Socialism of Christ

by Austin Bierbower

  He carried out this love for the people even to an extent not reciprocated by them; measuring His love not by their return but by their wants. Whether they espoused His cause or not, He never ceased to espouse theirs. When His forerunners went to the villages of the Samaritans to make ready for Him, and the people would not receive Him, and when, in consequence, James and John asked that fire might be brought down from Heaven to destroy them, as in the time of Elias, He rebuked them, giving therein an answer good for all popular and revolutionary persecutors, whether in the name of religion or government: "Ye know not what spirit ye are of; I came not to destroy men's lives but to save them." And His last cry, when crucified, was that God would forgive the people who did it. The whole idea of Christ's appearance on earth, indeed, is, that He came to do men good because they had done Him wrong—a lesson which His persecuting followers have been slow to learn, except as a theory.

  Jesus loved the people with such tenderness that it was said in His time, "Such love hath no man." He delighted, as we have seen, to be called the Son of Man, and to represent men's feelings and wants in His social conduct. "When thou makest a dinner, or a supper," He said, "pall not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; * * but when thou makest a feast call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and thou shalt be blessed." In the parable of the great supper, as we have seen, He commanded the calling in of the people, who had hitherto been excluded from such places to make room for the great. In the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin He teaches that there is more care, and should be more, for one that is lost or in want, than for the ninety and nine that are in comfort. The parable of the prodigal son, as well as the treatment of Mary Magdalene, and of the woman taken in adultery, is likewise a lesson of forgiveness and reception into favor of those who have fallen, or been distressed in society. He claims repeatedly that He came to "seek and to save the lost;" and that His mission was wholly for the elevation "of them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death."

  His miracles were nearly all done in the interest of the poor and unfortunate. He made bread to feed the hungry; He healed the lame, the blind, the sick and the distressed, who were mostly beggars and unfortunates in society; He

  raised the widow's son and the mendicant Lazarus; He healed the leper; He drove the devils out of a poor beggar, and sent them into a rich man's hogs; and in relating the parable of the beggar Lazarus and the rich man, He had the beggar borne away to Heaven to rest in Abraham's bosom, and sent the rich man to hell; the only merit or demerit that we can discover in either being that the one was poor and begged, and the other rich and lived well. When John, in doubt and in prison, sent to Him to know whether He was really the Messiah that should come, or whether they should look for another, He sent back this reply: "Go tell John what things ye see; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the dead are rised, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them."

  And while Jesus had such an affection for the common people, and sympathy for their suffering, it was this class which, in turn, had a fondness for Him, and almost exclusively this class. "The blind, the lame and the halt," we are told, "came to the temple to see Him," and every where trooped around Him for sympathy and aid ', while, on the other hand, "the priests were angry," and the wealthy stood aloof. "The common people," it is said, "heard Him gladly," and stood by Him when the authorities, ecclesiastical and civil, combined against Him.

  For, it is said, "when the priests and rulers— church and state—went to the palace of the high priest, and consulted to kill Him, they were afraid to do it on a feast day, lest the people should make an uproar;" and when they finally did get Him in their power it was not by taking Him openly, but by getting Judas to betray Him privately. The people were generally true to Christ, as He had been to them. The ecclesiastical and state authorities alone were responsible for His crucifixion; notwithstanding the church has generally ascribed that crime to the people. "As He went through the country preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom of God," we are told that "the people gladly received Him." When the question was asked by Jesus, "Whom say they that lam?" and it was answered : "Some say Elias is risen from the dead, some say a prophet," and others make various answers, Jesus asked confidently, as being of most importance, "Whom say the people that I am?" "And when the chief priests, scribes and elders sought to kill Him, they could not find what they might do because the people were very attentive to hear Him." Often did the people save His life; but never the ecclesiastics or the rulers. He owed His safety to the mob rather than to the police, the courts, or the clergy. And, be it ever said to the shame of the religious, that when the God whom they worshiped came to the earth to see them, the church itself caught Him and killed Him.

  Such in general was the mutual affection of Jesus and the people, and such the popular character of the early Christian movement.

