"Jesus the Capitalist"

This one gets my vote for best weekend read. It's not something you would normally find on Drudge, and in fact, I didn't. It's from the hard working news junkies and reconnoiter artists at Pajamasmedia and the piece is titled, Jesus the Capitalist.

Many on the left often "scripture shop" to argue their opinion that Christ and the first Christians practiced socialism. Nay, nay collectivist breath! They did pool their assets in order to prolong their time together after the first Pentecost, but after a time, they returned to their communities. They didn't become collectivists, nor did anyone force anybody to sell personal property for the sake of others. If they did give, it was always a free-will offering.

If you have any curiosity whatsoever as to the real socio-economic recommendations set forth throughout the Bible, give this succinct article a few minutes of your attention. This guy obviously reads the Book and backs it up with footnotes.

Here are a couple of paragraphs:

A farmer had some crops that needed to be harvested and he hired day laborers, agreeing to pay them $100 for working a 12-hour shift. The farmer was in a hurry to get his crops harvested, so he went out again two hours into the shift and hired more workers. He continued to look for laborers throughout the day, bringing in more laborers every hour. Finally, at seven o’clock, one hour before sunset, he brought in a dozen more workers to help finish the job.

He then lined the workers up to give them their pay and he paid first the workers who had only worked an hour. Those who stood, sweat dripping from their bodies from a 12-hour shift, smiled when they saw the one-hour hires get $100. They figured that meant they’d get paid extra. But to their horror, the farmer also paid them only $100.

They confronted the capitalist with the charges of favoritism and unjust discrimination. Rather than offering arbitration, the farmer responded, “I’m not doing you any wrong. Didn’t you agree to work for $100? Take your money and leave. I’ll pay the people who worked an hour the same as I paid you. Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want with my own money?”

Who is this capitalist exploiter of workers who thinks he can pay people whatever he wants?

Most theologians will tell you this landowner represents none other than Christ himself. The names, currencies, and exact quotes have been changed, but the essence of the story Christ told in Matthew 20 hasn’t. It’s a helpful story to remember when Michael Moore is out telling us that capitalism is anti-Jesus.

There are many other fine points the author points out in the Old and New Testaments which encourage capitalism and the free market.

Read the entire piece, it's just a couple of pages in length. Then, you might as well dust off the family Bible and start reading it...a few chapters a day and you can easily knock it out in 6 months or so. Do it! You'll be glad you did.