Is Capitalism Anti-Christian?

Not unless there is a price tag associated with reconciliation.

No profit, no reconcile

Money is not evil but the LOVE of money is a completely different story! My christian faith leads me to believe I should help and support others. If not financially then spiritually and physically. This means that if I can not afford to support my fellow man financially I should at least share my excess food with them. I should offer emotional support. I should give comfort. I tithe to charities as often as I can. I send clothes, food, toys to families that have lost homes due to fire. I can and do give up eating out as often as I'd like in order to give a little something to someone else that needs it. I see the public option in health care as a form of Christian charity, same goes with medicare, SS and medicaid. Give unto others.

If an additional 1% of my income in taxes would make the difference between a child/senior going to bed hungry and cold or with a full stomach and heat. So be it.

Capitalism is an economic system - one in which individuals and companies are allowed to compete for their own economic gain, where the concept of private ownership is a given, and where free market forces are allowed to set the prices of goods and services.

It says little of the motivation or character of its participants.

The benefit of capitalism lies in the efficiency of market forces to provide most of what a society needs. The downside is that it is amoral (e.g. money-making activities that harm society florish). Thus, government oversight and regulation are necessary to prevent its participants from harming people.

In my view, capitalism is a useful economic tool for a society to maximize the abilities of its members. As a guide for how to live one's life, it leaves much to be desired.

Not according to the boys on "C" street in DC! In fact "Free market Jesus" is their lord and savior,but don't expect this version of Jesus to feed anybody no matter how many loaves and fish he has to work with.

I agree Buckeye. There is no correlation between following a economic philosophyand Christianity. It what we do with our economic gain and our attitudes toward our fellow man that is at the heart of the question.

Plus, Jesus never said; "Give me your money, because I know best how to spend it." or " You will be a righteous person, if I take your money and give it to the needy for you."

And Christ said:

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?"

Christ is pretty clear on the issue - you are judged by your actions, not your lip service.

All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

You really don't want to be a goat. Ease up on the socialist rhetoric, Christ calls on you to take care of the less fortunate.

I have argued this with some of my most hate mongering, Christian Right Fundamentalist friends. I never heard Christ's sermons for capitalism. Love, patience, hope, charity and forgiveness.

I'm no biblical scholar, but do recall the parable of the talents in which servants who were given money by their master and invested it were praised, while the one who buried his money was chastised. That would lead me to think that Capitalism and Christianity are indeed compatible.

Capitalism not only rewards greed, it depends on selfishness to function. Microeconomic theory takes the idea of maximizing self-benefit as a precept.

Yet you will be hard-pressed to find any major religion that exhults the trait of avarice.

I don't recall Jesus saying "Give all your money to the Roman Government so that they may spread the wealth". If you expect Christians to follow Jesus teachings, then expect them to give the money to those they find in need.

I find it interesting when progressives bash religious values and attack the philosophy, yet turn to it (twisting its philosophical interpretations) to justify socialism...

And yet, WHAT DOES RELIGION HAVE TO DO WITH POLITICS????

Capitalism not only rewards greed, it depends on selfishness to function. Microeconomic theory takes the idea of maximizing self-benefit as a precept

Buckeye, I might also add that the "Golden Rule" is based completely off of third person selfishness by design. It is in human nature to look at the world through your subjective lens.

You sound like a real free market fan. So I suppose you hate entrepreneurs? Those evil capitalist who start their own business so they can make more money themselves. Soon enough they have so much business that they have to hire someone else just to provide a service. Granted, that person IS NOT paid as much as the owner/founder because it would NOT BE RIGHT.

1) They probably don't know as much and look to the owner for guidance (AKA can't pull as much weight)

2) The clients they service were built based on the owner's reputation and hard work.

3) He did not take the risks involved with starting the business that the owner did.

4) As the worker becomes more of an asset he is paid more accordingly, otherwise he can leave or start his own business.

And that is the natural logarithm of human work ethic. Yes, trickle down is a natural effect. The money accumulates in the form of services/products bought, then it trickles down to the workers.

If people just try to make more money at the expense of others, they get shoved to the side.... Unless congress is involved... We can all agree on the corruption in the halls. It has become an accepted norm in politics. Once you take the corruption out, the free market system will be restored to it's rightful place.

Socialism is a progressive myth for job creation and justice. It is another perverse example of government taking beautiful ideas with the best of intentions and the worst of results.

Jesus said, "render to Ceasar that which is Ceasar's and unto God that which is God's.'

Buckeye, I might also add that the "Golden Rule" is based completely off of third person selfishness by design. It is in human nature to look at the world through your subjective lens.

That's why microeconomic theory works. The precept of individuals maximizing their benefit is fairly true.

You sound like a real free market fan. So I suppose you hate entrepreneurs?

That's a non-sequitur. Capitalism is a wonderful tool, but it isn't the only tool in the bag - and it isn't well-suited for all jobs. There's no money in running a lighthouse.

