One of the things that bugs me about politics is the consistent parallel between religious beliefs and political views. Now don't get me wrong, in no way is it out of line to let one's faith influence their thoughts on this country's state or projected path. However, there does seem to be little wiggle room when it comes between picking God or picking government.
Take this for example; I'm a Christian from an affluent, conservative neighborhood. My parents are republicans and Christians as well, a combo that seems prevalent not only in my community but across this entire nation. People of my faith often champion themselves as proponents of Second Amendment rights, the pro-life movement and limited government intervention, but that's not the issue. What bothers me the most is that being a Christian in today's society has become all but synonymous with being a conservative. And really, the correlation is quite ironic.
It seems fairly obvious that Christianity is a culture of its own, and therefore carries with it ideas on everything from environmentalism to the treatment of the LGBTQ community. Again, this is all well and good, but there seems to be a divide among Christians when pledging allegiance to the credences of the church and committing to the values at the core of the faith.
I was struck a couple months ago when I was reading the book of Acts, the fifth book of the New Testament. Many of the initial chapters summarize and detail the early post-Christ church; its inception, growth and initial practices in a still Christian-repressive society. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary in terms of things I learned in Sunday school, but that was until I hit this passage:
"And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity-all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people." -Acts 2:44-47a NLT
Wait a second...that doesn't seem to be conservative policy, right? This early biblical society is void of trickle down money for the poor and doesn't even present a semblance of capitalism. No, there is an undeniable communal pact between the members for the church: that they will use their resources to provide for each other. And is that (dare I say the S-word) socialism?
As it turns out, many of Jesus' teachings were targeted at improving the lives of "the least of these" (Matthew 25:40), and at times this even came through him encouraging the rich to renounce their worldly possessions as a sacrifice to him and for the benefit of the poor (see the story of the rich young ruler at Mark 10:21-22). It was a God-enforced version of philanthropy, but was it much different than the socialism that Christians outrightly condemn today?
Whether or not it is government's place to enforce these ideals is an entirely different debate. It could easily be argued that government complicates and nullifies the effect of these "socialist" concepts and that the redistribution of wealth should be left in the hands of churches and people. The point, however, is that fiscal conservatism and Christianity do not go hand in hand.
Bigger picture, the current presidential election has offered possibly the greatest irony of all. Bernie Sanders, a man who claims not to be "particularly religious" ran on a the platform of a socialist America, adopting and adapting concepts preached by Christ and practiced by the church thousands of years ago. In a blindfold test, its provoking to ask oneself this: is socialism, at the fiscal level, the political sect that most reflects the preachings of Jesus himself? The answer might be surprising.
