (and Christian) country were destroyed. President Bush and his advisers were extremely naïve in this, and it was tragic for many in Iraq.

 

I recall seeing a documentary on the sinking of the cruise ship, Titanic, around the time of the 100^th anniversary of its sinking (2012). The producers documented the excessive pride of the builders who wanted to believe that their ship was unsinkable, despite some serious design and manufacturing flaws built into the ship. The summary statement at the end was unintentionally full of irony when they proclaimed, “One thing is certain, this will never happen again.” This is ironic, because not only did they fail to show that the prideful attitudes that led to the design and operational errors were removed from human thinking, but their final statement was exactly the same prideful error that produced the mistakes which led to the sinking of the Titanic. It is not certain that such a thing would never happen again. Actually, such things happen all the time when people think too much of themselves, and their capabilities, and get careless. It happens even more often in eras where the manufacturers and overseers are greedy and corrupt, and take shortcuts to increase short-term profits at the expense of safety. Such corruption was once rare in the United States, but now in the early 21^st century it seems to be the standard way of doing business for many large companies.

“Scientific” Fear Mongers

We also see moves toward primitivism in the scientific community in the global warming/climate change/environmental movement fear mongering that has been going on at least since I was a child in the 1970’s. This climate fear mongering is really anti-science in the name of science. It is anti-science because true science welcomes and encourages challenges to theories in order to show their weaknesses so that better, more accurate evaluations can be made and the theories can better describe all the evidence seen in the physical world. However, the environmental activists are actively opposing scientific inquiry that challenges the political desires of the radical fear mongers. They say that their premature conclusions are “settled” and that true scientific challenges to their untested proclamations are heretical. But there ought to be no concept of heresy in science. All theories ought to welcome challenges based on new evidence either to prove them correct, or to show their weaknesses so that they can be improved. Orthodoxy and heterodoxy are concepts of religion, but now that science has become a religion, true scientific inquiry has become heterodox, and that will lead to tragedies like the Titanic, and a regression as scientists are less able to conduct free studies, but must only do “approved” work which does not challenge the prevailing religious views of the scientific community. If you can’t see how this leads to primitivism, then you haven’t understood what I have written above to this point.

Science tells us that, because of entropy, things tend to move toward a state of chaos and disorder. Civilization works against chaos by ordering society into a functional place in which people work together for a common good. This is always a struggle because there are always forces which are working to move things toward chaos. Primitive cultures are chaotic cultures with only minimal organizational structures. Christians know that God is an orderly God. 1 Corinthians 14:33 says, “God is not a god of disorder, but of peace.” A large part of God’s creative work in the seven days of creation was ordering the chaos so that He could make a paradise for His beloved people to live. God accomplished this and after creating man on the sixth day evaluated all He had done and proclaimed creation “very good.” However, man’s disobedience and rebellion corrupted God’s creation and reintroduced chaos into our lives.

Karl Marx and Primitivism

Karl Marx was strongly influenced by the atheistic worldview of Charles Darwin. The concepts of progressive evolution and “the survival of the fittest” lead to a favorable view toward a totalitarian ruling class which enslaves those deemed less fit. Marxist fascists must eliminate free speech because in a free society people would never choose to be enslaved, nor submit to those who want to enslave them. Free speech also includes knowledge and application of history as a guide to what is the best course of action to deal with problems in society. Those who seek to dominate or enslave others cannot permit such inquiry, so they feel compelled to destroy books and ideas. Santayana shows that this leads directly to primitivism. If good, constructive ideas are banned, then there can be no good progress, and the society either remains stagnant, or it deteriorates.  

War, disease and famine can move societies toward a primitive existence.