  Like all popular or socialistic agitations, the Christian movement was, moreover, one in special opposition to riches, money-making, and business generally, these being the interests, as then conducted, that were most antagonistic to the people's welfare. It took grounds against hardship on debtors, against usury, and apparently against even the honest paying of debts, as well as against the classes who were wealthy, enterprising, or in any way engaged in trade or commerce. This, more than anything else, characterizes the radicalness of early Christian socialism, or communism. Christ seemed to recognize the whole foundation of business as wrong, and to contemplate an entire reorganization of society—a reorganization resting on something like a community of goods and enterprises. At least His contemporaries could put no other meaning on His words. Of this, however, I shall speak hereafter.

  I observe now, however, that, in contemplation of something better, He shows throughout His whole teachings a strong dissatisfaction with, and studied opposition to, wealth and property as then existing. "Take no thought," He says, "for your life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap;" or, according to another Gospel, "Consider the ravens, which have neither storehouse nor barns; and yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them." "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore if God so clothed the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"

  He sought even to turn the people away from concern about the necessaries of life, saying, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself;" and then, as if to enforce the idea that they should concern themselves only for the present, and to get through the passing day, He adds, ''Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof"—Carpe diem, and leave the rest in unconcern. "What," He asks, ''will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" ''Take heed and beware of covetousness," He further says, "for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." He then relates the parable of the foolish rich man, who had been industrious, and built barns, and filled them well, and then proposed to retire and enjoy himself, or as he expressed it, to "eat, drink and be merry;" in which parable Jesus portrays the most honest and faultless conditions of wealth, and yet disapproves of it. 'Thou fool," He says, "this night thy soul shall be required of thee." "So,'1 He continues, "is he that layeth up treasure, and is not rich toward God." "Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth," is His further advice, "for where your treasure is there will your heart be also." And He observes in commenting on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, that the rich man had his good things in this life, and Lazarus will have his in the next; as if the same person could not have both. He commends those who have left "houses and lands for the king
dom of God's sake," and promises that ; they shall receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come, life everlasting." The incompatibility of holding this world's goods and at the same time espousing His cause He often asserts. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." "Go sell that thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven." To the ruler wno nad kept all His commandments from his youth up, but who was rich, He said, "Yet lackest thou one thing," which was to get rid of his riches. In explaining the parable of the sower, which was directed in part against wealth and the wealthy, He says, "The cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things choke the seed." "How hardly," He says at another time, "shall they which have riches enter the kingdom of Heaven. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven." And in confining the kingdom and cause of Christ to the poor He says, "Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. * * But woe unto you that are rich, for ye have received your consolation." "He hath filled the people with good things, and the rich He hath turned away empty."

  St. James, an associate of Jesus, who enforced His teachings, wrote soon after this as follows: "Go to now, ye rich men; weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter, ye have condemned and killed the just, and he doth not resist you."

  The practical measures which Christ proposed touching wealth were in the same spirit as these general views. To the ruler who came to Him desiring to enter His kingdom, He said, "Go sell all thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven." "Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth,'' He said elsewhere, "where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal." He also counseled those who would lend money, to "lend expecting to receive nothing. If ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye ? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as such again." He was opposed to usury, by which term He meant simply "interest," and condemned the receiving of money for the use of money in any shape, if not the receiving back of the principal itself. "There was a certain creditor," He relates with approval, "which had two debtors: the one owed him five hundred pence, and the other fifty, and when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both." "Take heed," is His perpetual caution, "and beware of covet- ousness;" as if this was the leading sin of His time.

  So radical was His position understood to be in this matter, that it is related that "the Pharisees, who were covetous, derided Him." His views on money and money-making, on brokerage, and on business enterprises generally, were understood to be as decided and uncompromising as on any other subject, and such as called forth the condemnation and ridicule of moneyed and business men. On going into the temple, where brokers and sellers were at their work, He upset the tables of the money changers, and drove out them that were trading and selling doves, and, like the socialist, Proud'hon, styled their business theft. "My house ye have made a den of thieves." La propriete c'est le vol. He commended the widow, however, who gave her mite; because in giving it "she gave of her substance," and gave all "she possessed." The apostles understood this feature of His movement to be socialistic, and availed themselves of their property sacrifices to challenge His admiration, and gain His favor. "Lord, we have forsaken all," they said, "What shall then be our reward?"

