"Master," the man says to Jesus, "tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus replies, "Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?" and then he rebukes the man for being envious of his sibling.”
Was Jesus a Socialist?
Jesus gives evidence in Luke:
13Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?”
15And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”…
But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?”
If Jesus says He shouldn't appropriate the power to make such decisions for the individual.….how can government?
6. Who, or what, then, should be responsible for exactly how and when one’s earnings should be dispensed….or, if you’d rather use the term, ‘re-distributed’?
The answer redounds to the ideas of our Founders, and of
conservatives today: the individual makes that decision, not the government, i.e., the ‘collective’ which has no such rights….
at least not according to Jesus.
Conservativism: individualism, free markets, and limited constitutional government.
7. To be more specific to the American situation,
our Constitution is the law of the land, the only document Americans have agreed to be governed by. In
Article 1, section 8, the founders list exactly what the federal government is authorized to do….and charity, and insurance, and responsibility for being generous with other people’s earnings is
not found in the list.
Everyone is free to give any part of their earning to whomsoever they choose....not to reach into their neighbor's pocket.
So saith Jesus.....the capitalist.