Venezuela and Cuba were both once thriving societies, but Marxist regimes came in and murdered the freedom-loving leaders. Many fled the country if they were able. The revolutionaries took control of businesses and all physical representations of wealth which was in the country, and the people were impoverished and unable to provide income for themselves because the businesses were controlled by the government. Totalitarian Marxist governments cannot provide for the needs of the people because they don’t care for the people. They only care about acquiring power and control for themselves. The people are seen only as “workers” or (more honestly) “slaves.” The “workers” are only valued for what they can do to provide comfort and wealth for the tyrant class. The tyrants don’t care if the people starve and live in poverty.  

I have taken up photography as a hobby, and I like to look at photographs by other photographers for inspiration and education. Every now and then I will see pictures from Cuba, and they almost all look the same. Shabbily dressed people are hanging around dilapidated buildings, but not seeming to have anything constructive to do. There are hints of former glory, like American cars from before the Castro revolution period sitting around. These recall the days when Cuba was wealthy and thriving, and was a favored tourist spot for Americans. I saw one documentary where it was shown that some of these 1950’s era American cars were using boat engines which were adapted and installed after their original engines wore out, and replacement parts were unavailable. There is still some ingenuity among the Cubans left in Cuba, but they are generally impoverished, idle, and only a shadow of what they could have been in a free country.

“Race” and Racism

Noah

I mentioned above that evolutionary thinking necessarily leads to racism. The Christian view of race is that everyone has descended from the same two people, Adam and Eve. All the different “racial” characteristics are just superficial variations of the same genetic code. This view also corresponds very well with the scientific data on the issue. There is only one human race. Any further distinctions are only false and serve only to divide one people into many groups and turn them against each other. The evolutionist sees things in terms of progress, and advance, and it evaluates everything (including people) in terms of progress or regress. However, this thinking puts blinders on the evolutionist because while they are busy looking for signs of progress, they don’t stop to consider where they are progressing to. I could be happily progressing down a path that leads to my destruction, and if I am so focused on my “forward” progress that I don’t look where I am or where I’m going, then I won’t see that I am on the wrong road. I could be making great “progress”, but if I am progressing in the wrong direction then the result could very well be tragic. 

The anthropological evolutionist evaluates people only in terms of their function and utility: advanced or primitive, useful or not, profitable or unprofitable, good or bad, friend or enemy. This view dehumanizes people because it evaluates worth based on what someone can do for me, not how valuable people are in themselves (or for others who are not me). I have shown elsewhere that racism doesn’t begin with hatred, but it begins with just wanting what is best for a group which I identify with. But in creating this artificial distinction between people it introduces value judgments as to the worth of what is seen as “different” groups. One group (usually “Mine”) must be better than others, and if one is better, then the other is worse, and it is not long before “better and worse” become seen as “good and evil”. This is the point where racism becomes hatred. If the other group is evil (as racists imagine it must be) then those belonging to that “evil” group must be subdued and destroyed. Don’t be fooled by people who only say, “I only want what is best for (my group).” That is racist and will soon lead to hatred and violence. Since I first wrote my article on racism (January 2010) I have seen this in action many times.

The Downfall of the United States of America

During the summer of 2020 in what was once the United States of America we saw several moves toward chaos and primitivism. Tyrannical governors imposed draconian lock-downs by unlawful mandates, and closed free businesses over fears of catching a bad cold. Lawlessness ran rampant by governors, judges, election officials, news media, large corporations, and other rioters. In several cities across the country rioters ran unchecked by police, with the blessing of tyrant mayors and governors, and destroyed significant sections of once prosperous cities. Anarchist Marxists tore down statues of historical figures with complete contempt for the history, in a clear attempt to reshape the historical understanding to fit their revolutionary goals, and thus condemning us all to have to repeat the mistakes of forgotten history.  

