![]() ![]() “But didn’t Christ say he came to uphold the law?” you ask. The fact is, one can scour the Scriptures with a fine-tooth comb and find nary a word from Christ that endorses the forcible redistribution of wealth by political authorities. Christ said nothing like “It belongs to Caesar if Caesar simply says it does, no matter how much he wants, how he gets it, or how he chooses to spend it.” But notice that everything depends on just what did truly belong to Caesar and what didn’t, which is actually a rather powerful endorsement of property rights. It’s found first in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22, verses 15–22 and later in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verses 13–17. “Didn’t He answer, ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s’ when the Pharisees tried to trick Him into denouncing a Roman-imposed tax?” Yes indeed, He did say that. I wondered, “How could the same Christ advocate the use of force to take stuff from some and give it to others?” I just couldn’t imagine Him supporting a fine or a jail sentence for people who don’t want to fork over their money for food stamp programs. He constantly stressed inner, spiritual renewal as far more critical to well-being than material things. That decision was clearly to be a very personal one - an individual and voluntary choice. In Christ’s view, the most important decision a person would make in his earthly lifetime was to accept or reject Him for whom He claimed to be - God in the flesh and the savior of mankind. I first heard something similar to this cliché some 40 years ago. You can be a person of any faith or no faith at all. You don’t have to be a Christian to appreciate the deceit in this canard. Reed wishes readers to understand that his personal perspective is not intended to proselytize for any particular faith or church but to illuminate his interpretation of the moral and economic dimension of Christ.) An expanded version of this essay is now available as an e-book, pdf, and audio book here. ![]() (Editor’s Note: As an organization unaffiliated with any particular faith, FEE encourages other perspectives on such matters. #42 - “Jesus Christ Was a Progressive Because He Advocated Income Redistribution to Help the Poor” See the index of the published chapters here. The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is proud to partner with Young America’s Foundation (YAF) to produce “Clichés of Progressivism,” a series of insightful commentaries covering topics of free enterprise, income inequality, and limited government. ![]()
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