Jesus and Class Warfare

Plenty of Marxists have turned to the New Testament and the origins of Christianity. Memorable examples include the works of F.D. Maurice and Zhu Weizhi’s Jesus the Proletarian. After criticizing how so many translations of the New Testament soften Jesus’ teachings regarding material possessions, greed, and wealth, Orthodox theologian David Bentley Hart has gone so far to ask, “Are Christians supposed to be Communists?” In the Huffington Post, Dan Arel has even claimed that “Jesus was clearly a Marxist, not by name, but by ideology.” With a title like Jesus: A Life in Class Conflict, one might assume that this volume, produced by Bible scholars James Crossley and Robert J. Myles, is another disposable piece of popular nonfiction, wedging Jesus into the authors’ political mold. Thankfully, this is not that kind of book. Read Full Article »