Thursday, March 02, 2006

Individualism vs. Collectivism in Biblical Christianity

Christianity recognizes that individual rights come first; that because man is sinful he wishes to take away the rights of others and that for order and justice to prevail all God given rights must be preserved, except when 1)justice has already determined that an evil doer has forfeited his right because he unlawfully took it from others 2)a person or nation takes away rights in self-defence 3)in a time of emergency and absolute necessity. Individualism as meaning that the state is for the individual not the individual for the state is embraced by Biblical Christianity but Christianity also recognizes that the individuals will only get out of the state what is put in. Collectivism means “the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution by the people collectively; socialism” this idea is anti-Christian when it is forced on to people (Communism) with out their consent and is opposite of the known nature of man. I would propose that it only works well in a group of Christians who are all directly guided by a very strong leader.