New Evangelizers Post: Christianity and Communism

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  

A few days ago, I had a friend of mine ask me what are the differences between Christianity and Communism. He asked because some of his associates were stating that the two world-views were compatible with each other.

Communism is the political/social system where the government owns property and the means of production and is supposed evenly distributes the resources to its people so that no one is in need. Karl Marx, the founder of Communism, believed that if everyone had their bodily needs met and everyone was equal, then you could attain a utopia on Earth. Throughout history, Communism has led to the brutal subjugation and mass murder of millions. And still, there are those who claim that there is some compatibility between this and Christianity. This is despite the fact that Communism is explicitly atheistic.

Those who take this view often cite Acts of the Apostles Chapter 4, where it says, “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. “ (Acts 4:32). On a surface level, it sounds like a Communist utopia where goods are evenly distributed. But that is only on a superficial view. Once you dig even a little bit down, you can see how the two cannot be compatible.

As we see in the quote above, the Bible does say that the ancient Christians shared their goods in common and distributed to those in need. But the reasons and goal are very different than the Communists. Even if an action has a similar result, the intention can make a huge difference. For example, one man may kill a man and another man may kill a different man. Both acts are homicide. But the reason and the goals of each killer may radically alter the meaning of the action. One may be murder, but another may be self-defense or an accident or something else entirely.

The early Christians laid their possessions at the feet of the Apostles to demonstrate their complete surrender to God. It is God, through the administration of the Apostles, who will providing for the needs of the poor. In Communism, people’s property is confiscated by force and redistributed evenly. On the Communist view, the men who run the state are given supreme authority over the individuals. For the early Christians, God is supreme, which is why Peter says in chapter 5 of Acts “It is better to obey God rather than men.” In Communism, it is better to obey men, rather than God.

Notice that the act of surrender on the Christian is an individual choice, an act of charity and love. Becoming a Christian is a free commitment, but it is a full commitment, like marriage. In ideal Communism and ideal Christianity, both should result in every individual having their material needs met. But it will end up having very different results because it is done for different reasons

You can read the whole article here.