What does God think of economic equality?

In American evangelical circles, there's an idea that goes something like this: progressive taxation = socialism and socialism=satanic. Never mind the fact that both Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith (the founder of modern capitalism) favored progressive taxation, I'm wondering where we got the idea that political structures aiming for economic equality--or at least some semblance of economic equality--is a bad thing?

One of the reasons that many evangelicals believe the Apostles never attacked the institution of slavery directly is because they wanted slavery to lose its grip in the community of the church first so that society would eventually follow suit. Might the same principle also apply to economic equality? We know that early Christians in the Book of Acts practiced a form of voluntary socialism, but how much have we pondered what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8:13-14?

“Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality…” (italics emphasis mine)

I think it’s a devastating indictment on the way things are today that we don’t even aim for this in our churches…but I digress. Here’s my question. If God’s vision for the Body of Christ is economic equality, then what does that say about God’s vision for society at large?

Think about it.

A review of Rediscovering Values

I've been reading Jim Wallis's writings for the past few years now on the Sojourners blog, but this is the first book I've purchased of his. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "To be great is to be misunderstood." When I Google Jim Wallis I notice that his critics all but accuse him of being a member of the communist party. These same critics are the ones that seem to think that if you don't believe the market should run everything, then you must be a Marxist!

I think that Rediscovering Values can go a long way to silence Wallis's critics if they would just give him a listening ear. Jim Wallis is not saying that he favors a centrally planned economy over a market economy. Neither is he trying to replace capitalism with socialism....or any other "ism." What Wallis is saying is that the private sector, the public sector, and the civic sector should all serve as a system of checks and balances against the other, and neither can function properly without a moral compass that looks out for the common good of all.

Very well written and highly recommended!

Obama's secret plot to destroy Catholic social teaching. Really??

I was looking for material to post today when this video was sent to me via e-mail. This one's almost too easy.

Watch first, and then I'll comment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVN2MMuiedI

Sounds like a slam dunk doesn't it?

The video implies three things.

1. Socialism is Satanic
2. Mainstream Catholic social teaching is pro-capitalist and anti-socialistic
3. In order for Obama to push his Satanic socialist agenda, he has to bypass the leadership of the Catholic Church and build alliances with far-left fringe minority groups within the Catholic church.

As to the first suggestion, that socialism is Satanic, I'll let the reader decide that, but before we jump to the conclusion that premise two and three are gospel truth, take a look at this article in USA today about the current Pope Benedict's economic sympathies.

Here are a few of the highlights:

Benedict writes, "The market is not, and must not become, the place where the strong subdue the weak.

"

The encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) is a theologically dense explication of Catholic social teaching that draws heavily from earlier popes, particularly PaulVI's critique of capitalism 42 years ago. And echoing his predecessor John Paul II, Benedict says, "every economic decision has a moral consequence."

Italics emhasis mine.

Here's another quote from the article:

The pope's views here are "to the left of Obama in terms of economic policy," particularly in calls for redistribution of wealth, says political scientist Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Again, italics emphasis mine.

Now here are the Pope's own words according to his latest encyclical on economic policy.

According to the encyclical:

•Labor must be safeguarded after years of rampant market forces leaving citizens powerless in the face of "new and old risks" and without effective trade union protections.

•Elimination of world hunger is essential for "safeguarding the peace and stability of the planet," and the problem is not resources but their inequitable distribution. (italics emphasis mine)

•The environment is "God's gift to everyone" and we have a "grave duty to hand the earth on to future generations" in good condition, says Benedict. He laments, "how many natural resources are squandered by wars!"


My point here is not to deify socialism, but to say that Christians shouldn't be propagators of false hood. A lot of Christians will watch this video and buy into it hook, line, and sinker not because not because it's rooted in truth, but because they want to believe it's true. They want to believe that the Pope agrees with them so much that they'll never bother to check the facts to see if he actually does. Of course, there are some significant differences between the Pope and Obama on issues such as abortion and gay marriage. But this whole idea that Obama's calls for "redistribution of wealth" is foreign to Catholic social teaching is patently false.

If premise two and three are true, apparently the Pope hasn't received the memo.