The Perils of Capitalism
As a child of the 1980s, I grew up in the shadow of the cold war. The Free World (led by America) were the good guys while the Communistic world (led by Russia) were the bad guys. The battle between these two powers were in the realms of religion, politics, social values and economics. While I am pleased that the Iron Curtain fell – particularly for the spread of the gospel – I do wonder if we have subtly assumed that Capitalism is an intrinsically God endorsed economic and social system?
While I don’t approve of all of the actions of the ‘Occupy’ movements, I believe the 99% are protesting something that is really rotten in our mature capitalistic society. Let me explain:
Capitalism
Capital can be defined as money, equipment, and other resources which are privately owned. Private ownership affords the owner the opportunity to grow, develop and reap the benefits of using those resources for productive endevours. In its elementary stages, capitalism fosters free enterprise and innovation. God certainly endorses hard work and reward for the labourer.
However, capitalism incents resource owners to pursue greater happiness and ever increasing returns to the point where the character trait of contentment is replaced by greed. Let me lay out 12 ways that capitalism quickly degenerates within a few generations.
- Capital stacks the deck in favour of those who ‘start the game with a good hand’. (I think this is one reason for the year of Jubilee)
- Those who inherit capital rarely appreciate what is was like to start out with nothing and then make decision without a framework for the poor.
- Incumbant resource owners put up barriers to entry to other upstarts and so the gap between rich and poor widens.
- As capitalistic leaders gain strength, they lobby government for regulation which suits them and hinders competitors (e.g. the modified mining tax).
- Over time capitalistic empires are built and small businesses are bought out our put out of business.
- Adding further pressures, these empires raise funds by selling ownership of their enterprises to shareholders.
- Shareholders demand maximum profit returns every quarter often at the expense of customer service and quality.
- The unquenched desire for greater profit results in reduced rights at work and a globalisation of jobs to countries that have poor social values.
- Prices of daily necessities rise, forcing individuals to assume excessive levels of debt for necessities such as housing.
- The end results are self-serving oligopolies which lacks social conscience (e.g. Coles and Woolies, the big banks, etc)
- In practice oligopolies are effective monopolies using subtly collusion.
- Ironically, monopolies are in effect economic dictatorships which create a controlled form of communism or slavery of the masses.
So where does this leave us?
At the end of the day, there is no perfect economic or social system. The problem with all systems is that our hearts are evil. We will corrupt and manipulate systems for our own greed and benefit. God foresaw this when he warned Israel about seeking an earthly king. While I certainly would prefer to live under a limited free-market society where citizens adhere to a common moral code, I believe we would be wise to see the limits of all earthly systems – be they democracies or dictatorships, Austrian or Keynesian; diverse or homogeneous.
There is one economic and social system that I do believe God endorses. It is the eternal system and the returns are out of this world. This system promotes storing up treasure in heaven, where moths don’t corrupt and thieves can’t steal. The eternal social system promotes giving a cup of water to another in the name of Christ. In other words, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In this system, it does not matter if you are part of the 99% or the 1%, because it is 100% about Jesus. As we live in view of heaven, I believe we will feel richer and be more generous.
Blessings
- JC
Altar Calls – Nothing more than a sales pitch
What is an altar call?
An altar call is a practice in many evangelical churches in which those who desire to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus are invited to come forward publicly. An altar call typically begins with a simple show of hands from the congregation signifying who has been ‘touched’ by the preacher’s message. Subsequent to this show of hands is a persuasive drive on the part of the preacher to convince those who have raised their hands to move to the front of the church.
Most altar calls occur at the end of the service and are normally accompanied by an instrumental hymn of invitation. The preacher quite often will begin his appeal with the following script, “With you heads bowed and your eyes closed, with nobody looking around. Is there someone here today who would signify by the raising of their hand that God challenged them on a particular subject and would like me to pray for them? I will not call out your name or embarrass you publicly; I just want to pray for you. Is there anyone like that today?” Once this appeal has concluded, the preacher will pray for those collectively who have raised their hands and will then lead the congregation in the final song. It is at this time that the preacher challenges the people to publicly acknowledge their decisions by moving to the front of the church building where they can receive prayer and counsel from a member of the church.
Where did the altar call originate?
The practice of the altar call, although widespread, is a very new phenomenon in the Christian church. For nearly nineteen centuries no one had ever heard of the practice. The well known evangelists such as George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley knew of no such appeal.
The altar call first came into being through the influence of Charles Grandison Finney, a nineteenth century revivalist. In Finney’s crusades (c. 1830) seats at the front were reserved for those who, after the sermon, would respond to the challenge to come to the Lord’s side. Those who were thus “anxious” for their souls were invited to walk forward to the “anxious seat” where counsel and prayer would be given them.
