Berean Todd said:
Yes I do mean at a governmental level. I don't think that the Bible really clearly supports ANY economic system or setup in my opinion. To try and make it is to stretch and twist the text, but there are guidelines. I'm not advocating paying for women who want to never work and churn out kids 12 at a time to eat up more welfare.
If you can work, you should work, that is Biblical. But I do support things like national health care, helps for the poor, increased minimum wage, etc. Yes, I do think that such things are with Biblical principles, and would classify myself therefore as a socialist.
Berean Todd has it right. The only examples we have in the NT of "Christian" economic models is close to socialism. I'd say it's actually communism in the most literal sense. But "communism" implies dictatorship, and we Christians are in a monarchy with Christ as king... but our economic model from the NT is definitely commune in nature. Both the early church sharing possessions and the Widows List are excellent examples.
Capitalism is a very, very self centered model. It is fair in one sense, in that it protects private property and efforts. But, it makes it very hard for those in the lower strata of our system to come upwards. It keeps the rich, rich.. and allows for a middle class, but it's a "fight it out" kind of system.
Remember, we're mostly talking about economic models that humans can influence. We Christians are under a different rule. We are told to submit to our earthly governments, but we are called to share, give, serve, and sacrifice.
It's a difficult notion to try and compare God's economic principles to earthly models. It's almost an apples to oranges comparison. However, I think we can try to see which earthly model fits closest to God's. But this brings up another very important issue.
Is the government responsible for social justice, or should we as individuals be responsible for social justice? Unfortunately, if anybody insists on being black and white about this, it won't work because we're dealing with sin. But, in general, if society is unable to provide justice... then the government should... even though it would be better if society did. Any model that involves people will have heaps of problems!
EDIT: I used to be a bleeding heart Republican and a extreme right winger as well. What changed my perspective. I was in Central America on a mission and was able to participate in a debate between an local and another right-wing American Christian. The contrast was thick, as were the fallacies of the American position. I am now an independent and only concerned about what God thinks, and nothing more. Much of right wing fundamentals is simply politics and not biblically based. Either that or the bible is a big book of contradictions since some fundamentalists want to burn all Homosexuals, yet Christ shows so much love and mercy. No wonder the American Church has such a bad reputation around the world - all these fundamentalists running around singing "God Bless America". Guess how the rest of the world sees this? They see Homo-hating American Christians, who want to kill anything that threatens itself praying to God to bless their superpower country. If you can't see the problem with this, I give up.
