Devin Singh is an associate professor of religion at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. As with many, or maybe most, professors of religion at secular universities, Singh’s religious views are not based on biblical theology, but are more informed by “humanistic and social scientific insights” – in other words, his beliefs are an expression of naturalistic philosophy.
Singh has a particular interest in trying to explain the relationship between religion and economics. And based on his underlying worldview beliefs, this means that he is an advocate for a collectivist economic model as opposed to a free market approach. And as he expresses his opinion in this arena, this point of view becomes obvious very quickly.
During the Covid – 19 pandemic, he wrote an article entitled Covid – 19 Is Exposing Market Fundamentalism’s Many Moral and Practical Flaws. As is generally the case with people who approach reality from a naturalistic worldview, Singh did not explain how he came to his conclusions about the moral and practical flaws he writes about. He simply assumed them to be true based on his philosophical beliefs. With that as a starting point, he then proceeded to bash anyone who does not agree with his point of view.
While the title of his article seems to point to a focus on economic philosophy, he did not stick to economics in the article. As the title suggests, he believes free market capitalism is deficient. But as he attempts to make his case, he lumps fundamentalist Christian beliefs in with that, and proceeds to bash Bible believing Christians, as well. He never says why he thinks biblical beliefs are immoral, he just assumes it to be true and proceeds with his attack.
While Singh never expresses why he believes that what he has written is true, he actively promotes a social safety net, a centralized government, and a totalitarian use of government power. He simply assumes these things are proper, and writes “as if” they are necessary to have a moral society.
His assumptions, however, are not true. The Socialist assumptions he touts are actually themselves immoral. Socialism is legalized theft – using government taxing authority to redistribute wealth based on the priorities of those who hold political power. It takes the money earned by those who work, and gives it to those they deem to be in need. It assumes that the source of morality and of human rights is found in the decrees of the government, rather than given by God. It assumes that the ultimate goal of government is to achieve equality of outcome, not equality of opportunity. And it assumes that government bureaucrats know better how to order individual life, and society in general, than individual citizens.
A Socialist vision, however, does not reflect the reality of the human condition. Humanity is fallen, and does not naturally seek the “good.” Morality is not a man made set of rules, but is objectively based on the character of God himself. The ultimate in life is not for every person to have equal resources, but for every individual to have equal opportunity to seek after God’s will for their life. The ultimate purpose of life is not to gain temporal resources and advantage, but to know God in a personal relationship.
As Christians, the thing we MUST understand is that pushing back against the Socialist vision is not a matter of politics. Of course, politics must be engaged in order to create an environment in society that promotes the kind of liberty necessary for individuals to freely follow their conscience. But political policy itself will NEVER defeat Socialism. Socialism is an expression of a person’s beliefs, and beliefs are a manifestation of the human spirit. The only way to influence that is to share the truth that is able to change hearts and minds. The sooner Christians focus on that, the sooner we will move away from the foolishness of a Socialist vision.