This Friday series is based on a paper I wrote for my Systematic Theology 2 class earlier in the year. It was a reaction piece to the book The Good of Affluence , by John R. Schneider and represents my own personal wrestling with the contemporary expression of capitalism: consumer capitalism. In light of the current economic crises and meltdown, I thought I would post this each Friday for the next 6 weeks. Enjoy the repost and I hope it helps challenge you in your thoughts and conclusions on capitalism.
The Series
1. Introduction
2. Is Affluence The Point
3. Consumerism: The End Result of Sin Marked-Capitalism
4. Globalization and the Brown Man’s Burden
5. Globalization and Moral Proximity
6. Conclusion
CONCLUSION
As I said at the beginning, I affirm the basics of capitalism and believe it is the best economic model for providing an abundant life that mirrors God’s original abundant intentions for Creation. What many fail to consider, however, is that capitalism is marked by the affects of Rebellion, like all human systems. Considering that modern day capitalism is rooted in Enlightenment classical liberal ideology, an ideology that stresses the absolute freedom, rationality, and self-interest of the autonomous self, Christians should not be surprised consumerism and the pursuit of profuse abundance (affluence) is the logical extension of such an economic system. If consumerism, then, is the final manifestation of capitalism, to what economic system should Christians turn? While we should not necessarily embrace socialism or like forms, Christians need to be sober-minded about the realities and risks of capitalism. Furthermore, we need to be honest about how we contribute to and perpetuate the injustice and oppression of the global poor through our consumption. In the end, may Christians fight for abundant living for all on earth, regardless of national origin. May we Christians take more responsibility for the ways in which we partner with the sin of consumerism that affects the world. And may we be more concerned about the vision of restoration–spiritual, social, and economic–that arrives through the Kingdom of Heaven, a true vision of abundance and shalom capitalism cannot provide.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barbario, Michael and Uchitelle, Louis. 2008. “Americans Cutback Sharply On Spending.” The
New York Times 14 January, C1.
D’Souza, Dinesh. The Virtue of Prosperity: Finding Values in an Age of Techno-Affluence. New
York: Free Press, 2000.
Fuentes, Federico. “Evo Morales Speaks.” Adbusters 75 (2008): 57-58.
Jhally, Sut. “The Dreamland of American Consumerism.” Adbusters 76 (2008): 23-24.
Mills, John Stuart, “On the Definition of Political Economy; and on the Method of Investigation
Proper to It,” London and Westminster Review, October 1836. Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy, 2nd ed. London: Longmans, Green, Reader & Dyer, 1874, essay 5, paragraphs 38 and 48.
Poutain, Dick and Robins, David. “Cool: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of An Attitude.” Adbusters 76 (2008): 1-14.
Schneider, John R. The Good of Affluence. Grand Rapids: Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2002.
Timmons, Heather. 2007. “New York Manhole Covers, Forged Barefoot in India.” The New York Times 26 November, A1.
White, Micah, “Redemption.” Adbusters 76 (2008): 41-42.
WordNet 3.0, Princeton University 2006. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/
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So my Systematic Theology professor, Dr. Mike Wittmer, started a blog a few weeks ago. He finally took the plunge after some of us had been pestering him about it for a year. He is generally fair-minded and has a new book coming out next month with as equally fair of a look at the emerging church. Check both out!
Last week he wrote an interesting post that I thought I would post here for discussion. I responded twice, and those responses are below. Any thoughts?
My traditional, conservative church rightly warns against the rising tide of liberalism in evangelical churches and reminds us that we must believe something to be saved. Across town, there is a left-leaning church (determined by the fact that “Yes, We Can” bumper stickers outnumber the Christian fish symbol on cars in the parking lot) that rightly speaks about the dangers of legalism, hypocrisy, and the need for Christians to put their beliefs into practice with acts of sacrificial love. Both churches are preaching to the choir.
Recently it occurred to me that churches are like political parties in that each has a distinct base. There is a certain type of person with a distinctive set of beliefs that attends each church. Even its visitors tend to look the same. And if I was a pastor, I think it would be part of my job to regularly offend this person.
C.S. Lewis reportedly said “remember the resistant material” (I heard this from Os Guinness, and though I haven’t found where Lewis said it, the statement is so good that I’m going to assume he did). Lewis’ point was that there is some aspect of the gospel that will offend every person and culture. Our job as ministers of the Word is to determine what part of the gospel offends our culture and then preach that part. If we proclaim only the part of the gospel that our culture already agrees with, then we are being redundant, merely cultural Christians who are not yet proclaiming a transcendent Word from God.
So here are two questions which each pastor and teacher should regularly ask themselves:
1. When was the last time I was offended by the Word of God? How long has it been since I heard a Word from the Lord which convicted me that I was a sinner and needed to change? If it’s been awhile, we may be trying to control the voice of God, only seeing in Scripture what we already believe.
2. Think of the person in your congregation who represents your base. How long has it been since you delivered a Word from God that challenged this person? Has he heard anything in the last month that would make him uncomfortable? If not, then despite your orthodox theology, you may be a cultural Christian, saying only what your base wants to hear rather than what they need—a transcendent Word from the living God.
Anyone can talk about the sins of the other side, but to target yourself and your base, that requires courage and faithfulness. God didn’t call us to preach the Word in general, but to preach the Word to this particular person in this particular congregation. Let them hear it.
Here were my responses:
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…and a friend of mine said I should start blogging again.