  Christ exhibited also like the socialist of modern times, a decided hostility toward priests and their clerical supporters, who have ever been the foremost enemies of the social and liberal movements, and the conservative upholders of wealth and society in its existing forms. It was against these—the ecclesiastical authorities—that He had specially to contend. He hated the Pharisees in particular, who were the Jesuits of His time, and spoke of them much as the French socialists speak of these worthies now. The liberal men of no age have had confidence in priests.

  Socialism of Christ—3

  Christ calls them "whited sepulchres full of dead men's bones;" "hypocrites, making for a pretence long prayers," and schemers choosing public places where they can make capital out of their devotions. "They bind," He says, "heavy burdens, grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But they love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and chief places and greetings in public, and to be called Rabbi, "a description which still applies to priests in the countries where the socialistic movements are mostly in progress; and where they are believed to give good advice, but not to follow it. "Now do ye, Pharisees," He continues, "make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God." "Woe unto you, Pharisees. * * Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them." And again, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocricy.

  He tells the people to do as they say, but not to do as they do. They suggested to Him, as He saw them going about like our fat priests, with their big bow-windowed fronts, that they had been devouring widows' houses.

  Thus the movement of Christ was, in general, one against both the civil and the ecclesiastical institutions; and the theories, passions, and impulses in it were those which generally accompany revolutions in the interest of the people.

  CHAPTER II

  CONTEMPLATED REVOLUTION

  I observe next that there was, by reason of this movement, and from the first was expected to be, a great conflict, or clash of authorities; that Christ's kingdom was not deemed reconcilable with the existing temporal kingdoms, but was expected to usurp their authority, and supplant them; in other words, that the Christian movement was revolutionary in a political sense.

  "Ye cannot," says Christ, "serve God and mammon," the Heavenly and the earthly kingdom. "No man can serve two masters; for either will he love the one and hate the other, or cling to one and despise the other." Ye cannot serve Christ and Caesar. The disciples were repeatedly instructed not to be conformed to the world, or existing s*ate of things, (aioni touto).

  Throwing off allegiance to Caesar, they were opposed to paying taxes or showing any marks of submission. When the tax collector came, on one occasion, Peter bluntly refused to pay him, and Christ defiantly asked : "Do the kings of the earth take tribute from strangers, or from their children?" as much as to say: Let Caesar get tribute from those who acknowledge Caesar. Christians owe allegiance only to Christ. And once, to avoid difficulty,and yet not compromise principle, Peter took the tax money from a fish's mouth and passively allowed it to go to pay his and Christ's dues; much as the non- resistant Quakers and Menonites do who will not pay war or civil taxes, but peaceably allow the collector to "take" them.

  The question was frequently asked by those who wished to embarrass Jesus or make Him commit Himself, "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar?" a question which He always evaded by some such answer as, "Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar; and to God what belongs to God," without making any concession to Caesar. When He was accused before Pilate, one of the charges was, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar." la various ways was Christ's disloyalty and that of His followers toward the existing government believed at the time to be manifested. An argument made before Pilate by the Jews was: "If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend. Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar." When some of His follo
wers were arrested, and brought before the rulers, it was said of them: "These all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar; saying that there is another King, one Jesus; and they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things." Others testified against Stephen in a speech of certain foreigners, "Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians and others of Asia," that "they heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and change the customs which Moses delivered to us." It was popularly reported of Christ that He intended to" restore all things;" meaning to some the old Jewish monarchy, to others the ancient Roman Republic and to others an entirely new form of society—in any event disloyalty to Caesar.

  Jesus seems to have excited the people against the laws generally, as well as against the monarchy and dynasty. He advised them not to go to court, but to compromise, or, if need be, to give up all their rights rather. "Agree with thine adversary," and keep out of the hands of the officer or judge, was His advice. "If any man take thy coat, give him thy cloak also." He had an unfavorable opinion of the law, as socialists now have, many of whom regard it as superfluous or oppressive, whence they are called "Anarchists." The lawyers are a class whom the socialists propose to abolish in their new system.

  Christ would dispense with even the Jewish law, which He thought had been fulfilled in Him, and, having served its purpose, was now worthless. He would make it, therefore, give way, with all other civil authority, to His reorganization of society. "The Law and the Prophets," He said, "were until John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man passeth into it." And so, throughout all His teachings, He is ostensibly in open opposition to the existing governments and order of society.