It is far too easy (intellectually lazy) to conclude that Jesus Christ and Ayn Rand are miles apart in what they teach. Nothing is further from the truth. It is only necessary to juxtapose the words of Ayn Rand with the words of Jesus to see they teach exactly the same. Ayn Rand summarizes her teaching this way: "My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." — Ayn Rand, Appendix to Atlas Shrugged Let's look at the words of Jesus Christ regarding these four elements: 1. heroic being, 2. happiness as purpose, 3. productiveness, and 4. reason as absolute. Let's start with the idea that man must choose to be a heroic being. Here is how Jesus Christ says it: Be not content with littleness, but be sure you understand what littleness is, and why you could never BE content with it. Littleness is the offering you ...