The Bible and Capitalism

I came across this article today and thought it was quite good.  It reminded me of a blog I made some time ago when everyone seemed to be trying to portray Jesus as a Socialist.

http://silentnomoremajority.blogspot.com/2009/09/stop-twisting-bible-liberals-jesus-was.html

The main difference is the author of this article actually has skills at writing.  I have linked the article below and copied the substance for your reading pleasure.  It is a pretty decent read, at least in my opinion.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577179303330474134.html


What the Bible Teaches About Capitalism 


As the Ten Commandments instruct, envy is corrosive to the individual
and to those societies that embrace it..

By ARYEH SPERO 
Who would have expected that in a Republican primary campaign the single
biggest complaint among candidates would be that the front-runner has
taken capitalism too far? As if his success and achievement were
evidence of something unethical and immoral? President Obama and other
redistributionists must be rejoicing that their assumptions about rugged
capitalism and the 1% have been given such legitimacy.

More than any other nation, the United States was founded on broad
themes of morality rooted in a specific religious perspective. We call
this the Judeo-Christian ethos, and within it resides a ringing
endorsement of capitalism as a moral endeavor. 

Regarding mankind, no theme is more salient in the Bible than the
morality of personal responsibility, for it is through this that man
cultivates the inner development leading to his own growth, good
citizenship and happiness. The entitlement/welfare state is a paradigm
that undermines that noble goal. 

The Bible's proclamation that "Six days shall ye work" is its
recognition that on a day-to-day basis work is the engine that brings
about man's inner state of personal responsibility. Work develops the
qualities of accountability and urgency, including the need for comity
with others as a means for the accomplishment of tasks. With work, he
becomes imbued with the knowledge that he is to be productive and that
his well-being is not an entitlement. And work keeps him away from the
idleness that Proverbs warns leads inevitably to actions and attitudes
injurious to himself and those around him. 

Yet capitalism is not content with people only being laborers and
holders of jobs, indistinguishable members of the masses punching in and
out of mammoth factories or functioning as service employees in
government agencies. Nor is the Bible. Unlike socialism, mired as it is
in the static reproduction of things already invented, capitalism is
dynamic and energetic. It cheerfully fosters and encourages creativity,
unspoken possibilities, and dreams of the individual. Because the Hebrew
Bible sees us not simply as "workers" and members of the masses but,
rather, as individuals, it heralds that characteristic which endows us
with individuality: our creativity.

At the opening bell, Genesis announces: "Man is created in the image of
God"-in other words, like Him, with individuality and creative
intelligence. Unlike animals, the human being is not only a hunter and
gatherer but a creative dreamer with the potential of unlocking all the
hidden treasures implanted by God in our universe. The mechanism of
capitalism, as manifest through investment and reasoned speculation,
helps facilitate our partnership with God by bringing to the surface
that which the Almighty embedded in nature for our eventual extraction
and activation. 

Capitalism makes possible entrepreneurship, which is the realization of
an idea birthed in human creativity. Whereas statism demands that
citizens think small and bow to a top-down conformity, capitalism, as
has been practiced in the U.S., maximizes human potential. It provides a
home for aspiration, referred to in the Bible as "the spirit of life."

The Bible speaks positively of payment and profit: "For why else should
a man so labor but to receive reward?" Thus do laborers get paid wages
for their hours of work and investors receive profit for their
investment and risk. 

The Bible is not a business-school manual. While it is comfortable with
wealth creation and the need for speculation in economic markets, it has
nothing to say about financial instruments and models such as private
equity, hedge funds or other forms of monetary capitalization. What it
does demand is honesty, fair weights and measures, respect for a
borrower's collateral, timely payments of wages, resisting usury, and
empathy for those injured by life's misfortunes and charity.

It also demands transparency and honesty regarding one's intentions. The
command, "Thou shalt not place a stumbling block in front of the blind
man" also means that you should not act deceitfully or obscure the truth
from those whose choice depends upon the information you give them.
There's nothing to indicate that Mitt Romney breached this biblical code
of ethics, and his wealth and success should not be seen as automatic
causes for suspicion.

No country has achieved such broad-based prosperity as has America, or
invented as many useful things, or seen as many people achieve personal
promise. This is not an accident. It is the direct result of centuries
lived by the free-market ethos embodied in the Judeo-Christian outlook.

Furthermore, only a prosperous nation can protect itself from outside
threats, for without prosperity the funds to support a robust military
are unavailable. Having radically enlarged the welfare state and hoping
to further expand it, President Obama is attempting to justify his cuts
to our military by asserting that defense needs must give way to
domestic programs. 

Both history and the Bible show the way that leads. Countries that were
once economic powerhouses atrophied and declined, like England after
World War II, once they began adopting socialism. Even King Solomon's
thriving kingdom crashed once his son decided to impose onerous taxes. 