It is clear that this puts us on a path toward civil war. Such a thing is not certain, as there are many ways to avert it before it comes to that, but the question is, “Will we be able to to turn from a well-funded path manned by people hell-bent on destruction?” With war comes hardships which force people to live a primitive existence to survive. Venezuela was a prosperous wealthy country, but was reduced to poverty in just a few short years by a Marxist takeover of the government. Such prospects are somewhat frightening, but Christians have hope for the future. History shows us that countries can survive the devastation of civil wars, though much is lost in lives and material prosperity. Even more, we know that Christ is in control of all of history, and will work even the greatest evil out for His good (in spite of the evil desires of the revolutionaries). This is a matter of faith to have this confidence, because for a time it will not seem as if there is much hope for reconstruction as the devastation mounts. Mechanized and computerized persecution as seen in China is quite frightening especially when wielded by uneducated and mal-educated people who don’t realize and don’t care that what they are doing is evil.

The Solution to The Descent into Primitivism

Humility and repentance before God to receive Christ's forgiveness is the best way for true healing.

There is a fascinating story in the Bible in Daniel 4. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon wanted to take credit for the victories that God had given him, so he is cursed by God to lose his mind and live a primitive existence like an animal for a certain period of time. He was “driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.” Then God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to regain not only his sanity, but also his rule as King. When this experience was over the King issued this statement, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” God has the power to humble the proud according to His will. This is why the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Those who seek to destroy God-given rights and freedoms for transient worldly domination and power are fools, and will be humbled sooner or later.  

God’s humbling of King Nebuchadnezzar shows us how to avoid regressing to primitivism – at least on a personal level. Nebuchadnezzar was humbled and then repented of his hubris and arrogance. He acknowledged God as the Lord and his sanity and his kingdom was restored to him. God has his ways of humbling those who need to be humbled. Unfortunately not all repent of their sins. Some foolish people would rather hold on to their sins and try to save themselves rather than trust in God to save them through the life and death of Jesus Christ. However, it is impossible for sinful people to save themselves and these unrepentant people are driven mad by their sinful pride and regress toward primitivism in ways not unlike Nebuchadnezzar. Yet, for all who repent of their sins there is forgiveness and healing in Christ Jesus. Because Jesus has paid the price of death for our sins we are set free from the threat of punishment, and the guilt of our sins need not torment us longer. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

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Psalm 119:136 “My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.”
 

Psalm 119:158 “I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.”
 

2 Peter 2:4-10 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.”

The Problem with Socialism

by Pastor Paul Wolff

“The desire of the righteous ends only in good, the expectation of the wicked (ends) in wrath. One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” (Proverbs 11:23-24) 
 
The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in prison. -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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God commands individuals to be charitable, not governments.

I remember seeing a bumper sticker which read, “I think, therefore I am not a socialist.” There is much truth in that, yet there are many people who think themselves intellectuals who favor socialism. It takes more than a thinking mind to understand that socialism is a wicked system to order society. It also takes a caring heart (not a bleeding heart).

Socialists in the United States (and other Western countries) have been pushing their wicked agenda in schools, TV, movies, newspapers, magazines, and the news media for many decades, but there hasn’t been much serious public discussion about the implications of the socialist worldview and political agenda. Ever since the unexpected success of socialist Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 United States presidential campaign there has been much more public interest in the U.S. in the ideas of socialism. If you recall, Senator Sanders might have won the Democratic nomination for president if it hadn’t been for the Clinton controlled “Democratic” Party rigging the primaries to help Hillary Clinton win the nomination. Since then, in 2018, an openly socialist, naïve young woman from New York was elected to the United States Congress.

Socialism has never been very popular in the United States because we have a history of both Christianity and good education where people are smart enough (and free enough) to learn the weaknesses of socialism, and reject it. Both of those things are changing due to many decades of socialist indoctrination of students by unionized teachers in schools and universities. The result of this is that socialism seems to be gaining in popularity in our country.

Christians ought to be charitable as Christ is charitable to us.

