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We have had one previous opportunity to examine this author, and he did not fair well.
He pretends to be a sober commentator on religious matters, cloaking his presentation in Scripture references and a scholarly veneer. But in actual fact he is a political leftist who interprets the Bible and Jesus through a progressive lens. This of course creates all sorts of problem, since Jesus was in no way a Socialist.
We need to be clear about the reason the author writes: He did not write to explain, clarify, or provide information about Jesus or Christianity. His purpose is to reinforce The Narrative. The Narrative is the leftist talking points disseminated all over the media landscape. They become sacred truth through endless repetition and withering criticism directed towards those who disagree.
We have had one previous opportunity to examine this author, and he did not fair well.
He pretends to be a sober commentator on religious matters, cloaking his presentation in Scripture references and a scholarly veneer. But in actual fact he is a political leftist who interprets the Bible and Jesus through a progressive lens. This of course creates all sorts of problem, since Jesus was in no way a Socialist.
We need to be clear about the reason the author writes: He did not write to explain, clarify, or provide information about Jesus or Christianity. His purpose is to reinforce The Narrative. The Narrative is the leftist talking points disseminated all over the media landscape. They become sacred truth through endless repetition and withering criticism directed towards those who disagree.
The reader would do well to understand this.
Readings for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Isaiah 58:7-10; Psalm112:4-9; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16. (Let's quote:
Is. 58:7-10 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
Ps. 112:9 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. 5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. 6 Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered for ever. 7 He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. 9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures for ever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
1Co. 2:1-5 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
Mt. 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Now with the cited Scriptures before us, let's see how [or if] the author applies them.)
For the past two weeks, I've been saying (here and here) something that makes some people nervous: that the teachings of Jesus and the practice of the earliest Christian communities contain themes that can only be described as Marxist, socialist, even communist. (The author will never define these terms.)
Not in the caricatured sense tossed around on talk shows. Not in the Cold War sense. But in the deeply biblical sense-- rooted in shared bread, structural justice, and God's bias toward the poor.
Today's readings don't retreat from that claim. They double down.
Let's start with the prophet and then move on to the Psalms, Paul, and Jesus.
Isaiah 58: God's Politics of Bread
In Book of Isaiah 58, God is not interested in private piety detached from public justice. (The author jumps to a conclusion without providing any of the requisite logical steps. The first step is to identify who Isaiah was exhorting. That is, who is "you?" Is "you" the government and its obligations? Well of course not. Isaiah tells his readers to share their food, not create a government program.)
Today's readings don't retreat from that claim. They double down.
Let's start with the prophet and then move on to the Psalms, Paul, and Jesus.
Isaiah 58: God's Politics of Bread
In Book of Isaiah 58, God is not interested in private piety detached from public justice. (The author jumps to a conclusion without providing any of the requisite logical steps. The first step is to identify who Isaiah was exhorting. That is, who is "you?" Is "you" the government and its obligations? Well of course not. Isaiah tells his readers to share their food, not create a government program.)
Isaiah says: Share your bread with the hungry. Shelter the oppressed and the homeless. Clothe the naked. Remove oppression from your midst.
This is not charity as a hobby. This is social reorganization. The prophet does not say, "Pray more and the hungry will be spiritually nourished." He says: share your bread. Bread is economic. Bread is material. Bread is about who owns what and who eats. (The second step is to determine ownership. Who owns what will be charitably given? One can only give what one possesses.
This is not charity as a hobby. This is social reorganization. The prophet does not say, "Pray more and the hungry will be spiritually nourished." He says: share your bread. Bread is economic. Bread is material. Bread is about who owns what and who eats. (The second step is to determine ownership. Who owns what will be charitably given? One can only give what one possesses.
In Socialism there is no such thing as "your bread." It belongs to the state. One cannot give what one does not own. So the author is not making the case for a moral obligation to feed the poor. He's advocating for institutional restructure.)
The prophet assumes something structural: hunger is not accidental. Homelessness is not random. Oppression is not an individual moral failure; it is embedded in systems. (The third step is proper application. Because the author is a Socialist his world view is that there is no such thing as individual interests. There is only the state. Therefore there is no individual action, obligations, or privileges. There is no collection of individual interests, there is only one interest.
