Reddit mentions of What Would Jesus Really Do?: The Power & Limits of Jesus' Moral Teachings

>Christ didn’t really address hierarchy

Not true: "Jesus maligns those on top of the social hierarchy because he tends to think that the pursuit of prestige and wealth leads to a sort of idolatry that distracts us from the true good" (p. 116).

Jesus says we're not supposed to focus on accruing earthly treasures:

>Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-20).

\^ This is an indictment against those at the top of the social hierarchy, i.e. the people who own "treasures on earth."

Here's another criticism that only applies to those at the top of the social hierarchy:

>No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Matthew 6:24)

People at the bottom of the social hierarchy have little to no wealth, so this does not apply to them.

According to Jesus, people at the top of the social hierarchy will have a difficult time getting into the kingdom of heaven:

>“Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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" (Matthew 19:23-24).

Jesus does not criticize people at the bottom of the social hierarchy (the poor) in such a manner:

>Pure Chrsitian altruism thus appears to run counter to the competitive and individualistic ethic of modern capitalism, where the presupposition is that we all do better when we develop the economy by competing with one another. Jesus, however, does not praise those who are successful in business. Instead, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus blesses the poor and the meek. These are not the winners in the struggle for survival; rather, Jesus turns his attention to the losers (p. 34)

So, you say:

>Slavery, in itself, is a discussion about the nature of hierarchy and class in a society.

And you claim Jesus never spoke on about "hierarchy and class in a society." But as I've shown, that's wrong. When you spend much of your time criticizing the rich for their wealth and honouring the poor, you're talking about "hierarchy and class in a society."

Jesus repeatedly condemned the rich (i.e. upper-class people at the top of the social hierarchy) for being rich. He advised them to sell their stuff and give their money to the poor (i.e. lower-class people at the bottom of the social hierarchy). According to Jesus: Blessed are the poor, not the rich.

Jesus recognized the rich vs. poor social justice issue. He condemned the rich. And, significantly, he actually ordered the rich to sell their stuff and give their money to the poor in an effort to correct the rich vs. poor social justice issue.

Jesus did not recognize the master vs. slave social justice issue, even though the Essenes did. Jesus never condemned masters. He never orders masters to grant freedom to their slaves. He makes no effort to correct the master vs. slave social justice issue.

He chastises the rich for owning stuff, but he never criticizes them for owning people. He tells the rich to get rid of their stuff, but he never tells them to free their slaves.

>Capitalism claims that it is up to the poor to free themselves from poverty, and that direct handouts to the poor do not work because they do not help the poor to develop the virtues that are necessary for success in the capitalist system. Indeed, welfare assistance can serve further to undermine the self-esteem of the poor both by focusing attention on their failures and by making them dependent on those who give the assistance. Communism, in opposition to this, holds that what is needed is a revolution of the free-market system that will allow for the communal ownership of social property and an equal distribution of social wealth. Here, the solution is to create a system in which basic human needs are fulfilled. As Marx put it: "To each according to his needs." The difficulty of this proposal, according to capitalism, is that it creates dependence and undermines self-esteem. And such a system would also undermine productivity by creating disincentives for innovation and hard work. According to the capitalism critique, a communist organization of society would create greater and more pervasive poverty in the long run.
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>There are clearly complex issues to be considered in thinking about poverty. But Jesus' answer is lacking in complexity. His solution is simple: give to the poor. In Luke (6:30-31), Jesus says: "Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them." This ideal of pure Christian altruism thus appears to reward theft. And it runs counter to the competitive and individualistic ethic of modern capitalism grounded in the idea of private property. A capitalist would wonder how Jesus proposes to get people to work for a living, if begging and thievery are allowed. But Jesus is not concerned with the question of work. He himself never works. Nor does he advocate learning a trade and earning a living. In fact, in the famous "lilies of the field" passage (Matthew 6:25), Jesus tells us not to worry about work because God will provide. Jesus explicitly tells his followers not to worry about where food, drink, and clothing will come from: "Seek first righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well" (Matthew 6:33). And this is why Jesus also tells his followers to sell all they own and give alms to the poor (Luke 12:33; Matthew 19:21): the poor would be sustained by such donations. But Jesus does not explain how this whole system is supposed to function if everyone follows his advice and no one is left worrying about how to produce food, drink, and clothing. (What Would Jesus Really Do?, pp. 120-121)

If you actually take a critical look at what Jesus taught, it's obvious that Jesus was the furthest thing from a capitalist.