The Maker Versus the Takers

A close reading of the Gospels, taking history and archeology into account, demolishes the myth of a socialist Jesus.

Theologians virtually ignore the economic commentary in the Bible. In the few cases where it gets any attention, economic commentary in the Gospels and other New Testament writings tend to lapse into simplistic class warfare nostrums. Liberation theologians import Marxism wholesale (but they try to sell it retail) into theology. Academic historians of 1st Century Palestine/Judea have been pushing an account of a poor peasant Jesus leading a poor peasant's revolt based on the idea of mass displaced workers in Lower Galilee. The problem is the actual archeological findings paint a picture of an industrious and entrepreneurial economy during Jesus's time there. Reading the Gospels in light of archeology and history, which are now available to us, gives us a very different picture than the one you’ve been told regarding what Jesus taught about work and money.

Jerry Bowyer is a financial economist, a public speaker for business conferences, a frequent radio and television guest, an author and a journalist. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, Susan, and the youngest three of their seven children.