At the end of Genesis, we hear how after years of famine the people in
Egypt gave all their property to the government in return for the
promise of food. The architect of this plan was Joseph, son of Jacob,
who had risen to become the pharaoh's top official, thus: "Joseph
exchanged all the land of Egypt for pharaoh and the land became
pharaoh's." The result was that Egyptians became indentured to the ruler
and state, and Joseph's descendants ended up enslaved to the state. 

Many on the religious left criticize capitalism because all do not end
up monetarily equal-or, as Churchill quipped, "all equally miserable."
But the Bible's prescription of equality means equality under the law,
as in Deuteronomy's saying that "Judges and officers . . . shall judge
the people with a just judgment: Do not . . . favor one over the other."
Nowhere does the Bible refer to a utopian equality that is contrary to
human nature and has never been achieved. 

The motive of capitalism's detractors is a quest for their own power and
an envy of those who have more money. But envy is a cardinal sin and
something that ought not to be. 

God begins the Ten Commandments with "I am the Lord your God" and
concludes with "Thou shalt not envy your neighbor, not for his wife, nor
his house, nor for any of his holdings." Envy is corrosive to the
individual and to those societies that embrace it. Nations that throw
over capitalism for socialism have made an immoral choice.

Rabbi Spero has led congregations in Ohio and New York and is president
of Caucus for America.

Time Magazine Editor Says Burning Koran Worse Than Burning Bible

GHOSH: The thing to keep in mind that`s very important here is that the Koran to Muslims, it is not — it is not the same as the Bible to Christians.

The Bible is a book written by men. It is acknowledged by Christians that it is written by men. It`s the story of Jesus.

TODD: Yes.

GHOSH: But the Koran, if you are a believer, if you`re a Muslim, the Koran is directly the word of God, not written by man. It is transcribed, is directly the word of God.

That makes it sacred in a way that it`s hard to understand if you`re not Muslim. So the act of burning a Koran is much more — potentially much, much more inflammatory than –

TODD: Directly attacking — directly attacking God.

GHOSH: — than if you were to burn a — burn a Bible.

TODD: Directly attacking God.

As I was initially preparing a response to this extremely uneducated statement, I came across one written by Duane Lester which is better than any response I would have come up with:

News flash to Mr. Ghosh: Christians believe that the Old Testament was delivered to man from God, via people like Moses and prophets like Samuel and Jeremiah. Then came along Jesus, the son of God. Christians believe he taught, did miracles and he died on the cross for our sins.

We believe the Bible is directly the word of God. We understand men compiled it and wrote it down, but that it was inspired writing by God. We don’t think a bunch of guys got together and made the thing up.

The Koran was compiled and written by men also. I’m surprised the World Editor for Time Magazine didn’t know this.

There was this “prophet” named Mohammed and he supposedly spoke for Allah. He helped bring about Islam.

The whole thing was written down by men. Allah didn’t write it down and give it out on street corners. Man had a big hand in it.

The big difference is, Christians don’t go crazy when you burn a book because our faith tells us to love our neighbor, not behead them because some mustachioed preacher a world away torched a Bible.

Which brings us to a dilemma.

On one hand, Ghosh wants us to believe the Muslims have so much reverence for the Koran because it is directly from the mouth of Allah and on the other, we are supposed to believe Islam is the religion of Peace.

Pardon me, but if you truly believe the Koran is the direct word of Allah, and Islam is a peaceful religion, why are Muslims rioting and killing in defense of a book? You can’t have it both ways. You can’t claim Muslims riot and murder because they believe so strongly in the idea that the Koran is the true word of Allah and claim Islam is a peaceful religion.

It seems to me that if you are truly a follower of Allah, and Allah commands you to be peaceful, there wouldn’t be any motivation for you to go out and behead some random United Nations worker.

You’d just forgive them for their transgressions and pray for them to see the light.

You know, like most Christians do.

Obama’s Foreign Policy With Israel…A Trip to Bizarro World

Over the past year and a half under President Obama, I can note many decisions his regime has made which are disturbing at best. Nothing; however, goes more against the grain of everything our nation has stood for than the antagonistic stance we have taken towards Israel.

President Obama has gone to great lengths to weaken our relationship with Israel, at times behaving in a completely disrespectful manner toward Prime Minister Netanyahu. The current administration has taken a very stern, almost confrontational attitude with Israel. This is extremely irresponsible and ill-advised. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you why.

***Warning…the content about to be discussed will contain references to God and Christianity. If you are an atheist or have a problem with people talking about Christianity and/or God, please feel free to not read the rest of this article. I wouldn’t want to waste time you could be spending consorting with the ACLU to have the Ten Commandments removed from a courtroom somewhere in our nation.***

Israel, first and foremost, has always been our ally. They are the only ally we have in the middle east. We have always supported them and they, in turn, have always supported us. Israel is sacred. Israel is a blessed land given to the Jews by God. The Jews are God’s chosen people.

