Posted on 10/17/2011 4:36:23 AM PDT by Kaslin
I contend that if you profess to believe in God, you must also embrace capitalism.
Lately, many religious shepherds are abandoning reason in favor of sentiment. Catholic nuns are joining Occupy Wall Street revelers, like zombies witnessing to rapturous fans. Meanwhile, Jewish activist and commentator Jake Goodman is hailing the Manhattan demonstration (which includes numerous blatantly anti-Semitic protesters) as a group of people “philanthropizing with their feet.”
Even within the same religion, emotional progressives are clashing with rational believers. Dominican Sister Pat Daly of New Jersey told Catholic News Service, “I’m thrilled to see this momentum as more and more people are taking to the streets.” Conversely, Father Robert Sirico of Michigan told CNS, “The ethos of this all is the rage against wealth for wealth’s sake. … You don’t alleviate poverty by redistributing wealth, you alleviate poverty by creating wealth.”
If you believe that God created the universe, then you must assume that he wanted man to live differently from animals. Otherwise, man would not have reason. Upon realizing that reason both defines and differentiates man, wouldn’t you set logic—not sensation—as the moral compass for human activity? Or would you “shepherd the flock” by encouraging young people to bully job creators, embrace sloth, strut topless in Manhattan and openly mate in parks?
Squirrels scamper about and get frisky in public parks. Squirrels are also feral; they will never cultivate the land, own property, develop iPhones or create a monetary system. I think humans who reject reason by acting like squirrels have no business preaching about God.
I find that atheists admit the metaphysical more than progressives who claim to believe in God. For, atheists revere reason while progressive “believers” adore emotion: They shop around until they find a church that washes them mindless with foolishly sentimental and entertaining services. They make themselves feel charitable by marching two-by-two past wealthy residences in midtown Manhattan with signs like “No Billionaire Left Behind.” They interpret the eighth commandment that God gave to Moses as: “Thou shalt share.”
Progressive “believers” cite charity when they call for the redistribution of wealth. But is charity the same thing as stealing? Because stealing violates the eighth commandment. If these zealots used reason instead of emotion to formulate their moral codes, they would never demand that the government confiscate private property from their wealthier brothers in the name of love.
Aristotelian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas contends that all men are governed by a natural law that is rooted in reason, not emotion. He argues thus in his Treatise on Law: “As, in man, reason rules and commands the other powers, so all the natural inclinations belonging to the other powers must needs be directed according to reason. Wherefore it is universally right for all men, that all their inclinations should be directed according to reason.”
Capitalism acknowledges reason and natural law whereas socialism denies natural law. By reason, we know that we have the right to own private property and the fruits of our labor. Capitalism is rational because it allows you to keep the fruits of your labor.
As John Locke points out, reason tells you that you own your body. No one else owns your body—not your neighbors, your family or the government. If you use your body to till the land and make it useful by growing wheat, then logic tells you that you own the land and any profits from the wheat, not the hungry passerby who comes across the land and steals the wheat that you grew.
Capitalism also allows for rational generosity whereas wealth redistribution fosters poverty. Reason says that you should be able to freely share your wheat with a person whom you know to be in genuine need or whom you wish to employ—not the able-bodied bum whom the government deems worthy of assistance.
Rational men glorify God just as glowing candles glorify a candlestick maker; men must behave rationally in order to completely function and prosper—just as candles must hold a flame in order to fulfill their purpose of brightening a room. Said differently, a man that acts like an animal must be as disappointing to his maker as a candle that cannot hold a flame.
I believe in one God, the creator of the universe. I believe that renouncing capitalism is irrational and that to deny reason is to deny the existence of God.
Two talents became four .. Well done thou good and faithful servant ...
One talent buried and earned nothing .. Disobedient servant
keep in mind as the churches pass the plate
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need (or needs) is a slogan popularised by Karl Marx in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program.[1] The phrase summarizes the principles that, in a communist society, every person should contribute to society to the best of his or her ability and consume from society in proportion to his or her needs. In the Marxist view,
on another note...As John Locke points out, reason tells you that you own your body. No one else owns your body—<\I>
A case where Locke was wrong and the source of prideful thinking that is the root of abortion and contraception.
Voice of reason
Many will be lead astray by false prophets...
and there is Matthew 25: 14-30 The Parable of the Talents.
God despises the greedy and fearful, but rejoices in the success of His servants.
