Here’s the thing - I know the Bible doesn’t explicitly endorse Socialism. It would be anachronistic to say otherwise. Socialism, as an economic theory, did not exist in the times that the Bible was written. But neither did capitalism for that matter. But when asked (and sometimes even without the question) I tell people that I learned my socialism from Jesus, and the Hebrew prophets rather than from Karl Marx. There's no specific chapter and verse that says "socialism," but the ideas, the underpinning values of socialism are scattered throughout the Hebrew and Christian scriptures.
Case in point – the prophet Isaiah in chapter 65 of his eponymous book (or more probably, Third-Isaiah…) describes the coming new heaven and new earth of God’s creation by saying:
They shall build
houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant
vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another
inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat
for like
the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor
in vain…
Isaiah
65: 21 – 23a
Labor creates all wealth. Capitalism exploits labor to redistribute the profits to the owners, providing only enough to keep the workforce from dying. But in the Kingdom of God, individuals are able to enjoy the work of their hands. Their labor is not in vain. The wealth they create is not siphoned off to the vaults of a hoarding billionaire.
This is justice. This is righteousness. This is the Christian Socialist ideal. Heaven on earth.
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