Some Christian Proposals for Economic Policy

1. There are three economies in Scripture:

a. Egyptian – workers have no control over their economic life, are scarcely rewarded for their work, and political and economic power is concentrated in a few persons. This was the slavery in Egypt suffered by the people of God.

        b. Israel – the transition from Egypt to Israel’s system occurred in the escape from Egypt, the giving of the Law, conquest of Canaan, and the distribution of land by tribes, clans, and families. This was the decisive Old Testament revelation of God’s will for economic life. This revelation redeemed economic life along these lines:
            i. Economic conditions were shaped by political actions such as the conquest.
            ii. Workers gained control over their economic life and reaped the benefits of their labor due to their ownership of land protected by law.
            iii. Political power was originally dispersed under the judges, allowing for significant economic decisions to remain local.
            iv. Lawful processes were formulated to redistribute wealth. The Jubilee legislation, for example, returned land lost to families, and there were laws and practices that helped the poor and the alien (those without inheritance).
            v. The purpose of inheritance law was to protect the small land holdings given by the division of the land. It was not to allow vast wealth to be accumulated and passed on to descendents.
            vi. God ordained laws that allowed the land to rest and also to give food for animals. These laws reflected respect for the environment as seen in Genesis 1 and 2.
            vii. Portions of the legislation derived from the Exodus, conquest, and distribution benefitted Hebrews, and to a lesser extent, other persons. For example, the land was distributed to Hebrews and not to others. Or, the Hebrews enslaved other peoples but could not arbitrarily enslave other Hebrews.
            viii. From the formation of the monarchy onward, the original vision for a just economic life was undermined by concentrations of economic and political power in the hands of a few. This “return to Egypt” led to the prophetic critique of the rich and powerful (Amos for example).

c. Christian – fulfillment of the law and the prophets, that is, the original intent of Exodus, law, conquest, and distribution, now fulfilled by the spirit of sacrifice exemplified by the life and teachings of Jesus. He called the rich and powerful, as well as all others, to give up their privilege, wealth, and power for the sake of others. His crucifixion for the sins of the world and the hope of the Kingdom, a new social and economic order, was the supreme example of his life and teaching. This Kingdom dawned with his resurrection and is the life of faithful Christians. This Kingdom was and is extended to all persons, first the Jew and then the Gentile (relevant to 1,b,vii).

2. Virtually without exception, the present order, both nationally and internationally, is the Egyptian model. This model governs large economic enterprises such as corporations, as well as many countries where, even among so-called “democratic” ones, the rich and powerful determine policy. This is, in part, because the political and economic assumptions of the present economic order drive nations and economic enterprises toward the Egyptian system. For example, unless curtained by political action such as the Sherman Antitrust Act, big enterprises, controlled by a few, drive out smaller enterprises locally owned. As a result, wealth tends to be concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. Political power then becomes concentrated in the hands of the wealthy, and reciprocally, the politically powerful use the political process to acquire wealth. Policies and justifying ideologies (trickle down economics, for example) are developed which deprive people of livelihood. Millions of people are marginalized and suffer without relief.

3. Given the advance of technology, it is now possible for a fraction of the world’s population to supply significant portions of the basic material needs of all persons.

4. The church through the centuries, by experience and by her interpretation of Scripture, has recognized that only a few will willingly embrace the biblical teaching on economics. Mammon was and is the wide gate taken by the majority of persons, Christians and non-Christians alike. Sacrificial abandonment of wealth and power is the narrow gate entered by the few. For example, the classical monastic movements, with their vows of poverty and radical sharing were embraced by only a few, and even this institution was in frequent need of renewal.

5. Given point 4, proposals for economic renewal cannot be left up to the good will of individuals, but in light of the law and prophets, Christian inspired policies must be implemented by law. Then, if successful, they can eventually become a part of the fabric and habit of societies. The gospel fulfills and affirms the law, rather than destroying it.

6. In light of point 1, the goal of any economic enterprise is not profit per se, but rather, that all who work in the enterprise receive a life-sustaining share in its benefits and have some control over the direction of the enterprise. Or, to restate the matter, the enterprise needs to be led by worker representatives with managerial capability rather than managers representing the interests of capital. Or, thinking of recent decisions by the Swiss, the highest paid workers should not make inordinate multiples of the lowest paid worker.

