A Christian Economy

[MagusYanam]

Here's a question I've been wondering about recently.

I've been debating with my father over what form an economy would take that was shaped by a Christian set of ethics. I was arguing that it would look fairly socialistic, given the way Jesus and his disciples lived and ministered to people, and the forms the early Church took. The poor and the elderly would have to be provided for from public and church funds.

My father (who is not as socialistic in terms of economic policy as I am) came to agree with me, but with a certain set of provisos. He said it would take a form in which people would be expected to contribute and work for a living, in line with the Christian sense of personal dignity. And if you don't work, you don't eat.

So I was wondering what visions other people held for an economy informed by a truly Christian ethic.

[juliod]

Well, for a start, banking (at least paying or charging interest) would be banned. Slavery would be legal.

Slavery would deal with the people who won't work. They would loose their freedom and be subject to compulsion.

DanZ

[smokeyparkin]

It would be very close to an Isalmic economy. The only real one the world has seen in this centry so far is the Talibans in Afganistan. -- *Its a funny old world!*

Slaves hey?

[harvey1]

Here's a question I've been wondering about recently. I've been debating with my father over what form an economy would take that was shaped by a Christian set of ethics. I was arguing that it would look fairly socialistic, given the way Jesus and his disciples lived and ministered to people, and the forms the early Church took.

Well, for one, there wouldn't be any nuclear weapons or conventional weapons, so we'd all have a lot more money in our pockets (and we wouldn't be worrying about some genetic modification disease since this would not be happening). As far as the economy, I imagine that it would follow Schumacher's "small is beautiful" economy. There would be no major cities, just smaller communities spread over the world.

[McCulloch]

My feeling is that a genuinely Christian economy would run much like the Hutterite colonies.

• Organizational Structure of a Hutterian Community Community of Goods
• Livelihood Every person on a Hutterite Colony is assigned a job.
• Who owns what ? Goods are owned communally in the community, i.e., all moneys earned from different businesses belong to everyone on the colony. If members need different items, they ask for it and if it is a necessary item, it is bought for them. Most items are given out according to the need. (Acts 2:44-47; Acts 4:32-35). Things like farm equipment, vehicles, etc, are bought and paid for by the colony and used by whoever needs or is responsible for them.
  
  Any kind of Aagnutz (Eigennutz, any method of earning personal spending money) is frowned upon and greatly discouraged, especially by the Schmiedeleut branch. The example of Ananias and Sapphira is often sited as proof that aagnutz is a vice that ought to be avoided (Acts 5:1-11). Hutterites have some personal belongings in their homes though that the colony provides for them or allows them to purchase.

[1John2_26]

Communism is what it appears was what the Church body was embracing in Acts.

Why does there even need to be money anyway?

If everyone (almost everyone) went into work or the endeavor of work, to make products and life in general as perfect as they would wnat for themselves, then life on earth would only have natural sadness and not artificial horror.

Ford would make a better car than Honda, not just for profit, but to make a better care for people to have.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you would make the world around us almost perfect. Obviously some people would not grasp the concept.

On the concpet of slavery: Could it even exist in a Christian economy? But but then again, the slave would be so cared for by his/her owner as not to realize the condition they were in until they were freed from whatever service they were performing.

A Christian economy? Based on the New Testament?

Sign me up.

God has shown that the course he has set for mankind can be changed if we wow Him. Ask Jonah. Maybe it's not too late.

[MagusYanam]

Slavery would be legal.

Slavery would deal with the people who won't work. They would loose their freedom and be subject to compulsion.

One problem. Slavery by its very definition violates the deontological golden rule. There's a reason no Christian nation today practises slavery - it's because we realise now that it is an abominable and barbaric institution which systematically exploits a specific group of people.

Jesus never owned a slave, and treated no human being like property. His philosophy seems prima facie humanistic in this regard.

My feeling is that a genuinely Christian economy would run much like the Hutterite colonies.

Mine too. But the question that most interests me here is, 'who assigns the jobs in a Hutterite community'? Is it the leader of the community, the community itself or is it decided on a personal basis?

There's another good question McCulloch raises here. What is the role of self-interest (the direct translation of 'Aagnutz') in the Christian ethic?

[McCulloch]

A Christian economy? Based on the New Testament?

Sign me up.

Sign yourself up.

Yes. If a person is really sincere about becoming a Hutterite, he or she could potentially join. Of course, one would first have to live on a Hutterite Colony for a time to ensure that they really do want to join. A serious candidate would obviously have to fully agree with the doctrine of the Hutterian Brethren Church and be willing to give up all personal ownership. Upon being baptised, he or she would be considered a full-fledged Hutterite.

[juliod]

But could any such "christian economy" survive without being merely a small movement withing a much larger society?

The Hutterites, in my opinion, could not survive outside of the insulation of the larger secualr society they are in. So I don't think we use them as a clear example of a christian economy.

The writings of the NT are in the context of a small cultic movement within the enormous structure of the Roman Empire. When they took over the empire, they did so by converting the rulers, not by making any sort of overall change. By 800 AD, when Charles the Man was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, christianity had changed far far beyond recognition. So even though medieval christian europe was very much "christian" it does not seem to have been based at all on anything we could use in this thread.

What I mean is that a christian economy can't just be the means by which a small group arranges their livings. It would have to be a whole national (not to say international) system.

Islam has this problem, since no nation can survive today without a financial sector, and that is banned by Sharia law. They get around this by several means, mainly ignoring thier religion (like medieval christians).

DanZ

[McCulloch]

But could any such "christian economy" survive without being merely a small movement withing a much larger society?

Did Jesus or any of the writers of the New Testament give any indication that they believed that Christianity would ever be anything other than a small movement within a much larger society? I am unaware of it.

The Hutterites, in my opinion, could not survive outside of the insulation of the larger secualr society they are in. So I don't think we use them as a clear example of a christian economy.

If you will not include small isolated groups, then you will never find a clear example of a christian economy. Biblical Christianity does not work for large groups.

[...] [A] christian economy can't just be the means by which a small group arranges their livings. It would have to be a whole national (not to say international) system.

Could not a small group be used as a model for a larger system?

Islam has this problem, since no nation can survive today without a financial sector, and that is banned by Sharia law. They get around this by several means, mainly ignoring thier religion (like medieval christians).

Or modern Christians currently occupying the White House.