Deuteronomy 7:6-8 says “⁶ For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. ⁷ The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. ⁸ But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

President Obama has done many things that I believe are bad for our nation, both economically and morally, but I firmly believe that a continued lack of support for the nation of Israel by the United States will be the single decision that dooms our nation.

I wholeheartedly believe that the birth of our great nation was God-inspired. The founding fathers, contrary to how liberals have twisted their meanings over the years, founded our nation upon God. The “separation of church and state” was to prevent the government from sponsoring or forcing any one national religion on the people, i.e. The Church of England, which had most certainly left a bad taste in their mouths from the extreme corruption and politicism involved with a state sponsored religion. Their intent was most certainly not to disallow nativity scenes or the ten commandments from government property, quite the opposite. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some quotes:

“ The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.” **John Adams**

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." **John Adams**

“ He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all… Our forefathers opened the Bible to all.” **Samuel Adams**

“ God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel” **Benjamin Franklin**

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.” **Thomas Jefferson***

This last quote is almost prophetic. Can our liberties be considered secure when we have removed God, the one who gives us the liberties in the first place? As much as the liberal history re-writers have tried to remove this fact from existence, our nation was founded upon God and Christian principles.

The bible clearly identifies the Jews as God’s chosen people. I confidently believe we have been blessed as a nation. I further believe that God has blessed our nation over the past 60+ years for our support of the nation of Israel. The day we turn our backs on Israel we can expect to find ourselves on the wrong end of God’s “justice” that “cannot sleep forever.”

Even if you are not a Christian, putting Obama’s foreign policy decisions in perspective has to make you raise an eyebrow. He is continually distancing himself from Israel, and at the same time he is constantly cozying himself up to muslim nations. You know, the ones which chant ‘death to America’ in their streets and who’s own Koran tells them to convert or kill all non-believers. Oh, and I almost forgot…it has been almost nine years but they did murder about 3,000 innocent civilians in our land, but I’m sure they’ll make great new allies.

Stop Twisting the Bible Liberals, Jesus was NOT a Socialist!

I have seen a growing number of liberal articles being printed which attempt to paint conservative Christians as hippocrites for opposing the healthcare reform bill. Let me first say that I am overjoyed that modern day liberals could take the time out of their busy day to find and crack open a bible, but am disturbed that they seem to have had an ulterior motive in doing so.

Apparently the new attack is to refer to any passage in which Jesus refers to the "poor" or "sick" and claim that Jesus calls upon our country to care for them, with any resistance to this being hypocrisy on the part of conservatives, a large number of which are Christians. First let me say that I, as a Christian, feel that attempting to support either side of a political issue by invoking Jesus' words is ill-advised. For the Christian, we know that Jesus was sent to Earth for specific reasons, namely to bear all of the sins of the world on his back, so that we might have an opportunity to accept him as our Savior and have everlasting life. So I do not support the premise behind their articles whatsoever, as it is based in political gain, not edification of Jesus, but I will look at a few verses and investigate:

The main set of verses being utilized by the libs is Matthew 25:34-40:

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Important to note here is Jesus makes no mention of the Government performing any of these functions, but is speaking to individual humans regarding their need to conduct themselves in a charitable manner. This can actually be further clarified if one were to read the earlier verses in the same chapter:

14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

These passages would support that we, as individuals are to utilize our talents to work, be successful, and most importantly to represent Our Lord in a positive manner and give unto him for the talents he has blessed us with, through tithing and charity, as individuals!

Let's even look at the verses in the same chapter, just a little earlier than this:

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

I ask you, do these verses support socialism in any way? I am not here to say what Jesus would or would not support politically, as I feel he would chastise any having the debate in the first place. Jesus came to this earth for a much more important mission than choosing a political party! However, if he were, in fact, a socialist, he would have chastised the five wise virgins for not giving of their oil to the foolish virgins.

See, what the liberals need to know is that it is very ill-advised (understatement) to twist the words of Jesus to gain political favor. Please do not confuse this article as any attempt on my part to say Jesus is a conservative. I most assuredly am not. I believe Jesus would not waste his time with such political discussions. Jesus called on all of us, to be charitable and take care of our fellow man, to feed the hungry, care for the sick, etc. He calls on us as individuals to conduct ourselves in this manner, and likewise, he explains that we will be judged individually on these things one day. No government entity will be judged on judgement day, it will be each, according to their own individual acts.

I am not attempting to preach a sermon today. I have not been called to be a preacher, but I felt it important to address this argument being made by socialist liberals, as I find it reprehensible that they would attempt to use the words of the bible to support their policies, yet, on a daily basis they are the ones who fight so fervently against prayer in schools, any religious display on any government property, and most importantly anything pro-life. Hypocrisy, thy name is liberal.