"The Christian gospel is a message of salvation, not a message of income redistribution and raising our neighbor's taxes."
“Why must the ‘makers’ of society support the ‘takers’ of society? That’s not compassion. That’s theft.”
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Good article - well worth emphasizing!
Should we then likewise keep Jesus out of our capitalism?
With the exception of a few misguided efforts by Jerry Falwell’s son (can’t remember the name now) recently, most capitalists are not making a “what would Jesus do” argument for capitalism.
Rather, the argument is more pragmatic for most.
(And, other things being equal, “what works” is better than what doesn’t, no?)
But historically, free market ideas are rooted in beliefs about the design of creation and beliefs about human nature: both of these sets of ideas deriving from the biblical view of things. The alternative economic systems have all come along recently due mostly to unChristian beliefs about human progress… then read back into Jesus.
But the economic-left evangelicals are the ones quoting Jesus out of context like crazy these days. Google “red letter Christians.”
Youssef is right on the mark.
Rather, the argument is more pragmatic for most.
(And, other things being equal, “what works” is better than what doesn’t, no?)
But historically, free market ideas are rooted in beliefs about the design of creation and beliefs about human nature: both of these sets of ideas deriving from the biblical view of things. The alternative economic systems have all come along recently due mostly to unChristian beliefs about human progress… then read back into Jesus.
But the economic-left evangelicals are the ones quoting Jesus out of context like crazy these days. Google “red letter Christians.”
Youssef is right on the mark.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
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