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Christianity from an Existential Perspective..
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Jesus under Capitalism
“For the love of money is the root of all evil” – Paul (1 Timothy 6:10)
A sobering warning, and one that is more relevant today than the day it
was uttered. Contrary to popular belief, Jesus had quite a bit to say
on the economic situation of the society surrounding him. Jesus
implored the ‘middle class’ of Jews to see money as a means
to an end, a way to earn your own subsistence and to provide food and
shelter to their family. All excess of wealth or resources were
encouraged to be given to the poor, and to help those who had few.
Indeed, how an individual treated the least of their brethren was the
only measure of judgment in Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats
(Matthew 25:31-46). The wealthy in society, the ones who horded their
gold and an over abundance of luxurious and lavish goods, were
condemned by Jesus. Very famously, Jesus had proclaimed that it would
be easy for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than a rich man
to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24). Whenever he was approached
by men of wealth, he told them to sell all of their possessions and
follow him (Luke 18:22-23). The issue of wealth was very clear cut for
Jesus, and anyone who had an attachment or trusted in their riches
would have to sever that tie before he could follow Jesus.
The temptation of wealth has been prominent in all the ages of mankind,
but the creation of free market capitalism has brought about increased
money lust in every economic rung of society. At the very least, money
has become the means of a new end, that of consumer materialism or
prestige. At worst, money has become an end to itself, where people
strive merely to expand their now online coffers. The goal of having
more money for yourself is one that I dare say most all people have (I
am not excluded), and even though real incomes in Australia has tripled
since the 1950s, 62% of us believe that we are not able to afford
everything that we really need (the logic of that escapes me, since
Australia is not a third world country). This radical economic
structure that has been instilled in the western subconscious is not a
choice, but forces its values on all. Due to the increasing disparity
of wealth in all the world today (from America to Uganda), those who
are not born into extremely fortunate conditions will have to work
strenuously hard in order to cope with mortgage repayments and
consumerism and exponentially rising living costs.
Nietzsche is right; God is dead, and we have killed him. The God of
Abraham and Isaac has been replaced with a new God, known as the market
god: “Although it is a human creation, it acts on us daily-
rising or falling, plunging or recovering. It has emotions- jittery,
nervous, capricious, buoyant, or confident. It requires sacrifices and
promises rewards but, demanding propitiation, is nevertheless beyond
complete human control or prediction. This jealous God demands
single-minded loyalty and resents rival deities… The Market God
becomes the measure of everything.” (Taken from Marion Maddox)
All is not lost, however, for some very bright people have attempted to
transplant Jesus to work under this market god, so that the name of
Christianity can be preserved. Jesus in today’s 'market
Christianity' can serve as a furtherance of our capitalistic goals, or
a safety net from the insecurity of the market God. Truly, with the
prosperity gospel, which in its number of different degrees of severity
is extremely popular, sees people praising the Lord with the belief
that doing these ‘Christian’ things will help them become
prosperous. The servant of God will become prosperous and achieve more
wealth, because those who love God are blessed by God. The reasoning is
simple and deceitfully reasonable, but could not be further from the
truth. Jesus promised his followers discomfort, no place to rest their
head, and especially not wealth. The prosperity that was spoken of by
God was not an economic one, that expanded our material goods and
external pleasures. Rather, it was an inward prosperity, that gives a
happiness and joy that only life eternal could provide to a soul.
Alternatively, Jesus can be used as a counterweight to the extremes of
the market. Because the market god can be seen as too insecure and
dynamic; and it tears away safety nets so the market god can curse you
by sabotaging family and community life. Also taken from Maddox, the
market god “has to make Olympian room for another deity, one who
brings ‘Us’ a renewed sense of the security the Market God
took away. The repressive God of racism, authoritarian ‘family
values’ and exclusion tries to make ‘Us’ feel more
secure by turning our anxieties upon ‘them.’” The
combination of the market god with Jesus in our existence,
characterised by an incredibly materialistic lifestyle together with a
firm belief in the doctrines of the church, is the philosophy
underpinning a lot of the conservative churches that exist today. There
is a reason that the religious right is in bed with the republicans,
and it is not because of abortion and homosexuality. The freedom of the
market releases the market god from the restraints of government
regulation (and even more frightening international regulation), and
makes a perfect mate with the market Jesus that calms the anxieties of
the market god’s playthings.
Severing ourselves from this wealth fixated society is not possible,
and even if it were it’d be foolish. The message that Jesus has
for Christians is just this, “lay not up for yourselves treasures
on this earth.. for where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) A necessary requirement to following
Christ is to rid ourselves from affluenza, and to appropriately
identify when our actions and attitudes are serving the market god, and
not Jesus.
-- By Timothy Neal |
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