Hello, my siblings in Christ, I’m Bojan and today we will discuss the political stance of our God, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Which of these three ideologies presented would our Lord prefer?
Let us start with Communism. Historically, Communism wasn’t really… pro-religion. Let us put that aside right now. Christ taught things that Communism also proclaims. He taught us that we should care for the poor - and He went as far as to say that our ultimate destiny will practically depend solely upon how we treated the poorest of the poor. He taught us that all people are equal and that salvation is especially difficult for the rich.
But wait, my comrades in Christ, don’t go singing ‘Bella, ciao’ in the church just yet! What Communism and Christ teach are very different things. Christ came, among other things, to cleanse our hearts. Communism doesn’t care one bit for your heart. Christ knows that the best way to help the poor is by curing our heart, curing it from greed and other passions. Saint John Chrysostom, a millenia and half before Communism and capitalism, said it best: “If we take riches from the rich and give them to the poor, the rich will become agitated and the poor will be thankless.” You solve a social issue but you don’t touch the heart - and we could speak for hours on end whether the social issue is solved. And it’s not. It never is.
Whew, well, that makes Christ a capitalist then? Hehe, not so fast, my investors in Christ! … unless you’re heading over to Patreon to invest in this channel, love ya! See, Christ not being a Communist does not make him a capitalist, for the same reasons. Capitalism does not cure the heart. The failures of capitalism, when it comes to the human soul, are manifest plainly for all to see. Communism is a failure, but it is at least a well meaning failure; capitalism is a success, but it is a greedy, grabbing success. Unless tempered with lots of Christian charity (and by charity I don’t mean just just ‘love’ - I mean charity as in giving money to those less fortunate and those less capable than ourselves), capitalism is a ticking time bomb to hell.
Well, that makes Christ a monarchist, then. It makes perfect sense! All Christian nations used to be monarchies; kings and queens were anointed; Christ is called “the King of Kings”, you guys in the Catholic Church have the feast of “Christ the King”... So, Christ must be a monarchist, right? Well… no. For you see, my subjects and sovereigns in Christ, Christ’s kingdom is not of this world, and if you choose to proclaim a certain political system especially Jesus-y, you’re in for a disappointment. All the systems disappoint, and monarchy isn’t exempt. Christ being the King of Kings does not make some family’s arbitrary right to rule blessed by God. God can bless a monarch, true… but He can bless a president as well. Yes, we call Jesus the King of Kings, but that is because He does not die and His reign does not end - if we called Him the President of Presidents… well, who needs Christ as his or her president just for four years?
Christ should never be used as a political icon. No state on Earth can function with giving away its riches and forgiving its enemies. That is fine - Christ didn’t come to save states. States are the way fallen world works. We will forever use Christ as a mirror to our political ideologies - and either those ideologies will shatter before Him, or we will make a different Christ in our image, that is to say - an Antichrist.
Let us start with Communism. Historically, Communism wasn’t really… pro-religion. Let us put that aside right now. Christ taught things that Communism also proclaims. He taught us that we should care for the poor - and He went as far as to say that our ultimate destiny will practically depend solely upon how we treated the poorest of the poor. He taught us that all people are equal and that salvation is especially difficult for the rich.
But wait, my comrades in Christ, don’t go singing ‘Bella, ciao’ in the church just yet! What Communism and Christ teach are very different things. Christ came, among other things, to cleanse our hearts. Communism doesn’t care one bit for your heart. Christ knows that the best way to help the poor is by curing our heart, curing it from greed and other passions. Saint John Chrysostom, a millenia and half before Communism and capitalism, said it best: “If we take riches from the rich and give them to the poor, the rich will become agitated and the poor will be thankless.” You solve a social issue but you don’t touch the heart - and we could speak for hours on end whether the social issue is solved. And it’s not. It never is.
Whew, well, that makes Christ a capitalist then? Hehe, not so fast, my investors in Christ! … unless you’re heading over to Patreon to invest in this channel, love ya! See, Christ not being a Communist does not make him a capitalist, for the same reasons. Capitalism does not cure the heart. The failures of capitalism, when it comes to the human soul, are manifest plainly for all to see. Communism is a failure, but it is at least a well meaning failure; capitalism is a success, but it is a greedy, grabbing success. Unless tempered with lots of Christian charity (and by charity I don’t mean just just ‘love’ - I mean charity as in giving money to those less fortunate and those less capable than ourselves), capitalism is a ticking time bomb to hell.
Well, that makes Christ a monarchist, then. It makes perfect sense! All Christian nations used to be monarchies; kings and queens were anointed; Christ is called “the King of Kings”, you guys in the Catholic Church have the feast of “Christ the King”... So, Christ must be a monarchist, right? Well… no. For you see, my subjects and sovereigns in Christ, Christ’s kingdom is not of this world, and if you choose to proclaim a certain political system especially Jesus-y, you’re in for a disappointment. All the systems disappoint, and monarchy isn’t exempt. Christ being the King of Kings does not make some family’s arbitrary right to rule blessed by God. God can bless a monarch, true… but He can bless a president as well. Yes, we call Jesus the King of Kings, but that is because He does not die and His reign does not end - if we called Him the President of Presidents… well, who needs Christ as his or her president just for four years?
Christ should never be used as a political icon. No state on Earth can function with giving away its riches and forgiving its enemies. That is fine - Christ didn’t come to save states. States are the way fallen world works. We will forever use Christ as a mirror to our political ideologies - and either those ideologies will shatter before Him, or we will make a different Christ in our image, that is to say - an Antichrist.
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