Economics and Ethics

or "Economics.  And Ethics?"

What are some of the significant practical implications for Christian social ethics that arise from considering economics in terms of the Principalities and Powers?

There have been throughout the centuries many different responses to society by the Church and by individual Christians.   In his book Christ and Culture, H. Richard Niebuhr sought to expound on five basic types of responses which he felt were indicated by a study of Church history.  Yet, as John Howard Yoder pointed out in his critique of the book found in Authentic Transformation, there are some significant flaws in Niebuhr’s discussion.  One of these flaws has to do with the very definitions which Niebuhr depends on for “Christ” and “Culture”.  Christ is seen as the morality of Jesus, the pure ethics which he taught the Church.  Culture is a monolithic whole, essentially defined as the majority social structure, but fundamentally meaning the government of a society.  This creates a false dichotomy between Christ and culture which does not translate into effective action or real solutions for daily living.  For Christians are part of the culture, and culture itself is variant, complex, and wide ranging. 

Another way of looking at the issues of Christianity and the world around us is by looking more deeply at the idea of “principalities and powers” which is often glossed over in our reading of the New Testament.  Oftentimes this phrase is thought of as either being purely a material definition, i.e. the earthly rulers, or as being purely spiritual, like a demonic influence.  Some scholars have looked at this more closely and have come to the conclusion that this phrase has a dual meaning, often meaning both earthly and spiritual at the same time.  William Stringfellow points out the modern analogies as being “all institutions, all ideologies, all images, all movements, all causes, all corporations, all bureaucracies, all traditions, all methods and routines, all conglomerates, all races, all nations, all idols.”  What makes these powers pernicious, however, is the sinful state of humanity, which is led astray by spiritual evil.  Thus, there are institutions which are characterized by chaos, self-propagation, top-down influence, claimed autonomy from God, and a predatory nature which are forces to be reckoned with by God’s church.

Yet oftentimes the church itself gets swallowed up by these “principalities and powers”, as did the great majority of churches during the time of Nazi Germany.  In our day and age, we find much of our society and culture being driven by economic concerns, much of which is good, but much of which is also tainted by the influence of evil in the very institutions which depend on and help build the economic structures of this world.  Prosperity is not a bad thing, we are told often of the riches of heaven.  However, prosperity has been corrupted so that many lack, while many hoard, and greed becomes a replacement for worship.  The church has often felt concerned about the needs of the poor, and economic justice in general, but has not often seen this as a problem of the institutions themselves which needs addressing.

Viewing “principalities and powers” as the inner and outer manifestations of power, however, forces the church to utilize not only spiritual and moral authority, but also to address the physical institutions which may be causing economic distress, sometimes even addressing the church itself.  This change in understanding leads to some significant practical implications for who we are as people of God.  Glen Stassen, in chapter 4 of Authentic Transformation, gives to us three basic guidelines for action if we are to properly respond to the “principalities and powers” of this age.  The first is that of an “apostle”, the second is that of a “pioneer”, and the third is that of a “pastor”.  If we address economics from these three perspectives and roles, we will we quite effective in overcoming the evil in this world.

As “apostles” we are to announce the Gospel to all nations and make disciples of Christ.  We are called to proclaim and teach faith, repentance, righteousness, and holiness.  The more direct and concrete we are in our proclamation, the more effective and influential we are in sending out the message of Christ to the world.  We must proclaim and teach what it means to be followers of Christ, under the Lordship of the Father, and inspired and led by the Spirit.  In terms of economics, we must announce and teach in our churches and wherever we can the many calls for economic justice which are so prevalent in our Scriptures.  Throughout the Old and New Testaments we are told that our worship of God is best when we are giving to those in need, forgiving the debts owed to us, and being gracious with our money.

This is not a message of the greed and money hungry “principalities and powers” of this world, and this is not even a popular message within our churches, as evidenced by many “health and wealth” gospels, extensive building programs, and the surprising amount of money centered advertisements in Christian periodicals and on Christian radio.  So, the first step is to recover, and proclaim, what the teachings of Christ and the Scriptures are concerning economics, so that in doing so we will not be guilty of quiet acceptance of economic injustice throughout the world, but rather so our message of good news to all people can be heard to help and correct pervasive economic evil.

The second role we must play as a church is that of “pioneer”.  We must do more than proclaim with our words, we must lead the way in our actions.  As the Church, we must be the first to heed the Christian message about economics, seeking to find, repent of, and correct, where we as a people have become influenced by economic “powers” and have drifted away from the message which we seek to proclaim.   We must seek to follow God’s will on behalf of the whole society.  This includes a building awareness of the differences between obedience to God and obedience to the principalities and powers of the world.  We must teach those within our church to discern between what is truly of God, and what is pervasive evil.  Too often economic prosperity, or conservative economic politics, is equated with the Gospel.  As a church, we must consistently proclaim the Lordship of Christ and seek to show how outside influences attempt to corrupt our service and lead us away from holy living.  Because we are under the Lordship of Christ, all that we have is his, not ours, including our economic resources.  We must teach, and encourage, the members of our church to seek economic justice and to once again become the Church which was once known for its care of widows and orphans, and economically deprived, rather than the church known for its millionaire televangelists, constant collections, and outlandish edifices. 

Finally, with this we must become “pastors”, putting our words, and direction, into action, seeking to not only urge people toward economic justice, but to actually use our resources, sacrificially if necessary, to restore, rebuild, and refocus the structures and powers which are used for destruction and economic evil.    We are to help the needy by directly giving aid, and to indirectly push for other institutions to change their ways towards economic justice.  Part of this is simply helping those in our congregation.  Rather, than simply putting tithes in a basket, we are also called to help those who cannot pay their rent, or need a car, or do not have money to buy food for their family.  Instead of seeing the financially needy as lacking faith, or work ethic, we need to heed the call for our resources.  We must also create and build structures, such as interest free loans, financial aid, and debt forgiveness, and many other ideas and structures which serve as models to the world and practical applications of the Gospel we seek to preach.   This is not simply a nice gesture, rather it is an act of war against the “powers and principalities” who seek to corrupt that which was intended by God for good, and a willingness to overcome the evil and fight the economic injustice which causes so much pain and grief throughout the world.