Now that a HUGE writing project has been completed and printed, I think it’s time again to start pecking out some “new understandings,” a “fresh clearness” (the rough meaning of novus•lumen) on a range of things within Christian Spirituality.
Here is what I’d like to blog about:
Trinitarian/Christian/Evangelical Universalism
Pelagianism/Semi-Pelagianism/Augustinianism
Predestination
The profession of the pastorate
The Christian sub-culture, especially as it relates to books and publishing
Politics and the Kingdom of God
Is that enough weighty stuff for ya? It is for me! Most of it revolves around my semester as a graduate student studying theology and studying to “be a pastor.” I think these should set this blog sailin again.
Any one interested in goin sailin?
-jeremy
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INTRODUCTION
“The global image of the US has significantly deteriorated over the past 12 months, as the chaos in Iraq has deepened. And in 18 of the countries that were involved in previous polls, the slide in America’s standing has steepened.” This was the verdict of a BBC article reporting on a BBC World Service Poll which found widespread discontent among most of the world population toward the United States of America. While the US government may think it is offering the world Pax Americana through particular foreign policy efforts, those policies are viewed with contempt by the rest of the world and have resulted in a crisis of confidence in the American government, diluting its ongoing ability to influence the world. Already its mass exportation of American culture has pricked the ire of many Arab nations, resulting in such events as the USS Cole Bombing, 9/11, and the Iraq insurgency. With so much discontent with America in general, it is no wonder that the American Church’s influence is also waning, especially when it comes to missions. Rightly or wrongly, Christianity is linked with the West and specifically the United States of America. And as America continues its pseudo-colonialist endeavors in the interest of ‘national security’, the American Church’s influence will continue to dwindle unless it embraces a post-colonial posture toward the emerging South and East. As the Western Church grapples with Her role in global missions, She must be post-colonial in theology and missions if She is to make a continued difference in the world for Jesus Christ.
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Because I am suppose to be on summer break from school, though still in (and rather bored with) summer classes, I picked up Doug Pagitt’s freshly released book “A Christianity Worth Believing” last evening. I’ve ‘followed’ Doug and his ministry at Solomon’s Porch and writings since my own ’shift’ three and a half years ago. I’ve always appreciated his perspective and spin on God’s Story and I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this book ever since he announced last summer that he was writing a new one.
Here’s how the book describes itself:
Pagitt, a leader in the Emergent church movement, came to faith as a teenager at a Passion play, but Christian theology often didn’t cohere with his own raw, powerful and inclusive experiences of and intuition about God. Here Pagitt tells his own story and weaves together a new theology for the Emergent movement, viewing Christian doctrine from a slightly different perspective and trying to break it out of the firm grasp of Greek thinking by returning it to its Jewish context, the way it would have been understood by first-century readers. To Pagitt, humanity’s fallen state as a result of sin should not be emphasized so much as God’s desire to partner with people to do good work in the world. The Bible is not so much about truth and error as it is a picture of God attempting to reconnect, while Jesus represents our potential to live in love and establish the kingdom of God now. Pagitt clearly articulates both the heart and theology of the Emergent movement. Conservative critics will no doubt consider this Christianity subtly twisted out of recognition, but postmodern readers struggling with current expressions of faith will see love and hope.
I’m going to try to blog/converse my way through the book as a way to digest it and sharpen my book interactive skills, though since my current rate of return on verbal blogging promises is hovering at near 1% we all might be a bit optimistic 
I’ve already read through 35 pages, so check back tomorrow for some initial thoughts.
To get the ball rolling, here is a line from the first page:
I am a Christian, but I don’t believe in Christianity.
At least I don’t believe in the versions of Christianity that have prevailed for the last fifteen hundred years, the ones that were perfectly suitable in their time and place but have little connection with this time and place. The ones that answer questions we no longer ask and fail to consider questions we can no longer ignore. The ones that don’t mesh with what we know about God and the world and our place in it. I want to be very clear: I am not conflicted because I struggle to believe. I am conflicted because I want to believe differently.
Initially after reading that paragraph, here’s what I am looking for in the book:
- What are those versions of Christianity? Who’s are they and what are those versions’ ‘content’?
- Why don’t those versions throughout Christian history connect to this time and place? What exactly doesn’t connect? Is there anything that still does? Anything that we should still stay connected to in those historic versions?
- What questions did those versions answer and what were their answers?
- What are the questions our placement in history (particularly the postmodern placement) are asking? Why don’t those versions in Christianity’s history connect to our postmodern context?
- What answers no longer “mesh with what we know about God and the world and our place in it?” What DO we know about God and our world and our place in it?
- How do you want to believe differently? How does that “different” look and feel?
- What do you believe that is different or similar or the same than those versions of Christianity that no longer mesh with what we know about God and the world and our place in it?
Believe me when I say I’m not bone picking here nor witch hunting. I thoroughly agree with the “versions of Christianity” description, because as a budding historical theologian (yeah right!) I can see how all theology is contextual and historically rooted. That I get. And I think the talks of Pagittian heresy are over blown and nonsensical. But these are the questions I have after reading page 1, questions I really hope he answers, not because I want to nail him to the wall, but because I think they really deserve answering if paragraph 3 of the first page is where Doug is at.
And if the current gestation of historical theology in our postmodern context is forcing us to reconsider the “versions of Christianity” we’ve been handed by History, then we need to know what from History do we keep and what do we discard; what are the non-negotiables that History has preserved for us that mesh with what is real about God and the world and our place in it (in essence what are we to believe is real about God and His Story), and what is the chaff of History to discard as cultural nonsense.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m off to read…come back soon
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