From Calvin's "Institutes" - 3.7.5, "Now, in seeking to benefit one's neighbor, how difficult it is to do one's duty! Unless you give up all thought of self and, so to speak, get out of yourself, you will accomplish nothing here. For how can you perform those works which Paul teaches to be the works of love, unless you renounce yourself and give yourself wholly to others?"
As of late, I've been wondering why it's so difficult for Protestant Christianity to support justice - to stand beside the workers of America as their jobs are ripped out of their hands by a corporate power-grab that has overseen the largest transfer of wealth imaginable - billions out of the pockets of America's workers into the pockets of the rich, who have quickly shipped the money overseas. The hyper-concentration of wealth is destroying the middle class, but to raise a voice here is to be quickly branded a "radical" or a "socialist" or worse - but what would Jesus say? What would Paul or Jeremiah or Amos offer?
Response from Tom Eggebeen,
July 02, 2009 Los Angeles, CA
Is capitalism capable of failure at any point?
Or is capitalism above and beyond reproach at all points?
If I have my head in a Marxist textbook (which I don't; I prefer to read the Bible), I wonder what your textbook is?
I'm not sure if you tried to answer my question or not. Glad you read my blog, however.
Response from Earl Tilford,
June 20, 2009 Tuscaloosa, Albama
Mr. Eggebeen:
No need to wonder. The Reformation, which founded Protestant Christianity, opened northern Europe to the scientific revoloution and, coincidentally, fostered capitalism with its middle class. Protestant Christianity has been on the forefront of creating social justice by creating opportunity for self-betterment, including a world view that emphasizes the worth of each individual. The idea that each and every human being bears the reflective worth of God, compelled missionaries to carry the good news of God's grace to Africa and Asia. The Industrial Revolution driven by capitalism provided the drive and machinery of imperialism that made possible the civilizing mission from China and Korea to Indochina and Africa. Get your head out of Marxist textbooks and understand that the world is far better off today because of capitalism than it every could have been under socialism. Furthermore, Protestant Christianity drove the notion that men are created with rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This nation separated itself from England based precisely on that idea. During our 234-year history,driven by basic concepts of Protestant Christianity, this nation eliminated human slavery from our boundaries, establsihed the rights and dignity of women and racial minorities, and created the absolute greatest economic engine for opportunitiy in history along with the highest standard of living for the greatest number of people. That same economic powerhouse of American industry enabled the United States to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, saving humanity from the darkest imaginable fate. American scientific ingenuity and our dyanamic economy so outperformed that of the Soviet Union that it collapsed. China, for iits part, simply morphed into a capitalist system. Protestant Christianity and capitalism have done more to better the state of mankind than any and all other religious and socio-economic systems combined.
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Or is capitalism above and beyond reproach at all points?
If I have my head in a Marxist textbook (which I don't; I prefer to read the Bible), I wonder what your textbook is?
I'm not sure if you tried to answer my question or not. Glad you read my blog, however.