The following quote from Finney’s Lectures on Revival explains his view well.
“Preach to him, and at the moment he thinks he is willing to do anything . . . bring him to the test; call on him to do one thing, to make one step that shall identify him with the people of God. . . . If you say to him, “there is the anxious seat, come out and avow your determination to be on the Lord’s side,” and if he is not willing to do a small thing as that, then he is not willing to do anything for Christ.”
The practice was designed to force decisions, to get results. So it did, and with slight variations the new method spread with increasing popularity through Finney and, later, Dwight L. Moody, and finally into virtually all of nineteenth and twentieth century evangelicalism. R. A. Torrey, Billy Sunday, Bob Jones, Gipsy Smith, Mordacai Ham, John R. Rice, Billy Graham all employed the method with impressive “success”.
Is the altar call a Biblically supported practice?
The first question we must ask when considering any modern practice within the church is; did the Lord Jesus Christ or the apostles employ this method or practice? The answer to that question with regards to the altar call is no. This does not immediately condemn this practice, for there are many things that Jesus and the apostles did not do which are permissible church practices today. However, it does mean that the altar call is NOT required to bring about genuine salvation in an individual!
One might suggest that the Bible is full of examples where invitations to salvation and challenges for revival occur. Offers such as, ‘Come unto me! Come and drink. Be reconciled unto God’ and many more. It is not only correct to say that the Bible is full of invitations, it is imperative that these appeals are made to others and must form an integral part of our preaching. We dare not try to remove God’s invitation to salvation for sinners from the Bible else we leave ourselves without hope, for we who know Christ have accepted His invitation of grace!
There is not a shred of evidence in Scripture to support the idea of persuading men and women to move to the front of the church building to publicly confirm a decision made in the heart. Nor is there a prerequisite for salvation or surrender which involves the need to raise a hand or shuffle to the front of church building.
Is the altar call helpful or harmful?
1. The great ‘sin’ of the altar call is found in the emphasis on ‘coming forward to receive Christ.’
What does it mean to ‘come to Christ?’ We are to ‘look to Him’, ‘run to Him for refuge’, ‘receive Him,’ all these Biblical expressions speak of matters of the soul. They speak of faith, an absolute dependence upon the finished work of Jesus Christ on my behalf. “Come here to receive Christ” is a criminal confusion of the object and nature of saving faith. God is not concerned about where a man is, or whether he walks to the front of the church. There is no ‘special platform of grace’ upon which a man must stand or kneel in order to be saved. It is a direct attack on the work of Christ in salvation to have men assume that the only way they can receive Christ is at the front of the church building!
2. Another great problem with the altar call is the lack of reliance upon the Spirit of God.
There has been a great shift in the fundamental movements of our day. It would appear that most conservative Christians are afraid to speak of the Holy Ghost, let alone attribute the quickening work of salvation and revival to His power. What have we done? The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:18 ‘For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.‘
Sadly we see that the modern technique of the altar call actually opposes the very work of the Holy Spirit. As a preacher, my job is not to bring about decisions through psychological methodology, it is to preach the Word and leave the convicting and converting to the Spirit of God!
3. The altar call lends itself to a false assurance of Salvation.
My experience in camp ministry over many years has caused me to develop a great concern for those who testify of a decision made during an altar call. Instead of confessing that Christ saved them from their sin when they called upon Him, campers and young people all over this land rely upon a walk down the aisle or a discussion with a pastor. Friends, an altar call never saved anyone! Christ is the only means of salvation. It does not matter how many pastors or preachers you have sought counsel from, it is Christ and Christ alone that brings about regeneration in the life of a sinner.
4. The altar call shifts the focus of the believer upon the external rather than the internal.
All must admit that the modern practice of the altar call has resulted in a shift of focus. The focus has shifted from the spiritual to the physical, from the internal to the external. That evangelistic meeting was ‘wonderful’ because so many people ‘went forward.’ It is obvious that God was ‘working’ because so many people responded to the altar call. How damaging it is for us to assume that God has not been working in the hearts of His people because nobody ‘came forward’ at the end of the service!
Summary of the altar call
There is much more to cover in this topic and I have not yet had the opportunity to address the motives of those who practice the altar call, the incredible alignment of the altar call and the sales techniques taught in psychology, the false view of human ability demonstrated in the altar call and the confusion of mere professions of faith with true, saving faith. Perhaps these additional topics can be covered at another time, Lord willing.
It is sufficient to say that there are grave dangers in the modern invitation system which should be carefully considered.
