Tax Increases and the Perils of Marxism

Defending Christian Ideals from the Communist Revolution

This past week the WA state legislature has voted to pass a 9.9% tax increase on high income earners of $1 million annually or more. You can read about it here if you would like to. Apparently, there was an amendment being floated about restricting it to the $1 million earners for the future, but that was not added, meaning there is room for our state government to also add an income tax on earners below that level in the future. This is on top of the many tax increases in WA state as of late from property taxes, gas taxes and more.

To be honest, I could not have predicted the sadness I felt when I heard that this bill passed.

Why do I care after all?

I don’t make $1 million annually.

I’m just a pastor, what do I know about economics and taxation?

Maybe it’s because wonderful people from our church and state keep leaving for greener pastures of lower taxes, lower home prices and a better business climate in other states.

I’m not totally sure, but I do feel that many people are being demoralized with mismanagement, corruption and higher taxation that squeezes the motivation out of people who aspire to be productive. I will stay in my lane as a pastor and tell you why I think its the ideology behind our ever increasing taxes in my beloved Evergreen State that’s the most dangerous.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Are Taxes Biblical?

First of all the Bible tells us to honor governing authorities and pay our taxes (Romans 13) as long as obeying the government does not stop us from obeying God (Acts 4:19). But we also have warnings about how governing authorities can abuse their power and government can demand too much of its people. When Israel wanted a king God warned them through the prophet Samuel that a king would want their best and would even want a tithe on many things (1 Samuel 8). The warning was that a king would require as much as God.

The sentiment I hear from people that are supportive of the “millionaire-tax” is that the “rich should finally pay their fair share.” I think fairness in taxation is right. But the sentiment seems to imply that profits are evil. In the Bible, the love of money is evil when we worship money as a god (1 Timothy 6:10, Matthew 6:24). But money itself is not evil because we also learn in the Bible that God gives us the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). He is not giving us power for evil.

Greed is clearly condemned throughout Scripture, but why is it greedy for people to want to keep their own money and not greedy for people to demand other people’s money who have more? Throughout the Bible we see that there are righteous and unrighteous wealthy people and righteous and unrighteous poor people. Profits if used for human flourishing and God’s glory are good. Taxes are Biblical within boundaries but become oppressive when profits for honest work are treated as evil.

Wealth Redistribution and 5 Points of Marxism

While some are sad over our states tax policies, others are filled with glee over “the rich paying their fair share.” Our governor said that this tax will allow the rich to pay more and now special tax cuts will go to families in need and small business owners. Underlying it all is a dangerous and anti-Christ ideology call Marxism or Communism. I’m not saying that raising taxes is Marxist all the time. But the idea of wealth redistribution by the state and attack against profits as evil is Marxist. We need to be aware of the ideas that influence policy and governance. As Darrow Miller puts it well in his work Discipling Nations, “Ideas have consequences.” We can pass policies, laws and taxes but we cannot separate the consequences from the choices we institute. I want to share 5 points of Marxism as summarized by Jordan B. Cooper from his recent work as a scholar, Makers of the Modern Mind(1) and expand on why these things are damaging to our faith and society from a Christian point of view:

1. “There is no transcendence or immaterial reality.

Following Feuerbach, Marx believes that there exists only the physical world, and all must be understood by means of material reality.”

Many Christians have embraced Marx on the Left of American politics and think that Marxism reflects some of the same values of Christ, since Jesus cares for the poor. It’s foolish to think that material Marxism supports the ways of Jesus or that caring for the poor in Jesus name means anything resembling Marxism. Marxism is anti-Christian at its root because it creates a completely materialistic framework. To Marx sin, evil, God, Satan, spiritual consequences, etc. do not exist. Why is this dangerous? It strips society and policy of truth because it wipes out all metaphysical belief.

2. “Marx believes that people are defined by their social relations, rather than as distinct persons or substances.

Second, Marx believes that people are defined by their social relations, rather than as distinct persons or substances. For Marx, this rationality is economic, but later thinkers expand this socio-relational anthropology to gender, sexuality, and race.”

People are lumped together in groups and defined by their class or social environment. This removes the idea of people being personally responsible for their life and the consequences of their choices. The reason people are poor in the Bible is not always because they are oppressed but also because they make poor choices. Sin brings a curse and obedience brings a blessing. Marxism doesn’t account for this.

3. “People can broadly be divided into exploiters (the bourgeoisie) and the exploited (the proletariat).”

While, again, this is an economic issue for Marx, this division between classes later becomes the groundwork for broader oppressor and oppressed dichotomies used in feminism, critical race theory, and queer theory.”

There is some truth to the idea of power being a corrupting influence in the Scripture but the Marxist view of the “haves” and “have-nots” or “oppressor” vs. “oppressed” creates an oversimplified view to measure everything by. There are too many factors to account for why people are rich, powerful, poor, influential or overlooked. This leads to jealousy, blame, and oppressive thinking by keeping people in bondage to their conditions thinking that all progress in their life is being hindered due to someone more powerful than them.

4. “Marx believes that society is progressing, and that improvement means destroying the past rather than preserving it.

Real change in society is and must be revolutionary.” It’s so easy to tear something apart. How long does it take to demo a house? A day or even an hour with heavy equipment? How long does it take to build that same house? It could take months or over a year sometimes. Destroying the past causes people to lose their sense of story and legacy. Customs, culture, norms and both good and bad stories of the past are important to be remembered so that we can learn lessons from those who have gone before us.

5. “For Marx and Engels, this revolution ultimately means the loss of traditional structures in society, including organized religion and the traditional family structure.”

The deconstruction of religion and family breaks down the most important fundamental building blocks of culture and society. Our belief in God and the importance of God’s first institution of marriage and family hold our world together. But to Marxists, revolution is all that matters. Many will argue that true Communism has not been tried, that’s because the worldview of Marxism always self destructs just in its build up to the dreamed up utopia. As Communist prisoner Richard Wurmbrand said after his experience in Romanian prisons, “Don’t believe the newspapers when they say that the Communists only hate Christians or Jews — it’s not true. They simply hate. They hate everybody. They hate Jews, they hate Christians, they hate anti-Semites, they hate anti-Christians, they hate everybody. One Communist hates the other Communist. They quarrel among themselves, and when they quarrel one Communist with the other, they put the other one in jail and torture him just like a Christian, and they beat him.” The Revolution of Marxism makes great promises but has a devastating track record throughout history.

In Conclusion

Taxes going up doesn’t guarantee that people support communism or that they are Marxists. However, I think if you look under the hood of what is driving many of our progressive states, it’s a far-leftist radical agenda to break down business as evil, redefine marriage and break up or replace families. These ideas come from somewhere and these ideas have consequences. If we don’t examine the foundations that we build our policy and taxes upon, we can end up in horrible place. Christians we need to wake up and educate our children about the power of ideas. Voting right or left won’t save your soul, but what we build upon matters for us, our neighbors and for our children. We need to let our voices be heard in prayer, voting, education and media.

States that are passing Marxist type policies in morals and economics as well as teaching these things in our schools are the same places nationally where churches and Christians are least likely to be found. I love our state and I’m here to pray and obey and make a difference for the cause of Christ. The disciples of Jesus had to deal with oppressive taxes from Rome and God provided for them. He will be faithful to us now.

1. Cooper, Jordan B. Makers of the Modern Mind, p. 143-144.