Question to ponder
"The philosophy of Jesus and the philosophy of capitalism have always been two opposing philosophies. I have always wondered, 'If Jesus really came back saying everyone should be equal financially and socially and that the rich should give up all their riches and live on the same level with the poor and follow Him, would he be embraced by our capitalistic society or would we put him back on the cross like the Romans did?'"
posted by Karen @ 7:02 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
You sure know how to drop the big bombs, don't ya?
First, I might point out that saying that the philosophy of Jesus and the philosophy of capitalism have always been opposed is kind of like saying that mechanics and gardening are opposed. In a sort of poetic way, I suppose that can be true, but it doesn't make much sense from an analytical perspective.
Capitalism, properly defined, is an economic framework enforced by government. The "philosophy" of Jesus is a radical change of allegiance to God's kingdom, offered freely from the depths of the human heart. All economic systems (including communism and socialism, which are the favorite alternatives currently held to be more ethical than capitalism) are enforced by government, and therefore have nothing to do with the condition of the heart and one's allegiance to God's kingdom. It is one thing to own property and give it over to someone in need out of a desire to be obedient to Jesus' calling on your life. It is quite another to have the government take your possessions and give them to someone else in an effort to create a difficult-to-define equality.
Selling your possessions and giving to the poor can be done quite outside of Jesus' philosophy, and neither does capitalism oppose this sort of activity.
All that said, I've wondered if our society today would waste any time doing to him the same thing the Romans did. American culture is very, very far from embracing the sort of life that Jesus lived, and its materialism is a significant factor in that. No doubt Jesus would have some things to say about our standard of living as well as the state of the poor among us that would drive more than a few to a mob mentality.
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