The prophet assumes something structural: hunger is not accidental. Homelessness is not random. Oppression is not an individual moral failure; it is embedded in systems. (The third step is proper application. Because the author is a Socialist his world view is that there is no such thing as individual interests. There is only the state. Therefore there is no individual action, obligations, or privileges. There is no collection of individual interests, there is only one interest.
That's why he lays the problem at the feet of the "system." The system is the problem, not the individual. The system bears responsibility and must be dismantled because of its oppression and intentional infliction of inequality.)
And the remedy is not spiritualization-- it is redistribution. (The fourth step is proper prescription. The author creates a false binary choice based on his previous premises. However, there are more than these two choices.
If we admit the idea that compassion is solely an individual obligation because only individuals can be compassionate, then the author's entire house of cards collapses.)
Psalm112:4-9
The Responsorial Psalm is often read as describing personal virtue. But listen carefully.
"Lavishly he gives to the poor."
"He conducts his affairs with justice."
The psalmist describes someone whose economic behavior is transformed. The just person lends without exploitation. He is not shaken by "evil report." He is steadfast in justice.
This is not the portrait of a nationalist strongman obsessed with dominance. It is not the image of someone defending borders, hoarding wealth, or equating divine favor with market success. (A series of politically charged nonsense statements. This is the jargon used by Socialists, wordy and impenetrable. )
Psalm112:4-9
The Responsorial Psalm is often read as describing personal virtue. But listen carefully.
"Lavishly he gives to the poor."
"He conducts his affairs with justice."
The psalmist describes someone whose economic behavior is transformed. The just person lends without exploitation. He is not shaken by "evil report." He is steadfast in justice.
This is not the portrait of a nationalist strongman obsessed with dominance. It is not the image of someone defending borders, hoarding wealth, or equating divine favor with market success. (A series of politically charged nonsense statements. This is the jargon used by Socialists, wordy and impenetrable. )
It is the image of someone who destabilizes unjust systems by generosity. (The author thinks the Bible was written to explain the obligations of government, the system. And because the government, the system, has failed to live up to the author's expectations, a new system is needed.)
Franz Hinkelammert, the German-Latin American economist and theologian, warned that modern capitalism turns the market into an idol-- demanding sacrifice of human lives in the name of "efficiency." (This is nonsense, of course. Capitalism demands nothing, for it is not a system it is the free interplay of human relationships as they willingly exchange things of value. A chicken echanged for a stone ax is capitalism.)
Franz Hinkelammert, the German-Latin American economist and theologian, warned that modern capitalism turns the market into an idol-- demanding sacrifice of human lives in the name of "efficiency." (This is nonsense, of course. Capitalism demands nothing, for it is not a system it is the free interplay of human relationships as they willingly exchange things of value. A chicken echanged for a stone ax is capitalism.)
Hinkelammert argued that when profit becomes sacred, people become expendable. (Here the conversation has diverted to certain moral failures of individuals. The author never explains why capitalism is at fault, or how Socialism avoids moral failure. Apparently it transforms human nature, and sins like greed are no longer possible. Thus salvation is achieved without Jesus.)
Psalm 112 offers a different sacred center: the poor.
The just person's heart is firm not because he has secured his investments-- but because he trusts in the Lord while giving away resources.
That is profoundly anti-idolatrous. And therefore, profoundly political. (Non sequitur.)
Paul in Corinth: Power in Weakness
In First Epistle to the Corinthians 2, Paul says something revolutionary:
"I did not come with sublimity of words or wisdom" but with Jesus Christ, and him crucified."
The crucified one is not a nationalist hero. (Empty denial.)
Psalm 112 offers a different sacred center: the poor.
The just person's heart is firm not because he has secured his investments-- but because he trusts in the Lord while giving away resources.
That is profoundly anti-idolatrous. And therefore, profoundly political. (Non sequitur.)
Paul in Corinth: Power in Weakness
In First Epistle to the Corinthians 2, Paul says something revolutionary:
"I did not come with sublimity of words or wisdom" but with Jesus Christ, and him crucified."
The crucified one is not a nationalist hero. (Empty denial.)
He is an executed victim of empire. (Empty assertion.)
(Crucifixion was the form of capital punishment reserved for insurrectionists.) Paul refuses rhetorical domination. He refuses identification with the elite. He centers the cross-- an instrument of state terror.
