A Capitalist Jesus?

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

I have been leading a Bible study group almost every Saturday at my house. A careless reading of the Bible can lead to serious misinterpretations. Context is very important.

I have been constantly surprised by how people on the Right try to make Jesus into a capitalist. If you go on Amazon.com’s website, you can actually find a book by this title. This is both sad and comical. Jesus’s word and teachings are constantly being appropriated to suit various political and ideological agendas. But the fact that such misappropriation is possible reflects a general lack of literacy and critical thinking ability among the readers. The proper reading of Scripture requires a high level of sophistication and literary skills. Most readers do not meet such requirements. There are many Christians who identify themselves as “biblical Christians.” But how meaningful is such statement if they read the Bible without proper understanding?

The all-time favorite parable of Jesus for those on the Right is the Parable of Talents (Matthew 25: 14–30) . According to this parable, a master embarks on a long journey. Before he leaves, he gives to his servants various amounts of money. One servant is given 5 talents. Another is given 2 talents. And a third one is given 1 talent. When the master returns from his trip, two of the servants are each about to…