It is no surprise that the Democrat Party is the one which is pushing the socialist agenda. Socialism has its roots in liberalism, and can be seen as liberalism pushed to its logical extreme. One definition of the term “liberal” is “generous”. That sounds good at first, but the problem with liberalism is that liberals aren’t particularly generous personally, but they do want to be seen as “generous” when they have control of other people’s money and possessions. Socialism takes that to the extreme so that the late British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, is famously known for saying something to the effect of, “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” The truth of this shows the first problem with socialism, which is that socialism is fundamentally thievery. Socialism is thievery because it takes the wealth and income of those who work to earn it and gives it to those who do not earn it.

Adam and Eve stole what was forbidden and condemned us all to die. Jesus gave up everything He had and redeemed us from death.

In a way, the first sin of Adam and Eve involved thievery. It was primarily idolatry because God had said, “Don’t eat the fruit of this one tree,” and their eating was rebellion against God, but it was also stealing what didn’t belong to them. God had given them all the food in the whole world, but reserved for Himself the fruit of one tree in the Garden of Eden. God did not need the fruit for food, but neither did Adam and Eve – since they had plenty of good food to eat, but as long as Adam and Eve obeyed God’s simple command they showed their trust and obedience to God. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit they combined stealing what didn’t belong to them with idolatry because they listened to the lies of the devil and thought they knew better than God what was good and what was evil. In this way the name of the “Tree of the knowledge of good and evil” worked backwards from what we normally think. As long as Adam and Eve obeyed God and did not eat the forbidden fruit they could properly distinguish between good and evil. However, once they gave themselves to the temptation and stole and ate what was forbidden, then they lost the ability to distinguish between good and evil. After the fall into sin, what people think is good is often evil, and what is truly good for us is often seen as evil, and we have a hard time telling which is which.

The premise of socialism is that it purports to desire to make everyone equal. In practice it accomplishes this by making everyone impoverished, except for the ruling tyrants. There are always ruling tyrants in societies which practice socialism, because the system can’t work without a totalitarian government enforcing this unnatural social structure. There is little or no concept of personal property in socialism, but all things are shared among everyone. I remember a few years after the disintegration of the Soviet Union I spoke with a young man who was from the former Soviet Union (from one of the Baltic nations, as I recall), and he said that during the Soviet days there was no concept or teaching of the Seventh Commandment (“You shall not steal.”) as a command from God. It was a revelation for them to learn this concept once they were free from socialism. The Seventh Commandment assumes that there is such a thing as personal property, and that it transgresses God’s will to obtain someone else’s property in a dishonest way, or, as Martin Luther explained in the Small Catechism, in a way which only seems right – like a governmental Robin Hood-like redistribution of wealth. In this way socialism is fundamentally opposed to Christianity, and God’s created order.

The Good Samaritan used his own money to help the man injured by robbers.

Because the Seventh Commandment assumes private property, we know that God wants us to work for what we have, and to keep and take care of our possessions. Saint Paul wrote, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) This shows that whenever possible each person is responsible for providing for his own personal needs, like food, clothing, and shelter. Note that this does not apply to those who cannot work, but only those who will not work. Elsewhere St. Paul (and other prophets and Biblical writers) encourage Christians to charitably support their neighbors who cannot work due to disability. St. Paul writes to the Ephesians (4:28) “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.” This also condemns the ideology of socialism, and also implies that God gives His people more than they need so that they “have something to share with those in need.” This shows why democratic free market economy works in Christian societies (and not so well in non-Christian societies), because Christians are encouraged by Scripture to charitably share their excess with family and neighbors who are unable to care for themselves. They don’t need the Government to take care of the poor because they are cared for by their neighbors directly until they get back on their feet financially.

Here one might object and say that in the Acts of the Apostles the church of the Apostles lived in what seems like a socialist community. “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” (Acts 2:44-45) This is true enough, but it is not a small thing to note that they did this voluntarily, and their actions were not coerced by the Apostles or the governing authorities. When Ananias and his wife Sapphira were killed by God (Acts 5), it wasn’t because they withheld their property from the community. They were free to sell their property and do with the proceeds as they saw fit, even keeping all, or part of, the proceeds for themselves. Their crime was that they made a show of selling their property and saying that they had given ALL the proceeds to the church, while they actually kept some of the money for themselves. They died because they were liars, and they pretended to be holy to make people think they were better than they actually were. God showed everyone what they really were like (i.e. dead).