Liberation theology has always emphasized this: the cross reveals God's identification with victims. (Well, so what? Really. Who cares what Liberation Theology teaches. The Bible teaches that the cross is the sacrificial instrument for the spilling of holy blood. The blood of Jesus is the cleansing agent of sin, not the overthrow of the systemic problems of capitalism.)
Liberation theology has always emphasized this: the cross reveals God's identification with victims. (Well, so what? Really. Who cares what Liberation Theology teaches. The Bible teaches that the cross is the sacrificial instrument for the spilling of holy blood. The blood of Jesus is the cleansing agent of sin, not the overthrow of the systemic problems of capitalism.)
God is not neutral between oppressor and oppressed. (Well, of course. His call is to His people for the sake of repentance and righteousness, not overturning political systems.)
God is found among those crucified by history. (No, He is not. Since the author makes a bare claim, we offer a bare refutation.)
Paul's refusal of "persuasive words of wisdom" is also a critique of ideological manipulation. (Irony Alert.
We can really see where the author is interpreting the Bible through the haze of his political word view. Paul was writing a letter to the ancient church in Corinth. He very simply explains that when we taught the Gospel to them it was not with clever language. The "intellectuals" like the author truly don't understand:
1Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing...The "wise" ones, the scholars, the philosophers, have their lingo, their clever turns of phrase, their elitist attitudes. But Paul comes with simple words and a simple message: That their faith would not rest on man's wisdom but upon God's power [1 Corinthians 2:5].
We can now certainly see the way the author dishonestly manipulates the plain statements of Scripture to bolster his political opinions.)
Faith must not rest on elite rhetoric, but on divine power manifest in solidarity with those empire hates and kills. (Ugh. What nonsense.)
That is why Christian nationalism feels threatened by the cross. ("Christian nationalism?" What is this? Why is it bad? How is it threatened by the cross?)
Christian nationalism prefers triumph. It prefers cultural dominance. It prefers flags draped over crosses. (??? It does? Why is this relevant?)
But Paul gives us a broken body instead. (Why the broken body? What does it represent? Why did the Father offer up His Son for the sins of the world? The author dodges and weaves, but does nothing at all to explain the Gospel, likely because he doesn't believe the Gospel.)
Jesus: Salt and Light
Now the Gospel.
In Gospel of Matthew 5, Jesus says: "You are the salt of the earth." "You are the light of the world."
Salt preserves from decay. Light exposes what is hidden.
This is not a call to privatized spirituality. It is a call to public transformation. (Bare assertion.)
Notice: your light must shine so that others see your good deeds.
What deeds? (Actually, whose deeds? The deeds of redeemed Christians, or the deeds of a government program?)
Isaiah has already told us: feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, dismantling oppression. (Who is to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and dismantle oppression? Christians, or government?)
Jesus is not inventing a new ethic here. He is intensifying Isaiah's.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. This is a communal image. (Which community? A continent of people under a political regime, or a body of believers united by one Spirit, one Lord, and one faith [Ephesians 4:5]?)
It evokes not isolated believers but a visible alternative society. (This sounds like the amalgamation of Church and State. But the author does not want the Church to be brought to bear on society, he wants his version of society brought to bear on the Church.)
The earliest Christian communities took this seriously. They held goods in common. (Voluntarily.)
The earliest Christian communities took this seriously. They held goods in common. (Voluntarily.)
They redistributed resources so that "there was not a needy person among them." (Voluntarily.)
That sounds dangerously close to socialism-- because it is. (It's not. Socialism declares that you own nothing and takes what you have, while Christianity asks you to give up everything.)
And here is where we must address the tension with voices like Charlie Kirk's, which argue that Christianity is fundamentally about individual salvation, private morality, and national strength. (Did Kirk really believe that Christianity was these things? The author simply links to another of his own opinion pieces.
And here is where we must address the tension with voices like Charlie Kirk's, which argue that Christianity is fundamentally about individual salvation, private morality, and national strength. (Did Kirk really believe that Christianity was these things? The author simply links to another of his own opinion pieces.
What most people like the author do not understand is that the Christian faith is transformative. It is not a political framework or an ideology, it is a fundamental change in identity. The Bible teaches that a Christian now belongs to God, who has rescued the sinner from his own evil nature. This is the universal prescription for the world, individually applied. It is at once broad and specific.
This fundamental change affects all areas of life. Greed to generosity. Falsehood to truth. Deviousness to honesty. Resentment to forgiveness. Retribution to mercy. Old and dead to new and life giving. That's what Jesus meant by born again.
And naturally the transformed man takes his transformation with him wherever he goes. It's impossible to leave it at home. So it goes into the marketplace, arts, entertainment, and yes, politics. This is "Christian nationalism." This is completely acceptable, for every person carries who they are into every place they go and every situation they find themselves in.
The author is absolutely fine with this when it comes to any other person besides a Christian. Every person is welcome to bring who he is into every situation, but the Christian is not. He is branded and vilified.
This is simple intellectual dishonesty, but it's quite clear that this is the author's preferred modus operandi.)
In that framework, the market is sacred, property rights are absolute, and any talk of structural redistribution is labeled "Marxist" as if that ends the conversation. (Redistribution is Marxist, so what's the problem, sir?)
But here's the irony: Isaiah sounds more Marxist than the commentators who condemn Marx. Jesus sounds more socialist than the pundits who wave Bibles at rallies. (No, they don't.)
When Christians share bread, (Christians have always shared bread. They have always helped the poor. They have always clothed the naked. This is what Christians do. All the time. Anonymously and generously. We don't need the author's brand of Socialist Christianity telling us to do what we already are doing.)
dismantle oppression, and organize communal life around the needs of the poor, they are not betraying the Gospel. They are embodying it.
Why This Theology Was Targeted
This is why liberation theology (i.e. authentic biblical theology informed by modern scripture scholarship) was perceived as dangerous. (Another link to one of the author's opinion pieces.
The author is now riffing, because no critic of liberation theology thinks it to be "authentic biblical theology." It clearly isn't, as we have seen. This theology is dangerous because it's false doctrine. It legitimizes envy and covetousness. It justifies theft at the point of the sword of government. It promises salvation through appropriation, forgiveness without repentance, justification without transformation, and peace through doing violence.
It is clearly anti-Christian.)
In the early 1980s, the Reagan administration and policy strategists behind what became known as the Santa Fe Document explicitly identified liberation theology as a threat in Latin America. It aligned peasants and workers with biblical faith. It exposed structural injustice. It challenged U.S.-backed regimes. (Actually, as agitprop it inflamed discontent and legitimized the theft of peoples' property in the name of fairness.
In the early 1980s, the Reagan administration and policy strategists behind what became known as the Santa Fe Document explicitly identified liberation theology as a threat in Latin America. It aligned peasants and workers with biblical faith. It exposed structural injustice. It challenged U.S.-backed regimes. (Actually, as agitprop it inflamed discontent and legitimized the theft of peoples' property in the name of fairness.
The balance of this article is just more Socialist verbal diarrhea. We shall cease commentary here.)
So, it had to be neutralized.
The strategy was twofold: (1) Portray liberation theology as "Marxist infiltration," and (2) Promote a privatized, depoliticized Christianity compatible with neoliberal economics. The result?
And so, the Left weakened-- because it surrendered theological imagination -- and often faith itself. Meanwhile, the Right grew strong-- because it wrapped market ideology in biblical language.
But Isaiah is still there.
Paul is still there.
Jesus is still there.
And they continue to say: share your bread. Remove oppression. Shine with good deeds.
The Conflict Today
The conflict is not between Christianity and atheism. It is between two versions of Christianity. One blesses empire. The other stands with the crucified. One Christianity defends borders above human beings. The other remembers that Jesus himself was a refugee. One Christianity fears the language of class. The other recognizes that the Bible is saturated with it-- rich and poor, debtor and creditor, slave and free.
Christian nationalism proclaims, "Make America great again." Biblical theology proclaims, "Make the poor visible again."
Christian nationalism identifies God with power. Biblical theology identifies God with victims.
And today's readings make clear which side the biblical text leans toward.
Salt That Has Not Lost Its Taste
Jesus warns: salt can lose its taste.
What does that mean? It means faith can lose its transformative power. It can become bland, domesticated, harmless. When Christianity ceases to confront structural injustice, it becomes tasteless. When the Church fears being called "socialist" more than it fears ignoring the hungry, it has lost its saltiness. When Christians defend systems that produce homelessness while quoting Scripture about personal morality, the light dims.
But when bread is shared, light breaks forth like dawn. When oppression is removed, darkness becomes midday. When communities embody economic justice-- God says, "Here I am."