Proverbs 3:14
Matthew 25: 14-30
Luke 19: 11-23
Ecclesiastes 11: 1
God calls us to be the best we can be for His glory. Capitalism calls for us to do the same. The greed and theft within the capitalist system is a sin as we are warned about in Timothy 6:10.
The Bible teaches us to take risk for His glory.
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Matthew 19:24
When we die... we cease to be rich in earthly terms.
Indeed, one must take into account all the teachings to understand what God expects of us in regards to risk taking. It is the warning in Timothy that I believe differentiates the ‘rich man’ from the camel.
We have many ‘rich men’ who won’t fit through the eye of the needle, but do we have many wealthy Christians who will?
Capitalism is the only economic system is compatible with individual rights.
From “The Law”...
Above all, if you wish to be strong, begin by rooting out every particle of socialism that may have crept into your legislation. This will be no light task.
You say: “Here are persons who are lacking in morality or religion,” and you turn to the law. But law is force. And need I point out what a violent and futile effort it is to use force in the matters of morality and religion?
It would seem that socialists, however self-complacent, could not avoid seeing this monstrous legal plunder that results from such systems and such efforts. But what do the socialists do? They cleverly disguise this legal plunder from others — and even from themselves — under the seductive names of fraternity, unity, organization, and association. Because we ask so little from the law — only justice — the socialists thereby assume that we reject fraternity, unity, organization, and association. The socialists brand us with the name individualist.
But we assure the socialists that we repudiate only forced organization, not natural organization. We repudiate the forms of association that are forced upon us, not free association. We repudiate forced fraternity, not true fraternity. We repudiate the artificial unity that does nothing more than deprive persons of individual responsibility. We do not repudiate the natural unity of mankind under Providence.
We hold from God the gift which includes all others. This gift is life — physical, intellectual, and moral life.
But life cannot maintain itself alone. The Creator of life has entrusted us with the responsibility of preserving, developing, and perfecting it. In order that we may accomplish this, He has provided us with a collection of marvelous faculties. And He has put us in the midst of a variety of natural resources. By the application of our faculties to these natural resources we convert them into products, and use them. This process is necessary in order that life may run its appointed course.
Life, faculties, production — in other words, individuality, liberty, property — this is man. And in spite of the cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God precede all human legislation, and are superior to it. Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.
Frederic Bastiat 1801-1850
Look at the human sufferning that has been eliminated since God blessed humanity with Capitalism. It is God-given and one of the greatest forces of good in the world. I’m not joking. What else in history has caused so many people to be pulled out of starvation and poverty than Capitalism? We should be thanking God for it every day.
Priests, nuns, ministers, rabbis who criticize it or call it too harsh or pine for Socialism are working in the service of evil.
neat article!
An entrepreneur puts up his own money on a vision, builds it, doesn't get paid, puts in time, talent, and energy . . . all to present something to the public to see if it serves the public's needs. He doesn't get a dime if he doesn't serve his fellow man, regardless of his intentions. Only after he has served others well does he get paid.
In socialism, based on the "Labor Theory of Value," work=value, hence you should get paid for all work. If you go dig a hole in the Sahara desert that no one asked for and no one wants and, because of a law, you MUST get paid, then the ONLY person who has benefited is yourself. Hence, socialism is intrinsically selfish; capitalism, regardless of motivations, is intrinsically unselfish.
And, as Shakespeare would say, "there's the rub".
These people DON'T believe in God. They think we're just another 'animal', evolving by pure accident and chance, and thereby no better than a dog, horse, bird, or slug. Not only that, but the most deluded and evil of their lot believes that only by eliminating most of the human 'animal' from this world is the only way the world will survive.
Until that evil thinking is corrected by the Holy Spirit of God working in these sadly deluded people, then nothing will change. It is my prayer that they learn the truth.
“consume from society in proportion to his or her needs”
As opposed to his or her wants?
Yup. Bring on another successful bout of communism, socialism or whatever the he** it is that they want.
(It really worked last century. All you have to do is count up the bodies and see how many nasty, greedy, evil capitalists were placed in their graves.)
IMHO
How about clarifying this -- your point is a bit obscure to me.
...in a communist society, every person should contribute to society to the best of his or her ability and consume from society in proportion to his or her needs...
People pretty much do this anyway, without having Marx tell them to.
“As opposed to his or her wants?”
I saw it the first time it was posted. A proper response is beyond the scope of what promises to be a verbosely superficial thread.
What we have today is a system that essentially privatizes profit, but socializes losses, companies are spared paying the price for their bad decisions, as happened with the bailouts.
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