7. When possible, decentralized (authority dispersed) economic systems (as in early Israel) are preferable to highly centralized (authority exercised by a few) large-scale systems which cross political boundaries. This is true for several reasons.

a. Large economic, highly centralized enterprises which cross political boundaries tend to deprive locals of control over their economic life. For example, the workers in Bangladesh who make $38.00 a week making garments for the world market have little control over their economic destiny. Or, national enterprises such as corporations often make decisions without input from local people profoundly affected by those decisions. This has turned local peoples and nations into bagatelles of fluctuating economic conditions and remote decisions beyond their control. Economic efficiencies should not be pursued at the expense of national and local control of economic life.

b. Highly centralized large-scale systems tend to concentrate wealth and political power in a few hands leading to the Egyptian model.

c. Large, highly centralized systems tend to remove wealth generated locally from being reinvested locally and thereby retard local progress. If, for example, the workers in Bangladesh were given a just portion of the value of their work, there would be economic progress in their local communities.

d. Global interlocking economic systems crossing political boundaries allow small perturbations to have large scale cascading detrimental effects. These cannot be adequately addressed unless there is a global political order with authority over nation states and local economies. This will be Egypt on a global scale.

e. Given point 3, enterprises of global scale can easily result in a few, at the lowest possible wages, creating goods for the many, depriving the many of decent paying jobs.

f. Under certain conditions, some large-scale economic enterprises and international trade are, of course, desirable, but not at the expense of local and national autonomy and locally generated wealth and investment. Abstract economic arguments apart from political concerns are not valid arguments.

8. National and international conferences formulating and implementing economic policy need to be staffed by representatives of those affected by the policies under discussion. In other words, let Moses, Joshua, and the Judges lead the way rather than representatives of the political and economic pharaohs. Or, since Christ reconciles all persons, Christian conferences need to include representatives from all concerned, with the understanding that policy decisions will reflect the biblical pattern.

9. Redistribution was a vital part of early Israel’s economic system and central to the teaching of Jesus. Every viable political and economic order will have built-in political systems for the redistribution of wealth, and those that do not will, given the power of Mammon in the human heart, inevitably create the Egyptian system. For example, from a Christian perspective, national health care would be a desirable form of redistribution since Jesus never denied anyone who asked for healing. It would be best that redistribution take place at the level in which need occurs. For example, helping the poor needs to be local since their needs and their tendency for fraud and dependency is locally known. Helping a national corporation requires national policies since their needs, as well as their fraud, greed, and dependency on government bailouts, have national ramifications. Justice would say that true needs should be considered, dependency avoided, fraud clearly defined and punished, and greed curbed by law.

10. Recognizing the Nicene Creed as an accurate theological summary of biblical teaching, and using it as a template, we have the following: a. God the Father, the Creator or heaven and earth, creates the grounds of economic life since economic life begins with the transformation of the creation’s bounty into products for human consumption. b. God the Son, the Lord Jesus, reveals how peoples are to treat each other, and therefore, the Son gives the direction of political life since politics is how groups treat each other. c. One important way groups treat each other is how they apportion the products of the earth’s bounty among themselves. d. Advancing economic arguments apart from political considerations as described in point 7a above, is tantamount to separating the Son from the Father and thereby denies that the Father eternally begets the Son.

11. The Christian doctrine of creation, Genesis 1 and 2 as well as other biblical passages, understand creation as a garden to be tended and preserved according to God’s intended order for all creatures. The present economic order, continuous profits provided by ever-expanding production, is and will continue to destroy God’s good earth. Systems need to be developed which will curb this process.

12. In a sinful world, subject to Satan and the power of Mammon, Christian economic policies may well have only limited effect. How to establish such policies has varied through history. Some Christians have withdrawn from the world to create their own communities of radical sharing. Others have believed that a given social and economic order can be shaped and informed by Christian norms, either by force or by persuasion or a combination of both. However approached, the biblical economic vision is one that many people will immediately understand as it appeals to a universal sense of justice. Christians have a responsibility to make aspects of that vision effective policy, not simply for the sake of Christians, but for the well-being of everyone. How this can be done varies with time and circumstance as directed by the will of God normatively revealed in Holy Scripture.

The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
February, 2014