The Jungle on Jesus

Towards the end of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, a Socialist ex-preacher rails on the way a capitalist society has twisted the character of Jesus:

“And why should Jesus have nothing to do with his church—why should his words and his life be of no authority among those who profess to adore him? Here is a man who was the world’s first revolutionist, the true founder of the Socialist movement; a man whose whole being was one flame of hatred for wealth, and all that wealth stands for—for the pride of wealth, and the luxury of wealth, and the tyranny of wealth; who was himself a beggar and a tramp, a man of the people, an associate of saloon-keepers and women of the town; who again and again, in the most explicit language, denounced wealth and the holding of wealth: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth!’—‘Sell that ye have and give alms!’—‘Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of Heaven!’—‘Woe unto you that are rich, for ye have received your consolation!’—‘Verily, I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of Heaven!’ Who denounced in unmeasured terms the exploiters of his own time: ‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!’—‘Woe unto you also, you lawyers!’—‘Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?’ Who drove out the business men and brokers from the temple with a whip! Who was crucified—think of it—for an incendiary and a disturber of the social order! And this man they have made into the high-priest of property and smug respectability, a divine sanction of all the horrors and abominations of modern commercial civilization! Jewelled images are made of him, sensual priests burn incense to him, and modern pirates of industry bring their dollars, wrung from the toil of helpless women and children, and build temples to him, and sit in cushioned seats and listed to his teachings expounded by doctors of dusty divinity…” (emphasis mine)

Capitalism isn’t the great problem of the world as Sinclair might suggest, and socialism isn’t the great solution, but I think he’s hit upon a lot of truth here.

How Christians (myself included) get so mixed up about wealth is beyond me.

Political Leanings And April 15

Tuesday night was the last night in what has been a drawn out process of doing my taxes for this year.

As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, I’m generally apathetic or ambivalent about a lot of political topics, and paying taxes is one of them.

For most of the year, my feelings are mixed—I realize that taxes help pay for important things like education and road maintenance, but at the same time am annoyed at how much of my paycheck goes to the government.

However, when it comes time to file my taxes, my feelings quickly polarize.

The first few years I had to file taxes, I never had enough withheld, and always ended up having to write a sizable check to the IRS. When this happened, I would basically become a libertarian—Taxes are too high! Why do I even have to pay taxes at all? I should be able to spend my money how I want to! After all, the government didn’t earn my paycheck, I did! Why do we even need a federal government?

Then, a couple of years ago, I basically broke even. I owed a little bit to the state of Arkansas, but I got a little back from the Federal government. That was okay, if a little anti-climactic.

Last year, I think I got $300 back, and I was pumped. It was like Christmas! And my opinions changed sharply—Of course taxes are a good thing! I can afford to give some money to the government for the greater good! How could we even function without a federal government? Wasn’t it Thomas Hobbes who said in Leviathan that without government individuals would be in a state of constant conflict and our lives would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”?

So I know what you’re wondering: how did my taxes come out this year? I’m getting almost $800 back.

That’s right; for the next week or so, I’m basically a socialist.


Note to readers: My understanding of taxes, while admittedly limited, is not as simplistic as this post might make you believe. Please refrain from informing me in your comments that whether or not I receive a refund doesn’t actually justify or condemn the current tax system.