The Magi gave valuable gifts to Jesus. This helped the holy family in Egypt, and also foreshadowed Christ’s suffering and death.

Socialism is fundamentally opposed to the natural order of things because it tries to make everyone equal. Although God created everyone equal in His sight (as the U.S. Declaration of Independence stated – referencing common God-given rights), not everyone is equal in all things. Some people are smarter, others are less intellectually capable. Some people are stronger, others are weaker. Some people are older, others are younger. Some people are wiser and others are more foolish. Those who are more capable can rightly command a higher pay because they can do more good in society than those less capable. There is nothing evil or wrong about this. The wickedness of socialism can be seen if you say that everyone should have the same wage when one can do more or better tasks than another.

Wherever socialism enforces equal outcome, rather than equal opportunity, there is no incentive for people to work hard or be innovative or entrepreneurial. If I am going to be paid the same as my neighbor no matter how hard I work, then why should I work harder than my lazy or incompetent neighbor? This shows the unfairness of a system which pretends to be equal for all people. If you have educated workers who can think logically and reason deductively and have a free choice, then they would never choose socialism over a free market.


Socialism dehumanizes people. No matter how talented you are, no matter how hard you work, no matter how good a job you do, under socialism you are no more valued than the least talented, laziest, incompetent hack. You can never get ahead because it is unnaturally forbidden by law, or social norms, or whatever is enforcing the socialist ideal. In this way capitalism is better because it rewards people for a job well done, or for doing a task that is greatly needed, but is not able to be accomplished by many people. In a Capitalist society there is real incentive to do the best that you can do with your talents and effort. This values people much more than a system which says that no matter how much you can do, or if you can do something that no one else can do, you are not worth any more than anyone else.  

Christianity says that you are precious to God. Even though you are a sinner and deserve only God’s wrath and punishment, God loves you and has redeemed you from your sin through the life and death of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter if you are a newly conceived one-celled person, or if you are a life-saving doctor, or if you are a brain injured quadriplegic, you are precious to God. God proves His love by becoming the man, Jesus Christ and living a full life from conception to death to resurrection in order to rescue you from the consequences of your sin. Although some may say that this sounds like a socialist ideal, the Bible is clear that God gives different gifts to different people in life. Some are more able to contribute to society than others. What makes Christianity different from socialism is that since you are precious to God then Christians ought to consider others precious also, and as much as we can have a say, should promote a society that treats its citizens the same way. Socialism is not the way to treat humans in a loving way.
 

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. - 2 Corinthians 8:9

Jesus lived a humble life, even though He was God incarnate. St. Paul describes it by writing, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8) Jesus demonstrated the love of God by becoming a man and forsaking the glory and honor and power and riches of His Heavenly kingdom, and He not only lived a humble life, but He offered His life as an atoning sacrifice to redeem sinners from the curse of our sin. St. Paul also described it this way to the Corinthians, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) Many Christians throughout history have lived humble lives in imitation of Christ’s humble life. Jesus also warned His followers, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25) They responded “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus answered, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” And yet, there are many believers in the Holy Bible who were blessed with great wealth, such as Abraham, King David, Job, and others. Wealth is not itself an evil. St. Paul warns Timothy about putting his trust in wealth when he wrote, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:10) Money is not evil, but people fall into evil when they love money and make it their idol.
 
Those who favor socialism are either the uneducated who are manipulated into thinking that this is a good deal, or the elites who seek to take advantage of the ignorant workers. The elite socialist politicians want to be seen as helping people, but they don’t actually want to help people succeed. We see this in socialist societies where the people are not described as “citizens” but as “workers.” In other words, those who view citizens only as “workers” really view their neighbors as “slaves”. Their only value to the centralized government is in the work that they can provide, not in themselves as unique persons with their unique strengths and weaknesses. If they can not provide labor, then they have no value to those who control the government. In socialist countries the people who form the government are slave masters and the people are slaves. In 20^th century Communist China, Mao Tse Tung dressed in peasant-like outfits (custom tailored to fit his fat ass), but he lived in luxury off the labor of his enslaved people.

Zacchaeus responded to Christ’s kindness to him by promising to return what he had stolen and give generously to the poor. See Luke 19

There are a couple of key scenes in the 1965 movie Dr. Zhivago which beautifully illustrate the evils of socialism. Early in the movie Dr. Zhivago is seen living in a beautiful mansion which is well appointed and well maintained and looks bright and cheerful. Although I think that house belonged to his wife’s father, a successful doctor ought to live comfortably as a reward for a highly skilled career which provides caring service to the lives and health of his neighbors. Later, after the Bolshevik revolution, he is shown entering the same home, which is now also the home to several other families who didn’t pay to live there, and don’t care to maintain the house, or keep it in good condition. The house is stripped bare of its beautiful furnishings, and is dilapidated, run down, dark and dismal, and filled with ill mannered people who don’t care about Zhivago and his family, or one another.

Another aspect of Dr. Zhivago that shows the evils of socialism is that Yuri leaves his wife to live with his lover. While this is by no means something that only happens in socialist societies, it does show a temptation of what can happen when all things are held in common and there is no personal property. People can view their personal relationships in the same way and want to take someone else’s wife (or husband, respectively) for themselves. This is by no means the norm even in socialist countries. A majority of people will still regard the marriage covenant as sacred, but there will be a strong temptation to view other people’s spouses as common property, since everything else is held in common. This can happen especially among the ruling class, who view the people as slaves anyway. They can abuse their authority to tempt someone else’s wife to be unfaithful with the promise of a more comfortable life, or coerce with the threat of mistreatment of the woman’s husband if she doesn’t comply. Such is the terrible wickedness of the sinful heart.
 
Because socialist societies are, by necessity, run by totalitarian dictators or central committees, the workers are not free to make decisions about how their companies are run, even if it was their company to begin with. The government plans the economy, but a central government cannot foresee or react to customer needs or market trends or changes in a timely manner, which results either in overproduction of unwanted products, or in scarcity. I have several Russian made camera lenses from the Soviet era which I purchased cheaply in the early 2000’s because during the Soviet years they overproduced these products because the factories had government quotas to meet, but since they did not update the pre-WWII German Zeiss designs after they captured the East German factories after the war, there was not as much demand for the lenses as there was supply. These items can still be bought inexpensively because there were so many produced.

Overproduced, underdeveloped camera lenses are a trivial problem, but what wasn’t trivial was the Russian famine which happened in 1921-1922. Because the Bolsheviks took control of the farms and the food produced by the farms, there was widespread famine and millions of people are reported to have died from starvation. Farming is hard work under the best of circumstances, and farmers who can make a profit from their labor work hard to get the highest yield while carefully farming in a sustainable way so that they can make good profits year after year. In a planned socialist economy the farmers have neither the incentive to work hard, nor to take care of the land, and because the output of the farms is controlled centrally, in times of scarcity the elites get fed first, while the worker/slaves are left to starve. The freedom of American farmers to manage their farms and sell their produce as they see fit is why the United States has been long known as the “breadbasket of the world” and continues to be so. The current U.S. regulations which promote industrialized farms, however, may be good for low prices, but I believe it may not be good in the long run for farmers, nor the small rural towns which support agriculture, nor for the country as a whole, but that is a topic for another time.

Money bag for giving to the poor. When God gives us more than we need we are to give generously to those in need.

In many ways socialism is more materialistic than free market capitalism, and much more oppressive. Socialism only values what people have, not the people themselves, nor their talents and ingenuity and resourcefulness. In doing this, socialists do not recognize the true wealth of any society. The money and things which people possess is a limited resource, and its value is not as constant as the socialists imagine. As is shown in the movie, Dr. Zhivago, when you take the material of the rich and give it to people who didn’t work for it, they despise it and do not maintain it, and its value and usefulness is quickly destroyed. Things which are so valuable in a free society, quickly become worthless in a socialist managed economy. In a free market, people who are more capable, or who have talents and abilities which are in demand, are able to earn more, and thus they work harder, and the society as a whole benefits, and is made richer. Also, when people earn and own their own things, they take better care of them and maintain them and their value and usefulness remains longer.

Because socialists are naturally atheists, and not Christian, they do not trust people to be charitable and generous to those in need, so they say that the government must care for the poor instead of their own family and neighbors. In a predominantly free Christian society, where people are able to earn more than they need, they are generous with their charity and the poor are well cared for until they can get back on their feet and provide for themselves. Sometimes people will say that poverty causes crime. That is false. During the great depression in the United States in the 1930’s after the stock market crash of 1929, unemployment was about 25% of those of working age for quite some time, and people cared for one another. Crime did not rise as much as poverty because most Americans were Christians and they lived honest lives, and the poor were content to live off the charity of others until they got back on their feet financially. The post-war economic boom was a result of people who had lived through the depression and the war and wanted to work hard to make a better life for themselves and their families, and they were willing to work hard to do so as long as they were properly rewarded for it.

Christianity does not necessarily require a certain political or social structure. Christians can, and do, live in all societies, even where it is illegal for them to practice their religion openly. Christian principles do tend to favor good and just practices and rule out certain unjust practices where we have a say in how things are run. The Christian worldview is more honest about human nature than the worldview which leads to socialism. Christianity teaches that all people are naturally sinners whose selfishness needs to be curbed by laws and penalties for expressing that selfishness, through stealing, greed, and other sinful deeds. Not only is Christianity more honest about the sinful, selfish nature of man, it is also more compassionate, forgiving, and encouraging, even to unbelievers. Christianity teaches that all people are sinners and selfish, and that is why the United States Constitution sets checks and balances on each of the three branches of government to curb the power grabbing tendencies of each. We have been historically weak curbing the judicial tyranny, and that is where our government is weakest currently, but we pray that will be set right soon. Many Christians (and others) are working to accomplish true justice and lawfulness in our judicial system, but we are not nearly there, yet.
 
It is no coincidence that Christians were very prominent in the abolitionist movements in Europe and America. It wasn’t only Christians who were against slavery, but Christianity played a prominent role in abolishing slavery in the 19^th century in many places.

Jacob favored Joseph, but Joseph’s brothers envied him and sold him into slavery. Joseph forgave them and saved them from famine.

Holy Scripture is somewhat ambivalent about slavery. Nowhere does the Holy Bible endorse slavery, but God recognizes that because man is sinful they will wickedly enslave one another, and God set limits to what His people were allowed to do. In Leviticus 25:42-43 God says, “Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.” God also says that slaves were to be treated as hired workers, more like indentured servants than property, and after seven years they must be set free. God also gave a provision that if a servant wished to remain as a slave in the household (presumably because he was treated well and paid fairly for his work) there was a public ritual to make that arrangement legal and permanent.

Also the New Testament is likewise ambivalent about slavery, recognizing that it exists in a sinful world, but setting limits on the evil. St. Paul writes, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” (Ephesians 6:5) But he also sets limits on the masters when he writes, “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.” (Colossians 4:1) Here both slave and master are called on to be good Christians. St. Paul also writes, “Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you – although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” (1 Corinthians 7:21-23)  

The operating principle in both the Old Testament and the New Testament is that we are all servants of God and we ought to serve one another in love all the time, but as Christ has humbled Himself for our sake even unto death (see Philippians 2) for our benefit, we are free men in God’s sight, even if we live as slaves here on earth. It was this sort of teaching which in 19^th Century United States made the Christian American slaves much more noble than their wicked masters. This is why the character, Uncle Tom, in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, resonated so much with white northern Christian abolitionists that they supported the Civil War and tens of thousands of free Northerners fought and died to make all Americans free men.
 
