Hijacking Christianity

This article was written by Aryeh Spero a few days ago in the Wall Street Journal. These types of articles really bother me, particularly because I feel that he is hijacking Christianity to justify a position he feels strongly about rather than critically analyzing society in light of the teaching of the Bible in order to make it better. Capitalism has its strengths, but it isn't without weaknesses, and to say that Christianity or the Bible endorses it, I think, is very wrong-headed if not out-right ridiculous. This doesn't mean that I think Christianity endorses socialism, but I certainly don't think our brand of capitalism is the best we can come up with to follow the teachings of Bible. To say that Christianity specifically endorses capitalism, is, I think, to be like one of the Pharisees and is extremely dangerous because people can come away from reading this thinking that this is indeed what Christ told us.

Spero's article can be read here (and below): What the Bible Teaches About Capitalism. My comments are in red.



Who would have expected that in a Republican primary campaign the single biggest complaint among candidates would be that the front-runner has taken capitalism too far? As if his success and achievement were evidence of something unethical and immoral? President Obama and other redistributionists must be rejoicing that their assumptions about rugged capitalism and the 1% have been given such legitimacy.

More than any other nation, the United States was founded on broad themes of morality rooted in a specific religious perspective. We call this the Judeo-Christian ethos, and within it resides a ringing endorsement of capitalism as a moral endeavor.

I disagree that within Christianity resides a "ringing endorsement of capitalism as a moral endeavor". The Bible does not endorse 'self-interested' individuals, nor does it endorse the accumulation of riches, and both are hallmarks of capitalism.