It's not class warfare, it's Christianity

[kpete]

It's not class warfare, it's Christianity

Let me be clear as I can be. We need to understand the so-called “Christian” underpinnings of the anti-tax, anti-government, anti-the-poor, “let him die” approach to economics and public policy today as completely un-Christian, as well as un-American. What we need to do is re-establish our national values of fairness, equality and opportunity for all, values that I believe are actually the core of the Christian faith, (as well as of other religious traditions and of humanist values).

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Not only do we need to understand that “Christian Capitalism” isn’t Christian, we need to understand how it is distorting capitalism. The “ultracapitalism” of people like Speaker Boehner and Paul Ryan (among others) is often called “market fundamentalism” and it is the nearly unshakeable faith held by its true believers that the best economic results are obtained when the market is allowed to function without the restraints of regulation. Just reduce taxes and let the “job creators” do their thing. Remember “trickle down economics” from the Reagan years? This is the belief system that launched the Reagan Revolution in the U.S. and started the decades long reduction in real wages of the American middle class and the rise in American poverty levels.

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Capitalism isn’t “God’s Plan,” it’s an economic system that runs on the human desire for more, our own self-interest. This is not necessarily evil. It can actually be a very productive system, but it is not beneficent. In order for there to be good values in our economic life, capitalism needs to be regulated so it does not wreck the whole ship with unfettered greed (as happened in the banking industry starting in 2008), and it needs to be supplemented with social safety nets and tax policy to achieve an approximate (not absolute) “freedom from want” as in Franklin Roosevelt’s wonderful phrase. It was Roosevelt who translated “freedom from want” into a series of government programs to make it a reality such as Social Security, unemployment insurance, aid to dependent children, the minimum wage, housing, stock market regulation, and federal deposit insurance for banks.

MORE:http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/its-not-class-warfare-its-christianity/2011/09/19/gIQAkoMxfK_blog.html

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

1. Not sure of the exact Bible verse.

But when asked about taxes Jesus's response was "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's".

[EstimatedProphet]

5. Matthew 22:21

16And they sent out unto Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Master, we know that thou art true and teachest the way of God in truth; neither carest thou for any man, for thou regardest not the person of men.


17Tell us therefore, what thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?"


18But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, "Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites?


19Show Me the tribute money." And they brought unto Him a penny.


20And He said unto them, "Whose is this image and superscription?"


21And they said unto Him, "Caesar's." Then said He unto them, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."

The really amazing thing to me is that some fundywackos are now trying to argue that this was Christ's attempt at saying people should not pay taxes.

[dawg]

7. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ...

for you devour widows houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greter damnation.

Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of Hell than yourselves.



Edit: Crap! I meant to post this as a general reply to the OP, not here! :(

[FiveGoodMen]

8. "therefore ye shall receive the greter damnation"

If only!

[FarLeftFist]

2. Capitalism enslaves a hell of a lot more people than it free's.

[Bozita]

3. Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will...

Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all. - John Maynard Keynes

[banned from Kos]

4. Christianity and Capitalism share a more important goal - Empire

Look how they conquered the Americas - both North and South.

[gratuitous]

9. Christianity's goal isn't empire

But don't let that stop you from hauling out the broad brush. This kind of bigotry has a long and honored history at DU. So honored, in fact, that your post will stand while this one gets deleted.

[banned from Kos]

10. I sincerely hope your post is not deleted - I value your POV

But how can you call a billion+ prosletyzers (sic) anything but empire makers?

[LanternWaste]

Does that apply to politics also?

But how can you call a billion+ prosletyzers..."

Does that apply to politics also? Is the canvasser who rings my bell during campaign season, regardless of affiliation attempting to create an empire?

Or does your posit apply merely to the imaginary constructs you yourself dislike?

[FiveGoodMen]

13. You should tell that to the Dominionist Fundies angling for power of the US government.

[LuvNewcastle]

6. It makes me sick when I see these

social darwinists of today masquerading as Christians. It's a prime example that religion can be used to justify whatever someone wants to believe, no matter how odious.

[Motown_Johnny]

11. IMO, It isn't class warfare, it is societal preservation

Our society can't survive by destroying the middle and lower classes while creating a new class of super rich.

We need to go back to what worked, the progressive tax policies that dominated from FDR through Carter.

[toddwv]

12. K&R. I like the Republican "War on Christianity" meme that stems from this.

I've been using it for quite some time now... :D

[MadHound]

14. Prosperity Christianity,

A major offshoot of Christianity, one that is cold and callous, as are its adherents. Sadly, it is probably the largest and fastest growing Christian sect in this country.

[1StrongBlackMan]

17. Of course ...

it is the largest and fastest growing sect ... it goes perfectly with the "Lotto-mentality" of the newly realizing that they are the formerly higher-incomed working class and those lower-incomed working class that believed the "American Dream.".

[Xolodno]

15. Christianity ceased to exist...

...as a moral and religious compass about helping others, living humble, be forgiving, etc. when Constatine declared it the official religion of the Roman Empire. After that, it became a political force, hell bent on gaining power and keeping it...via oppresive rules, doctrines, mans whims, etc. The very thing Apostolic Christianity worked so hard to do away with.

[bengalherder]

16. k&r n/t

[1StrongBlackMan]

18. I think ...

I have to take issue with one small statement that the author wrote. She said {something to the effect] that christian capitalism is not necessarily evil. I have to question that observation. If you practices something directly opposite of most of the New Testament, how could that be anything but the definition of evil?

[MisterP]

19. Melani McAlister wrote a lot on how Amway is connected to the Reconstructionists

and their capitalist ideology is expressed in LaHaye and Jenkins's works (a Bircher and a Moonie)

[Drew Richards]

20. You know I hate to disagree with you but....I have to...

I don't think Christianity is the right word...

Maybe Fundamentalism

OR

Dominionism

are more appropriate but then again your headline did make me look so good job :)