Sunday, December 9, 2012

The Need For A Christian Worldview Of Freedom And Economics

The Need For A Christian Worldview Of Freedom And Economics:
Christian cross SC The Need for a Christian Worldview of Freedom and Economics
A Christian worldview regarding the economy is essential if America is to recover its eroding economic leadership in the world. A Christian worldview of economics is predicated upon the fact that man is born sinful (Ephesians 2:3), does not prosper by injustice (Ephesians 4:28), should work (2 Thessalonians 3:10), should not be dependent on anyone (1 Thessalonians 5:11-12), respects private property (Exodus 20:15), prospers through diligence (Proverbs 21:5), resists the envy of other people’s property (Exodus 20:17), believes that rich and poor are esteemed the same by God (Exodus 30:15), and that righteousness can yield abundance (Proverbs 16:8).
The Christian worldview also elevates the power of freedom. The Bible espouses the freedom to choose (1 Corinthians 6:12), that God makes us free (John 8:36), that freedom requires morality (Psalm 119:45), wherever God is honored there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17), that true freedom is based upon love (Galatians 5:13), that freedom requires discernment (1 Corinthians 8:9), and that the truth will set you free (John 8:32).
Some liberal Christians like Jim Wallis believe that the Bible prescribes socialism in Acts 4:32-35 and social justice (redistribution of private property), but this represents a failure in hermeneutics. This is a failure in thinking because the example presented in Acts 4:32-35 is characterized by the volitional decision to share private property. The passage is explicit in that the property shared is privately owned (antipodal to the state-owned model of socialism) and that the redistribution is not compulsory (also antipodal to state-run socialism). There is no Biblical support for state-run socialism. Those who try to twist the scriptures to support socialism neither understand the meaning nor understand how the world operates.
Capitalism is an economic system where production, distribution, and trade are privately owned to yield a profit for those who have made the investment to support that objective. It should be done in a largely free marketplace where the government respects private property and the legal system protects contractual law. Problems arise based upon the moral and ethical failure of owners (committing fraud), the market (committing theft), or the government (limiting freedom and violating property rights).
Winston Churchill eloquently observed that “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” Thomas Jefferson rebuked the notion of government control: “Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread.” Margaret Thatcher said that “Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people’s money. It’s quite a characteristic of them.”
God blesses people and nations according to His will (Psalm 67), and He is not accountable to man (Romans 11:33) and is sovereign (1 Chronicles 29:11-12). However, Christian stewardship requires a responsibility to God for decisions and behavior. Biblical stewardship believes that God is the owner of all things and man (individually and collectively) is His steward. When man abandons the authority of God in such affairs, he risks danger as Lord Acton stated: “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
The status of the current American economy is precarious. One of the best measures of a country’s economic health is the debt-to-GDP ratio, an indicator of the relationship between debt and production. The official US debt is approximately $16.3 trillion, while the US GDP is approximately $13.6 trillion (http://www.bea.gov/national/xls/gdplev.xls) constituting a ratio of approximately 120%. Furthermore, the unfunded liabilities (obligations without funding sources) is well over $100 trillion. This includes Medicare Part A at $36 trillion, Medicare Part B at $37 trillion, Medicare part D at $15 trillion, and Social Security at $17.5 trillion for a grand total of unfunded liabilities over $105 trillion. America has economically fallen far in the past few years. This suggests that absent draconian measures to cut entitlements (currently above 60% of GDP and growing), the United States may face an environment of bankruptcy and/or broken promises. We cannot grow ourselves out of this mess without concomitant entitlement reform.
The US government spending as a percentage of GDP has reached an all-time high (excluding World War II). This has happened as more politicians promise more benefits to more people who vote themselves larger abundance. It is a failure of leadership and of the governed. It is both unsustainable and a moral failure of epic proportions. At the time of Jesus, Rome imposed a 5% inheritance tax and a 1% sales tax (compared to the average state sales tax in the US of 5.6%). Currently, the US government taxes estates at 35% for those with estates over $5,000,000. Suddenly, the oppression of Rome doesn’t look so bad.
What is the Biblical worldview of economics? It is based on the Judeo-Christian principles of morality, freedom, and protection of private property. Capitalism is the economic system best suited to address the tenets of a Biblical worldview.
What should the individual do in response to the precarious nature of the US economy and the increasing role of the state? We should recognize that there are seasons of feast/famine where saving is essential to survive the bad times (Genesis 41:34-36), that debt can create bondage (Proverbs 22:7), that ignoring the signs of the times can bring disaster (Proverbs 22:3), and to trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6). Finally, the Christian should not run to the state (man) for rescue but to God (Jeremiah 17:5). Therefore, it is prudent to prepare for difficulties ahead, restrain personal spending and borrowing, strengthen savings behavior, embrace the morality of individual responsibility in uncertain times, and get involved in the culture to assure we have righteous leaders and economic practices. Ethics and engagement matter. We are called to redeem the culture (Acts 15:1-31, Colossians 3:17, and Genesis 1:28).
So many Americans now seek state solutions as the preferred path without realizing it is a path of broken promises that may jeopardize their own freedom as well. Karl Marx saidL “There is only one way to kill capitalism- by taxes, taxes, and more taxes.” Abraham Lincoln said: “You can not help men permanently by doing for them what they could do and should do for themselves.” Thomas Jefferson said that “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.”
Ethics and morality are indispensable supports for a sound economy. The road we choose as individuals will determine the road we take as a nation. America has changed because its people have changed. Our leaders reflect the best or worst in us. Currently, it is the latter. We must restore the hearts and minds of people to a proper worldview if we are to restore America to its former greatness.
Related posts:
  1. Worldview Collision Portends Trouble For America The recent US presidential election embraced secularism as the favored...
  2. The OWS Perspective On Economics To observe May Day (May 1st), Sean Hannity of the Fox News...