“Sometimes we are inclined to think that a very great portion of modern revivalism has been more a curse than a blessing, because it has led thousands to a kind of peace before they have known their misery; restoring the prodigal to the Father’s house, and never making him say, ‘Father, I have sinned.’ How can he be healed who is not sick? or he be satisfied with the bread of life who is not hungry? The old-fashioned sense of sin is despised, and consequently a religion is run up before the foundations are dug out. Everything in this age is shallow. Deep-sea fishing is almost an extinct business so far as men’s souls are concerned. The consequence is that men leap into religion, and then leap out again. Unhumbled they come to the church, unhumbled they remained in it, and unhumbled they go from it.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
Because of Calvary,
“God is the Gospel” by John Piper
Piper, John. God is the Gospel, Meditations on God’s Love as the Gift of Himself. Wheaton: Crossway, 2005.
179 pages.
Every now and then, a book comes along that will dramatically enrich your life. This was one of those books for me.
When Piper says that God is the gospel, what he means is that “the highest, best, final, decisive good of the gospel, without which no other gift would be good, is the glory of God in the face of Christ revealed for our everlasting enjoyment” (p. 13). In other words, the point of the gospel is not just that we’re justified, but that justification allows us to be restored to fellowship with God! That the gift of justification (or redemption or imputation or expiation etc.) is ultimately the gift of being enabled to fellowship with God himself who is the giver of all gifts and without whom no gift would be good.
Piper exposes the man-centredness of a gospel which exists to elevate man; which brings joy in the gifts of the gospel while paying little attention to the gift of the gospel—God. “We are willing to be God-centred, it seems, as long as God is man-centred” (pp. 12, 13).
The ups
First, this book glows with God-centred, gospel-saturated, joy-filled theology. It’s not shallow or sappy. It is rich and deep; theological and accessible; practical and devotional.
Second, if you’re not familiar with Piper’s theology and writing, this is probably an ideal introduction to his ideas. Though Desiring God is probably his defining work, it is fairly long and heavy. This book is quite accessible to the average layperson and will, I feel, give the reader a fairly good idea of what Piper believes. Chapter eleven could be viewed as a brief primer on Christian hedonism.
Third, this book helped me see clearly that the gospel is not the end, but rather the means to the end of glorifying God. It therefore helped me to understand more clearly how God and his gospel relate to each other and how to avoid preaching Christ’s gospel without preaching the Christ of the gospel.
Fourth, Piper exposes the hypocrisy of those who preach that the cross proves the value of man. He quotes Jonathan Edwards: “They are pleased in the highest degree, in hearing how much God and Christ make of them. So that their joy is really a joy in themselves, and not in God” (p. 137). Piper rebuts this Hillsong-style gospel decisively.
I could give a dozen more…
The downs
Honestly, I have few concerns with this book at all, hence the five star rating. However, I’ll point out a few minor things that raised questions for me.
First, there seems to be some confusion on p. 155 surrounding man’s creation in the image of God and the effect of the curse on that image. Piper seems to suggest that our growth into the image of Christ in sanctification is directly related to our creation in the image of God in Genesis 1. This seems to me to confuse two separate issues.
Second, Piper suggests in reference to 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 that “The glory of God shone in the historical, bodily face of Jesus” (p. 70). I tend to think the term “face” here is synecdoche.
I’d be hard pressed to find even a minor third down. Those who know me well recognise this as little short of miraculous as I tend to be a very critical reader. But Piper is precise and he has laid out his words carefully.
Conclusion
After reading the introduction to this book, I scribbled the following: “Breath-taking! Sweet water to a thirsty soul. Amen! Amen! Amen… Amen… Amen.”
I read this book with tears of delight. I hope you will do the same.
Grace to you.
16 reasons crime should not be handled in-house
Ministry means working with people.
And people are sinners.
So those who are ministering to others will at times find themselves knee deep in messy situations. Unfortunately, these situations often involve criminal behaviour which has never been reported to the civil authorities. Probably the most common instances are child abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, or neglect) and domestic/family violence.
EDIT: Based on some of the comments, I wanted to add a quick clarification here. I am not suggesting that every action that could possibly be prosecuted as a crime should be reported. I am referring to serious crimes such as the above-mentioned child abuse and domestic/family violence. Additionally, I am not referring to necessarily digging up old crimes. I am referring primarily to the handling of crimes in the present.
As the Roman Catholic Church amply illustrates, religion finds it tempting to handle these situations in-house. Next to the Roman Catholic Church and unaffiliated cults, probably no Christian religious group is more notorious for these practices than Fundamentalism. If you doubt that statement, spend some time at the Freedom From Abuse Network1 or just spend a few minutes exploring google on the topic.
