Socialism vs. Scripture: Understanding the Spiritual Danger of This Ideology

As the 2024 American election approaches, voters face a stark choice: the survival of a nation built on individual freedom or the allure of socialism, which is increasingly creeping into the American mainstream. What people don’t often realize, is that this isn’t just a political debate—it’s a spiritual and moral one.

Socialism, once synonymous with failure and oppression, now finds support among a growing segment of Americans, especially the younger generation. One poll noted that 61% of those between the ages of 18 and 24 thought positively of socialism. Another poll said that 43% of Americans thought some form of socialism would be a good thing for the United States. The popularity of socialism in the United States is due in part to the political popularity of politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but it is also clear that many young people embrace socialism without really understanding what socialism is.

This election year, the question is bigger than political candidates or parties. The rise of socialism threatens the very values upon which this nation was built—values rooted in Scripture. Politicians may promise utopia, but history and the Bible show that socialism’s path leads to ruin. Socialism isn’t just an economic theory; it’s a worldview that rejects the core truths of Scripture, the necessity of work, private property, and the very sinfulness of man. Behind its promises of equality and fairness lurks a system fundamentally opposed to biblical principles and human nature.

Defining Socialism

Socialism is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” Although there are different variants of socialism, governmental control over production and distribution is the common denominator in most cases. Thus, the heart of socialism is the control and ownership of means of production and their distribution by the government.

Historically, socialism has been viewed as a complete and abysmal failure. Thomas Sowell, famed Stanford economist, made the famous statement, “Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.” Similarly, Margaret Thatcher famously noted that socialism was doomed to fail because, “eventually you run out of other people’s money.”

The most recent example of socialism’s failure is the country of Venezuela. Venezuela was once the richest country in South America, now it is on the brink of financial collapse. Socialism has always left behind it ruin and catastrophe. But why doesn’t it work? And in the face of it not working, why is it that people continue to want it?

Socialism is attractive to the masses because it appeals to the inherent sin nature and anti-God mindset. Socialism promises to fulfill your desires while promising to never let someone else get ahead of you. As such, socialism is an anti-God, anti-creation, anti-biblical system. This can be demonstrated in at least the following ways.

Socialism advocates communal property, but the Bible advocates private property.

Built into creation is the mandate that humans work (Gen 2:15). Work is a pre-Fall, good gift from the Creator. Although work was made more difficult by the Fall (Gen 3:17-19), personal effort will still lead to one’s own bread (Gen 3:19). Work inherently produces a positive benefit, either in the form of compensation or else in the accomplishment of the task itself. The biblical notion of work carries with it the important idea of private property.

Laws like Exodus 22:1-4 assume that individuals own personal property and that any violation of that property must be restored to the individual owner plus additional restitution. Some laws forbade taking some personal property as collateral for a loan because it was the livelihood of that family (Deut 24:6). Additionally, New Testament texts like Matthew 6:1-4 and 1 Timothy 6:17-19 assume helping the needy from one’s personal wealth, not government intervention.

Socialism advocates forced redistribution, the Bible prohibits theft.

The thing about socialism is that it can’t work without taking away the liberty and freedom of citizens. Socialism only works if the government can force individuals to give up their property (money or assets) to the whims or desires of the state. If even a few prominent citizens did not want to give up their assets, the system couldn’t get off the ground. Thus, the system of socialism necessitates forced redistribution.

On the other hand, the Bible prohibits theft (Exod 20:15; Deut 5:19), which can be defined simply as “taking what belongs to another.” This of course assumes the importance of private property, and the importance of individual freedom to use that property how one chooses. Although some would rationalize the “steal from the rich and give to the poor” Robin Hood mindset, this is incongruent with a biblical worldview.

Socialism promotes laziness, the Bible promotes discipline and hard work.

One of the fatal flaws of socialism is the disregard for the production of the individual. This is why it has often been observed that, if an individual will receive the same compensation regardless of work output, most individuals will choose to work less. Or, to put it in a personal setting, if I do 100% of the work, but have to share 50% of my earnings with others, then I become extremely unmotivated to work as hard anymore. I will be content in receiving the compensation from others who work hard while I sweat less. This is human nature (see last point).  

In contrast, in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 Paul speaks strongly against the idea of laziness. He even commands in verse 10, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” As Paul says elsewhere, “The laborer deserves his wages” (1 Tim 5:18). The biblical worldview understands there is an important relationship between effort and compensation. Compensation should be commensurate to the work of the individual—this promotes a good work ethic and is the way God intended.

Socialism assumes the goodness of mankind, the Bible assumes the sinfulness of mankind.

This is perhaps the foundational error of socialism. Socialism assumes that even though the self-centered incentives for hard work are removed, individuals will keep working hard in order to provide for their fellow man out of decency. In other words, socialism assumes the goodness of man to be utilitarian.

The truth is that humanity is dead in their sins (Eph 2:1) and they actively suppress the truth of God (Rom 1:20-21). As sinners, mankind consistently seeks after their own (sinful) desires (Rom 8:5; cf. Gal 5:19-21). This is, of course, why socialism can never work—because since Genesis 3, each individual is tainted with selfishness that only the new life in Christ can remedy.

Conclusion

While there is much more that could be said about the practical and historical failures of socialism, this post focuses on its deeper, biblical flaws. Socialism is not just a political ideology—it’s a worldview that stands in direct opposition to the truths of Scripture. It undermines personal responsibility, private property, and the biblical mandate for work, while assuming a false belief in the inherent goodness of humanity. As the 2024 elections come and go, we must remember that socialism doesn’t fail because of poor implementation—it fails because it denies God’s design for human life and society. In rejecting socialism, we are not merely making an economic choice but standing firm on biblical principles that have sustained freedom and justice for generations. Let us discern wisely and choose a path that aligns with God’s truth.

Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash