Letter - Was Jesus Christ really a communist?

For one with a bit of knowledge of the relevant history, the notion that Christians should support the communist ideal is tragically absurd.

Some of the worst persecutions in the history of Christianity were suffered under the communist regimes of the Soviet Union, in furtherance of the universal statewide atheism mandated by the communist “ideal.”

Part of Morgan’s error no doubt stems from the fact that the “-isms” of political ideology tend to mean very different things to different people, particularly amongst laypersons who are not usually acquainted with the ideologies as they were actually set out by their creators and original proponents.

This is particularly evident with communism, about which people often make the erroneous claim, like Morgan, that – although in practice it has proven to be one of the worst, most oppressive forms of government – the communist “ideal” is actually very noble and good.

In speaking thus, rather than looking to the ideology as it was actually set out by its original proponents, like Marx and Lenin, people are actually idealizing the ideology of communism, usually by selecting certain elements or principles thought to be beneficial, while ignoring the remainder.

There are certain good and beneficial elements to all political ideologies. Part of the problem, however, is that ideologies tend to be too rigid in their conception of how reality – which is quite complex – is or ought to work, rather than taking a more pragmatic approach.

Christianity transcends affiliation with any particular ideology as its social teaching (which is only one part of the Christian message) bears resemblance to various aspects of different political ideologies, including conservatism, which Morgan’s letter unfortunately caricatures according to commonly-held negative stereotypes.

Those who would seek to claim Jesus Christ as a supporter of their political ideology would do well to remember that He came not as a political or social liberator (to the chagrin of some of the expectant Israelites) but as a spiritual one, and that as He Himself said, His “Kingdom is not of this world.”

J.P. Rank
Sudbury