Jmon,

I already knew that rebuttal was coming so I should have addressed it. Jesus was no moron. When approached by the pharisees (hostile towards Jesus) who tried to entrap him in a gotcha question, he gave that answer. Go back and read the text. The actual point made by his comment in relation to the question answer was to say that the soul and will of a man belong to God. Caesar could possess all the money in the world, but it is your soul that matters. So yes instead of giving the pharisees a reason to arrest the lot of them, he answered the question in a way which would make the point (I care not about money, but with the soul of a man). He left the question open to interpretation for "What is Caesars". Jesus had a history of not paying all of his city/state/temple taxes to pharisees and the towns he visited. No doubt the IRS would have thrown him in jail. You can't travel to cities, receive money, room and board, gifts, and not pay the city tax dues. I dare say Jesus was a "TAX DODGER". He cheated the cities while giving the most to the people and synagogues.

How dare he? Great point Jmon. I would like to go back in time and arrest that evil biggot.

Once again, in no way was he saying give all of your money to the roman government so they may distribute it "fairly". We all know how fairness works out coupled with corruption.

That's a non-sequitur. Capitalism is a wonderful tool, but it isn't the only tool in the bag - and it isn't well-suited for all jobs. There's no money in running a lighthouse

Very true buckeye, I am quick on temper today and apologize for my pointed remark.

That's a non-sequitur. Capitalism is a wonderful tool, but it isn't the only tool in the bag - and it isn't well-suited for all jobs. There's no money in running a lighthouse

Very true buckeye, I am quick on temper today and apologize for my pointed remark.

Very true buckeye, I am quick on temper today and apologize for my pointed remark.

I didn't read tone into your answer. It just didn't make sense, so I tried to clairify my point of view.

Most religions eschew self-engrandizement, but capitalism works on that principle and economic theory assumes it, with much accuracy. I've stated that capitalism doesn't address all economic needs (this is easily demonstrated), but the corrollary can also be asserted:

Christianity does not provide a complete framework for a functional society.

Acts 4:32 to 35

Dave,

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul

So does that mean that Jesus gave to the Romans? I can completely sympathize with this series of verse in my own life. I am friends with my neighbors and help them out whenever needed or possible for that matter. I have mowed their lawns, pressure washed their drive ways, cooked for them, let them borrow tools, fixed their computers, given them furniture and tools, etc... all out of the kindness of my heart. In the same token, they have and would do the same for me.

I am blessed by my neighbors. However, I feel that we are of the same mind and values. And although I know we vote different ideals in some cases, we have common goals.

Here is where my view splits:

I will not relinquish all my personal property and money to the government in hopes their CORRUPT discernment will be better than my personal judgement.

Let me be clear that I believe politics and religion should be kept separate, but I'll ask you.

Are you a religious man Dave? Doesn't really matter. Would you give up all of your personal belongings to our government? Would you do it for Obama? Would you do it for Bush? Would you do it for any one man? What about a government? Does corruption come to mind in those verses - NO. The notion of one mind and heart is that of purity and lack of corruption. So if everything were sunshine and rainbows, I would have to jump on that bandwagon. As it turns out, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.

Marxism: Thanks but No Thanks,

Sincerely,

Cromagnnman

The 'organized' Christian churches in my area will spend thousands of dollars to send missionaries to other countries to 'spread' the word of Jesus but will let people in its own neighborhood go hungry. This is the contradiction! The American public has been sold on the 'pull yourself up by your bootstrings' and 'god helps those who helps themselves' philosophy. By teaching this (in church and out) people come to believe they deserve what they get, which is nothing.

I've seen the same thing, countrycomfort. There's a church down the street from me that is always advertising it's mission trips to Ireland. This has always confused me because Ireland is a predominantly christian country with a strong social program infrastructure. So if they aren't going to convert and they aren't there to fight poverty isn't that just a church funded vacation? Meanwhile in my hometown people go homeless and hungry, and right up the interstate less than an hour is an entire city full of people in need. This same church just left their pretty nice multi-story, multimillion dollar facility for a bigger, better, newer multi-million dollar facility. The women's shelter in our area is begging for used clothes and toys for the women and children trying to leave abusive relationships. I wonder how much good could have been done with those millions, or even just the hundreds of thousands they must have spent over the years on "mission trips" to Ireland? The other place they send church members to "spread the word" is New York, interestingly enough. Personally I was under the impression that New York had plenty of local churches. Perhaps I was mistaken?

Organized religion (just like corporations) are all out there advertising for the same consumers. The more consumers you have the more money you get (corporations make and sell something for money, churches get tithes). I tend to view most churches with a jaundiced eye anymore. When I hear one religion criticizing another all I can think of is a commercial of one laundry detergent manufacturer holding up two socks and comparing the colors to its competitor. Modern day Churches are just as capitalistic as any mega corporation our there.

LOL, that's a good analogy.