This is a comparison of Ayn Rand's philosophy and that of Jesus, not of them as people but of their respective messages.
The Ayn Rand loving philosophy has more in common with the anti-Christian Ayn Rand than it does with the Jesus we meet in scripture.
For example: "Money is the barometer of a society’s virtue." "Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter." Ayn Rand
Jesus:
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21
And in Matthew 19 we have Jesus saying this:
"The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
It seems that Republican Jesus does not jive with the actual Jesus and yet so many people look to the republican Ayn Rand ethos to guide their words and actions.
Jesus feed the multitude, yet Republican Jesus would refuse saying "I cannot feed this multitude, it would destroy their incentive to work."
The real Jesus said He came to call sinners to repentance:
30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:30-32
Republican Jesus says "Save yourselves, everyone else is on their own."
This is in the spirit of levity but still, many people seem to operate as if Jesus really did support a strong military and police force, that He would support cutting funding that feeds the poor or cutting funding to provide health insurance to millions.
These policies, many of which but not all, are of paramount importance to the G.O.P. are in complete opposition to the message of Christ.
Now to the message of Ayn Rand; a Russian born writer and "philosopher" Rand is most know for the book Atlas Shrugged as well as for a philosophy of do it yourself. As in Stephen Colbert quoted her first love poem once, it went: Rose are red, violets are blue finish this poem yourself you dependent parasite.
All you have to do is google her to find gems of screw the poor, the needy, the sick and aflicted and most of all Jesus. What most Ayn Rand loving "Christians don't know is that she hated religion but Christianity especially.
“Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.” – Ayn Rand
If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of altruism that men have to reject.” – Ayn Rand
Jesus has a very different view:
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Mat 22:39b
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” John 13:34
“Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” – Mat 5:42
“But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.” Luke 10:33
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” – Matt. 6:24
Jesus strongly rebukes those who indulge in mindless pleasure and love of power and love of money, He instead asks us to cultivate a love of our neighbor, He asks us to cultivate compassion for all God's children. He asks us to care for those who are in need not to be heartless and leave them to the elements.
Lazarus and the Richman is a parable which explains how He feels about the battle between rich and poor. Jesus saying "He who is without sin may cast the first stone" is a hallmark of how Jesus feels about the compassion we should all have for those who have done wrong.
Ayn Rand is all about the individual and the indivdual's right to be free and only morla reletive to himself.
Jesus is about morality that is clear whether or not you believe in Him and He is about community and family and the responsibility that entails.
Ayn Rand tells us that in order to prosper we must reject altruism whereas Jesus tells us we must go the extra mile and reinvent it!
Jesus tells us altruism is a moral imperative that we must embrace to be truly moral people and in order for all of us to prosper, instead of just 1% of us.
Ayn Rand says love yourself whereas Jesus says love your enemy and love your neighbor.
Ayn Rand and Jesus Christ have two very different messages. Which one should we truly embrace and live by after we leave the chapel?
