Christianity And Capitalism

Running Head: CHRISTIANITY AND CAPITALISM 1

Christianity and Capitalism

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CHRISTIANITY AND CAPITALISM 2

Capitalism is an economic system whose characteristics are corporate and private

ownership of capital goods. The investments that lead to the acquirement of these capital goods

are determined by private decision, production, prices and the distribution of commodities. These

factors are determined by the competition in the free market. Christians use the Bible as the basis

of Christian teachings that should guide them in their daily lives. Whereas capitalism is not

mentioned anywhere in the bible by name, there are many instances where the Bible talks about

economic issues. Many books in the Bible talk of the attitudes that Christians should have towards

wealth and how a Christian should handle financial matters. There is also a description of the

nature of a human being which is useful in evaluating the possible causes of success or failure in

an economy.

Christians are urged in the Bible to take care of the lame people and not to abandon the

widows and the orphans. In Isaiah 10:1-2, the Bible says, “Woe to those who make unjust laws,

those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from

the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” This shows

that Christians should not condone wealth disparities that see some people lavish in wealth while

others live in abject poverty. Christianity does not say that people should not work and amass

wealth for themselves, no. It urges those who are wealthy to share with the poor. Therefore, one

can be a capitalist and a Christian at the same time, so long as they work hard in the economy and

use part of their wealth to fulfill their Christian duties to their poor neighbors who need something

to eat or who cannot afford a decent education.

In Leviticus chapter 25, the Bible describes the sabbatical year where the Jews would reset

their lives economically. After every seven years, all the debts were forgiven and all the slaves

freed. This ensured that the gap that existed between the rich and the poor people in the society

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did not grow too big (Moscardini, 2012). This made sure that there was no group of people that

was more prone to or predisposed to poverty. However, even in Israel like in America today, there

were incentives to attract people to establish themselves economically. Christianity and capitalism

can co-exist in a person because even in Christianity, being productive as a member of the society

is something desirable. Christianity therefore encourages people to be productive (Turnbull, 2017).

Therefore, Christians are encouraged to help each other stand out by preparing them for fulfilling

employment opportunities. Again it is capitalism that avails jobs in the society where many people

work (Moscardini, 2012). The jobs provided by the capitalist owners of companies could help

reduce poverty in the society as those people who get employed in these companies have a way of

making some income which raises their standards of living.

However, Christians in a capitalist economy should ensure that there are some balances

and checks in place to make sure that everybody is rewarded for their hard work. If one works

hard, they should get more rewards. But there are people who work very hard to advance upwards

but they cannot make it because of the system which keeps on pulling them down whenever they

try to rise (Turnbull, 2017). This system is likely to demotivate them so that they are no longer

willing to try. Therefore, capitalism is okay if we end up with more people owning the wealth of

the country and not one percent of the population owning forty percent of the total wealth of the

country (Moscardini, 2012). It would work well if there was no big disparity between the poor and

the rich.

Capitalism and Christianity can go together because Christianity is simply based on liberty,

just like capitalism. God does not force anyone to love him, people choose to. Capitalism also calls

for a free market where the people are able to exchange their goods and services freely (Turnbull,

2017). Therefore, Christianity and capitalism can coexist because they are based on the same idea.

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In addition, the capitalist entrepreneur works towards the good of their customer as he asks what

the customer really wants. The entrepreneur then gives exactly that to the customer.

Christianity was born in a community where trade used to take place. Jesus encourages

people to be fair in their dealings with others. For example, in the parable of the Good Samaritan,

Jesus explains that the Good Samaritan paid some denarii to the inn keeper to take care of the

wounded man. He did not just take him there and tell the inn keeper to take care of him. Jesus also

speaks approvingly of the servant that were able to make profit of the talents they were given by

their master in the parable of the talents (Woodlief, 2011). The profits must have been made

through a series of capitalist exchanges.

In conclusion, it is true to say that one can be a Christian and a capitalist at the same time

since the Bible only forbids greed and taking advantage of the less privileged or abandoning them.

It does not prevent anyone from making wealth. It only requires one to use the wealth they have

acquired to help the poor, the widows and the orphaned. The requirement for the wealthy to feed

the poor shows that capitalism is approved of because if there were no wealthy people, who would

give to the poor? Without working hard, where would one get the wealth to share with the lame

who cannot work?

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References

Moscardini, Leo. "Christianity versus Capitalism in America: The Impossibility of a Capitalist

Jesus, and why Christian Socialism Fails to Bridge the Gap Between Religion and

Economics." (2012).

The Holy Bible, King James Version.

Turnbull, F. (2017). Can You Be A Christian In A Capitalist Society?. [online] The Odyssey

Online. Available at: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/can-you-be-christian-in-

capitalist-society [Accessed 11 Mar. 2018].

Woodlief, T. (2011). Can a Christian be a capitalist? - Faith & Religion - WORLD. [online]

World.wng.org. Available at:

https://world.wng.org/2011/04/can_a_christian_be_a_capitalist [Accessed 11 Mar. 2018].

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