That is the promise of Isaiah.
That is the power of the cross.
That is the calling of salt and light.
Conclusion
For the past two weeks, I've suggested that Marx did not invent concern for the poor. The prophets did. Jesus did. The earliest Christians did.
Marx analyzed exploitation. Isaiah condemned it. Jesus embodied resistance to it.
To acknowledge this is not to baptize every socialist experiment in history. It is not to deny the complexities of economics. It is simply to be honest about the text.
The Bible does not defend hoarding. It does not sanctify inequality. It does not idolize the nation-state. It calls for justice. And justice, in Scripture, is not abstract. It is bread, shelter, clothing, and dignity.
So, if someone says that such preaching is "Marxist," perhaps the better question is: why does Marx sound like Isaiah?
If someone claims that Christian faith is about national power, perhaps we should ask: what do we do with the crucified Messiah?
If someone insists that the Church should avoid politics, perhaps we should re-read Isaiah 58.
The readings today are not subtle. They do not whisper. They're about salt and light, bread and justice, capital punishment and resurrection.
They do not endorse empire, domination or nationalism disguised as faith. Instead, they announce that authentic worship is inseparable from economic justice.
And when that justice begins to take shape-- when bread is shared, when the afflicted are satisfied-- then, Isaiah promises, "your light shall rise in the darkness."
May we have the courage to let it shine.
So, it had to be neutralized.
The strategy was twofold: (1) Portray liberation theology as "Marxist infiltration," and (2) Promote a privatized, depoliticized Christianity compatible with neoliberal economics. The result?
And so, the Left weakened-- because it surrendered theological imagination -- and often faith itself. Meanwhile, the Right grew strong-- because it wrapped market ideology in biblical language.
But Isaiah is still there.
Paul is still there.
Jesus is still there.
And they continue to say: share your bread. Remove oppression. Shine with good deeds.
The Conflict Today
The conflict is not between Christianity and atheism. It is between two versions of Christianity. One blesses empire. The other stands with the crucified. One Christianity defends borders above human beings. The other remembers that Jesus himself was a refugee. One Christianity fears the language of class. The other recognizes that the Bible is saturated with it-- rich and poor, debtor and creditor, slave and free.
Christian nationalism proclaims, "Make America great again." Biblical theology proclaims, "Make the poor visible again."
Christian nationalism identifies God with power. Biblical theology identifies God with victims.
And today's readings make clear which side the biblical text leans toward.
Salt That Has Not Lost Its Taste
Jesus warns: salt can lose its taste.
What does that mean? It means faith can lose its transformative power. It can become bland, domesticated, harmless. When Christianity ceases to confront structural injustice, it becomes tasteless. When the Church fears being called "socialist" more than it fears ignoring the hungry, it has lost its saltiness. When Christians defend systems that produce homelessness while quoting Scripture about personal morality, the light dims.
But when bread is shared, light breaks forth like dawn. When oppression is removed, darkness becomes midday. When communities embody economic justice-- God says, "Here I am."
That is the promise of Isaiah.
That is the power of the cross.
That is the calling of salt and light.
Conclusion
For the past two weeks, I've suggested that Marx did not invent concern for the poor. The prophets did. Jesus did. The earliest Christians did.
Marx analyzed exploitation. Isaiah condemned it. Jesus embodied resistance to it.
To acknowledge this is not to baptize every socialist experiment in history. It is not to deny the complexities of economics. It is simply to be honest about the text.
The Bible does not defend hoarding. It does not sanctify inequality. It does not idolize the nation-state. It calls for justice. And justice, in Scripture, is not abstract. It is bread, shelter, clothing, and dignity.
So, if someone says that such preaching is "Marxist," perhaps the better question is: why does Marx sound like Isaiah?
If someone claims that Christian faith is about national power, perhaps we should ask: what do we do with the crucified Messiah?
If someone insists that the Church should avoid politics, perhaps we should re-read Isaiah 58.
The readings today are not subtle. They do not whisper. They're about salt and light, bread and justice, capital punishment and resurrection.
They do not endorse empire, domination or nationalism disguised as faith. Instead, they announce that authentic worship is inseparable from economic justice.
And when that justice begins to take shape-- when bread is shared, when the afflicted are satisfied-- then, Isaiah promises, "your light shall rise in the darkness."
May we have the courage to let it shine.
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