St. Peter writes, “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:18-21) Sinful man may be cruel, but Christians are to be kind and forgiving even to the most wicked person. Jesus is our example in this. The first words He spoke after being nailed to the cross and lifted up to be crucified is, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Christians ought to befriend the homeless to help people to support themselves again, not to make homelessness a permanent condition.

Socialism is certainly an evil system of ordering society. Christians, however, can and do live peaceably in such societies serving their neighbors in love, while ignoring the atheistic requirements which necessarily are associated with socialism. Jesus says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) In following this command, Christians work hard in their jobs and vocations to provide good things for their neighbors, even if they are not well compensated for it, knowing that their true reward awaits in heaven. This is no excuse to mistreat your Christian employees, because they will ask God to curse you for the grief you cause them, but it is one reason why socialist societies function for as long as they do before they see their inevitable collapse. It is hard for Christians to do what is right in a sinful world. That is why St. Paul writes, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1 Corinthians 15:19) Christians take the long view of life, and know that if Christ endured suffering and death for our sins, we can endure a little unjust treatment at the hands of sinners. Eternity is a long time, and the sufferings of this life are only temporary.

Ultimately, the problem with socialism is that people don’t trust that God will provide us with daily bread, and we are too greedy to share what we have above our needs, so we look for worldly solutions. Such worldly solutions are bound to fail because of all people’s sinful nature. People are selfish and will tend toward solutions which benefit them, personally, but will harm their neighbor. Socialism is just such a worldly solution.  

Jesus also has other teachings against the ideals of socialism. He said, “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12) This would prevent us from taking our neighbor’s hard earned possessions for ourselves, or sanctioning the government to do the same. If God has blessed me with great talent and skill, and has rewarded me commensurately for my use of these gifts, then I ought to be able to determine how I use my wealth to also help my neighbor. Christian Americans are generally wealthy people (from a worldwide perspective), but they are also generous to those in need. Governments, and people exercising power within governments, are not always wise in how they use public funds in giving aid to people in need. They often give money to people who don’t need it, or who misuse it, and they often take some of the money to enrich themselves before anyone in need sees a (much smaller) benefit. Government corruption is yet another reason why enforced socialism is a wicked system.
 
There is no perfect form of government because all people are sinful and some will attempt to work any system for their own benefit. However, socialism has many flaws which are inherently wicked and cannot be redeemed. The institutionalizing of thievery and slavery can never end well in any system of society. Socialism makes many good-sounding promises, but because it is inherently evil, it will never fulfill its promises nor even its best intentions.

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29)

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Other Bible Verses which Speak Against Socialism 

“Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.” (Proverbs 14:21) 

“The desire of the righteous ends only in good, the expectation of the wicked in wrath. One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” (Proverbs 11:23-24) 

“For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,’ not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Revelation 3:17)  

Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:32-34) 

 “We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.” (2 Corinthians 6:8-10) 

 “Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 17:5) 

 “Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.” (Proverbs 22:16) 

“Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.” (Proverbs 22:22-23) 

  “Am I still to forget, O wicked house, your ill-gotten treasures and the short ephah (a weight measure), which is accursed? Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights? Her rich men are violent; her people are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully. Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin you because of your sins. You will eat but not be satisfied; your stomach will still be empty. You will store up but save nothing, because what you save I will give to the sword. You will plant but not harvest; you will press olives but not use the oil on yourselves, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.” (Micah 6:10-15)

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See also my article on “The Problem with Democracy”  

See also my article on “The Problem with Sexual Politics”

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