Christianity Capitalism And The Poor Summary

“A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor

of oppression, understanding the central core of the Gospels as Jesus' identification with the poor

Luke’s Gospel greatly emphasizes the social justice aspect of Christian living. Throughout the third book in the New Testament, the story and history of Jesus Christ is written, and Luke preserves the many sayings of Jesus warning that those with material possessions have a

Sociology studies and defines the diverse aspects of some of the most basic human behaviour, particularly focusing on the purpose and the value that human behaviour holds. Max Weber, the highly influential philosopher (born 1864 – died 1920), documented and observed human behaviour, focusing primarily in his text, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, on social action. Weber determines that social action is the behaviour or action of an individual, or actor, in the presence of another individual. The specific role of social action is to monitor the influence of another on an individual’s work output and how their behaviour changes and the direction of their actions determined. Weber claimed that “a correct causal interpretation of concrete course of action, is arrived at when the overt action and the motives have both been correctly apprehended and at the same time their relation has become meaningfully comprehensible.”

The main message in Christianity & Liberalism is what the only object of faith is Christ. Machen composes his book into doctrine, God and man, the Bible, Christ, Salvation, and the Church; he shows all of this doctrine should be directly connected with the faith in Christ. If not, he declares that that should not be Christianity. In chapter 1 and 2, Machen emphasizes that how maintaining traditional doctrine is important. The reason for that is classical conservatives tried to keep the doctrine upon the Bible; however, classical liberalism attacked the traditional doctrine because Machen points out that liberal theologians and preachers want to interpret the truth from the point of a human. Machen even warns that the liberalism is shaking the faith in Christianity. In other words, it could be proper understanding that the liberalism rebelled against the truth and God’s word.

Hart describes early Christians as a group of extremists, with an unrealistic set of priorities economically, civically, socially, and even in ways religiously. Hart goes into great detail of his evidence of this by examining the position of the first Christians on the accumulation of wealth. In his findings from the original koine Greek text, Hart points out that the idea that accumulating wealth is not inherently bad as long as we don’t abuse it is not, in fact, the position the first Christians had. While he did concede that modern Christian’s have come to understand this false idea as a “truism”, he points out that the original language and attitude of the first Christians towards

Stapleford presents a strong analysis of economic issues with a Christian perception that aligns with Biblical truths. He urges his audience to avoid the temptation of idolatry and materialism but to live a selfless life of sacrifice. Stapleford claims that “there is sanctity in all of labor, and without God’s involvement human labor is futile. In whatever we do, Christians are to do it heartily as unto the Lord, for we do not labor for the food that perishes but for the food that endures to everlasting life” (Stapleford, 2009).

After reading the first few chapters of “Rich Christians in the Age of Hunger” by Ronald J. Sider it really opened my eyes to how blessed I am compared to a vast portion of the world. As we take economic strides forward, sadly we also take a couple steps back due to the high levels of poverty. There are people who are constantly struggling and Mr. Sider helps you understand the extremities of these situation throughout his book. He incorporates the sayings of the lord to display how if you are neglecting the oppressed or poor you are not considered God’s people. I constantly take for granted that I have so many resources accessible at all times.

In this book, William Cavanaugh covers four main subjects namely: the free market, consumerism, globalization, and scarcity. Cavanaugh shares what most of the world do not know about the economy, equipping Christians with the ability to identify and bring to existence economic practises that makes the market truly free. This analogy is to be used not only for our own benefit, but also for the benefit of the others. Cavanaugh also argues that we as Christians are not consumed by our desires, but that we are in fact consumed by the Body of Christ. “In the Eucharist we are absorbed by a larger body” (Kindle Edition 594 to 1152). The writer concludes that we must care for others, like Jesus cares for us. That is what becoming the Body of Christ is about. We ought to be

The key question the author is addressing is What is truly our role as christians in society and what outlook should we have when dealing with politics?. Do we put our loyalties into

Jesus Christ sought to improve the individual, the component of society, and as result, his teaching ideally aims to advance the well-being of society as a whole. The four Gospels and the book of Acts thoroughly demonstrate the extensive sociological knowledge that was present in Jesus’ teaching. His message facilitates personal reform, rather than change in the social structure alone. Although Jesus establishes the church as a social institution, he does so, only after a number of individuals become his followers.

Although Christianity was well known throughout the affluent classes, Jesus’s philosophies touched the hearts of the plebeians. The self-proclaimed Messiah often spoke of money and riches not being needed in the afterlife, and that God measures you not on how much money you have but on your values you showed throughout your life. This touched the working class’s heart as it informed them that there is hope for a better life that everyone can achieve but not a lot deserve. Therefore, this was the main reason why Christianity was spread as quickly as it could.

As for Jesus Gris he was not originally afflicted by the idea of being lower class once presented with the opportunity to gain affluence he does not hesitate to accept it. In turn he neglects to think about the conflicts and consequences that may come with it. The consumer (Jesus) eventually became dependent on the Cronos device (the commodity). This shows how interdependent the market is with the consumer and the commodity. One can not exist with out the other once one has fallen to dependency. The violence that can ensue when it comes to consumerism and the market is depicted between Jesus and Dieter de la Guardia. One man from the lower class and the other from the elites both fight over control for the commodity and who should be able to reap its benefits. At de La Gurdias warehouse we are shown statues of the Virgin Mary hanging from the ceiling like pieces of meat. This shows how consumeristic violence can begin to over shadow even the most important moral aspects of human existence. The idea that statues were just failed attempts at attaining the Cronos show just how neglected religion has become in a consumerism society. Class conflict can also be seen in the types of cars people drive, Jesus whose car is pushed of a ledge was an older model while Angel de La Gurdias car is much nicer. The idea that capitalism is a criticism on the poor can be seen the way Dieter thinks Jesus is unworthy of controlling the

Weber has been considered as an expert on origination of capitalism. His most famous work is The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber thesis regarding capitalism is rather considered as an argument counter to Marxist thesis (which was regarding primacy of base over superstructure). Weber discussed in his book that capitalism was resulted by Protestantism which was a religious movement or more specifically speaking Calvinism. However any Calvinist who has gone through catechism would have known that seeking a sign of selection by God in economic success, is not a right thing to do; therefore it is a travesty to Weber's thesis (Kilcullen, 1996).

Most Christian Americans do not find themselves in the category of oppressor the way Jesus thought of them during His time. We learn from Sobrino that Jesus believed the oppressors to be, “…the rich, scribes and Pharisees, priests and rulers, as those who hold economic, cultural, religious, and political power…” (170). Yet, most Christian Americans also do not find themselves in the abject poverty or oppressive conditions faced by those during Jesus’ time and even today in places like Central and South America, Africa, Asia and the war torn Middle East. Understanding this, Sobrino clearly points out the need to choose to find solidarity with the poor and oppressed in order to journey towards the Kingdom of God. As Christians, we understand that we have an obligation to use our time, talent, and treasure to help do our share in bringing about the Kingdom. What better way in making use of the attributes than to direct them towards those in most