The Maker Versus The Takers

While I was waiting out Hurricane Ian in Central Florida (we're all safe & sound!), I finished reading The Maker Versus The Takers by Jerry Bowyer. I got so much out of this book and really enjoyed it. I'd like to discuss the main theme of the book as well as a few key examples.

The subtitle for this book is: What Jesus really said about social justice and economics. The author did an interview on this You Tube show and made efforts to enter into his research objectively. I really try to be careful to not shove my (libertarian/anarchist) world view into the Scriptures. But to this day, I think it's the most consistent and Biblical world view to have. So, this book isn't shoehorning his ideology into the Bible.

(Side note: I had never heard of this author before and I don't know what his political leanings are. In the conclusion of the book he lays blame to both Republicans and Democrats, but I don't know if he considers himself a libertarian or anarchist. However, he definitely favors a free market)

The book focuses on economic themes in the Bible, especially as they relate to the life and teachings of Jesus. He puts more of a focus on where (in what city) Jesus' parables take place and to whom His audience was at the time. These details are often overlooked in favor of figuring out how the message applies to us individually and in our current time. But there is so much to be gained by understanding what the message meant to those in the moment! I was blown away at some of the details he brought to life.

For example, he makes distinctions between Galilee and Judea. Galilee was more decentralized as an economy compared to Judea which was dependent on Jerusalem, which was the cultural and religious center of the region.

He writes, "Jesus, the Galilean by the design of His Father, consistently critiques the centralized, politicized, crony economy He encounters in the capital city, and not the decentralized entrepreneurial economy of His native region." According to Bowyer, Judea (the wealthy, ruling class) turned into "a pit of manipulation, exploitation and even enslavement."

As Jesus progressed towards Jerusalem, his parables were more focused on the corruption of the religious/political leaders. An interesting fact: it appears that all of the disciples were from Galilee with the exception of Judas (who was from Judea and later betrayed Him). So it wasn't that Jesus was against gaining wealth, but more so how that wealth was acquired.

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Let's focus on the story of the rich young ruler, as this story is often used by those on the left to advocate for socialism or critize the free market. This is the story where Jesus said "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:25)

For starters, in Mark 10:17 it says Jesus went to the region of Judea. This has significance as Jesus did not confront His neighbors over wealth in Galilee, it was only as He entered the region of Judea. Secondly, he was a "ruler", which means he was a member of a government council. It implies he was a member of the Sanhedrin, which was a "center of political, religious, and economic power." He was also young and owned a lot of property which was likely inherited from his father.

In verse 19, Jesus says "You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother'." Notice Jesus mentions the word "defraud". That word is not used in the 10 commandments. It is implied with stealing and bearing false testimony, but those were both mentioned separately already. Jesus used this word intentionally. This ruler was defrauding poor people and Jesus knew that.

How did they defraud the poor? James 2:6 provides an example: "But you have dishonered the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?"

Bowyer adds, "the process of defrauding involves the use of corrupt civil magistrates. By the way, these magistrates often served on the Sanhedrin, the very council on which the rich young archon (ruler) served."

You're probably already familiar with the rest of the story. The rich young ruler asked how he can inherit eternal life:

"One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. But at those words his face fell, and he went away grieved, for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, 'How hard it will be for those who are already wealthy to enter the kingdom of God'." (Mark 10:21-23)

Jesus asked him to give his wealth to the poor, because that's how he acquired his wealth! This ruler had his whole life tied up into the land he owned and the wealth he had built up in the treasury room at the temple in Jerusalem. It would have been unthinkable to give up his inheritance and break away from the loyalty he had to the temple system he had known his whole life.

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There were other facts Bowyer brought to my attention that make the story of Jesus' life even more fascinating. For example, we all know Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem. He says "the city was known for sheep. Any particular kind of sheep? Yes, Bethlehem was where they bred lambs for export to Jerusalem to be used in temple sacrifices. That's right, Jesus was the Lamb of God, who bears away the sins of the world, and He was born in the one city named by the rabbis as the place designated for the breeding of sacrifical lambs." That's just amazing. Maybe this is common knowledge, but I didn't know this!

Bowyer stresses that we should understand the text in the original language, which city the story occurred and to whom Jesus was talking to before we ask "What does this mean for us"? Pastors and many modern Christians jump right to "how does this apply to me". But I gained a lot of insight in just this topic of economics throughout Jesus' life.

One final thought: there are some assertions Bowyer makes based on recent archeological evidence. (like the comparable wealth of various cities) I'm taking his word on those things, but it's not clear to me how well this can be known. He even has a chart near the end of the book that shows median house size from 150 B.C. through 460 A.D.! Pretty interesting, but it does make sense that archeologists can find that out to a reasonable degree of accuracy. I'm just not familiar with recent acheology at all.

He had to have done a lot of research and studying to produce this book and I think you'd get a lot out of it. It's a quick read (~140 pages) so I'd recommend checking it out if any of this sounds interesting to you!