To be honest, we should all blush with shame that these things even need to be said. But they definitely, very much need to be said.
Yes, in Australian Fundamentalism.
Reasons
So here are 16 reasons why crime should not be handled in-house.
1) It is a criminal offence in some jurisdictions to fail to report even suspicion of abuse of minors.2
2) It leaves the victims of crime exposed to danger instead of protecting them.
3) It thwarts the civil government’s ability to do their God-given job.
4) It creates a moral bubble in which the civil law does not apply.
5) It puts church leaders in a position of power in areas where God has not given them authority.
6) It protects criminals.
7) It creates an environment of fear of civil authorities.
8) It leads to resentment on the part of the victims.
9) It develops people who believe they are above the law.
10) It harms the testimony of Christ when it finally comes out in later years as a scandal.
11) It creates an environment of secrets.
12) It fails to effectively bring crimes to a stop.
13) It usurps God-ordained civil authority.
14) It treats crime as an offence against the victim instead of what it is, a crime against the state and society.
15) It damages people.
16) It fails to recognise that authority is delegated by God and is limited in scope.
Brothers, we need to do right in this matter. Every single time.
If you’re not sure what to do in a particular situation, I encourage you to pick up your phone and contact a legal professional, your state’s child protection agency, or your local police. Typically, they will be happy to answer your questions and clarify your obligations. I also encourage you to keep detailed notes about each action you take in a way that will be preserved until you die.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
Defend the rights of the poor and needy.
………………………….—Proverbs 31:9
Grace to you.
1I do not endorse the FFAN carte blanche. I do support the cause of justice and mercy and am thankful for anyone who labours for these.
2See the National Child Protection Clearinghouse for a helpful outline of reporting obligations in Australia.
Reading through the 95 Theses (Part 2)
There is no doubt that the posting of the 95 Theses on the church door is one of the iconic moments of the Reformation. However, a contemporary reading these words would have trouble predicting the role that Luther would play in the years ahead.
Two lesson here: 1) Understanding takes time. A flash of lightning convinced Luther that he should enter the laity – Over five years of Bible study brought him to the revelation that salvation is by faith alone. 2) People can change. How often do we denounce someone because of what they said at one time in the past? If John MacArthur wrote the 95 Theses – there would be Christians who would never forgive him for it. Food for thought eh?
On to the reading:
- Point 40 – Sole Fide anyone? (Also Point 69)
- Point 48 -50– Luther visited Rome seven years before he wrote the 95 Theses. I wonder if he was thinking back to this visit when he wrote point 48.
- Point 56-57 – Christian relics were very common in this period. A merchant would product a piece of the cross or some other icon with power to grant relief for the dead. At this point in the narrative, Luther questions the quantity and the authenticity more than the concept itself. (Also Point 82)
- Point 62 – I love this statement: “The true treasure of the church is the Holy gospel of the glory and the grace of God.”
- Point 92 – Great use of Scripture: “Away, then, with those prophets who say to Christ’s people, “Peace, peace,” where in there is no peace.”
~ JK
From Fire Insurance to Love Story
The initial and primary motive drawing me to Christ was ‘Fire Insurance’. When the reality of hell and judgement sunk in, I quickly began taking Jesus seriously. If we are honest, this motivation is a driving factor in most of our conversion experiences. I call it the ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God‘ effect. Self-preservation and avoiding eternal punishment are valid and Biblical reasons to seek Jesus. However, they are elemetary truths. If we simply place our faith in Jesus as only a means of escaping torment, then we have stunted faith. We have understood the facts of faith without progressing to the fulness of faith.
Having a fire insurance salvation will cause us to live clinically. Placing a ‘tick box’ next to salvation, puts Jesus as a completed item on our To Do List. Continuing to view our salvation through only this dimension is quite sad, as it is means we have only discovered one aspect of the greater mystery that is our new life in the gospel. Fire insurance salvation is designed to as the first step on a journey of ‘getting to know’ this incredible -self-sacrificing Saviour who voluntarily gave His life in our place. As we do this, the foundation of our faith transforms from fire insurance to a love story for the greatest Giver of all.
Having a Love Story salvation will cause us to live generously. It transforms our behaviour and thinking. It creates a deeper appreciation and desire for Jesus and others. A Love Story salvation fosters a stronger satisfaction with life and a greater longing for life beyond the grave.
The older I get, the more my faith grows towards a Love Story salvation. The reality of fire insurance salvation is still true, but it fades into the background in the face of our loving Jesus.
Blessings
- JC
