Evangelicalism and Capitalism – Products of, or Prophetic Voices within, Capitalism
David Brooks, a New York Times political and cultural commentator, wrote this line in his book The Second Mountain: “Never underestimate the power of the environment you work in to gradually transform who you are.”[1] The subtle influence of our environment must not to be dismissed. As with a gas leak in a kitchen, if we are not vigilant to the toxicity of the cultural environment in which we inhabit, we will be unwittingly poisoned from the inside out. As C.S. Lewis describes in his classic, The Screwtape Letters, “Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot…without signposts.”[2]
Evangelicalism is not immune to the toxicity of a capitalistic environment. In this post, I will highlight, utilizing the work of David Bebbington and Dr. Jason Clark, the influence of the enlightenment and capitalism on Evangelicalism. After this, I will conclude with an invitation for us to be not products of our capitalistic environment, but prophetic voices within our world. However, we must first clarify two critical terms: Evangelicalism and capitalism.
Our Working Definitions
Much ink has been spilled on Evangelicalism’s definition. For the purpose of this post, Bebbington’s four characteristics of an evangelical is our framework. According to Bebbington, “Conversionism, activism, biblicism and crucicentrism form the defining attributes of Evangelical religion.”[3] For capitalism, we will move forward with Dr. Clark’s reference to Nicholas Townsend’s definition: “the meaning of capitalism is given precisely by reference to capital, the financial resources invested in a business and the assets they purchase. In that strict or literal sense, ‘capitalism’ names a form of business in which the objective of making return on capital overrides others and so determines what the business does.”[4] With these in mind, let’s proceed to the genesis of Evangelicalism’s susceptibility to deformation via capitalism.
The Enlightenment Paves the Way
The emergence of Evangelicalism came around a time in which there was a paradigm shift in how people made sense of the world. This was due to the Enlightenment. Major thought leaders of the Enlightenment influenced Evangelical leaders in profound ways. A significant example is John Locke’s influence on Jonathan Edwards.[5] These Evangelical thought leaders profoundly impacted the Evangelical understanding of doctrines, which then influenced how Evangelicals lived out their faith. An important doctrine for our discussion is the doctrine of assurance of one’s salvation. As Bebbington writes, “The Methodist teaching about assurance was new because it was part and parcel of the rising Enlightenment. It was a consequence of Wesley’s application of an empiricist philosophy to religious experience.”[6]
The Allure of Capitalism’s Salvific Assurance
Clark argues that from this emerged a new spin on the doctrine of assurance. He writes, “Assurance moves from its inner experience into the outward expression of self-creation by the external providence of the market manifested in the life of the believer. Assurance becomes a matter of being self-made and of outward provision by God, which are both ultimately ceded to the market.”[7]Evangelicalism unwittingly ascribed the assurance of salvation to the display of God’s favor (providence) in the form of financial accumulation. This is the seedbed in which a consumer, capitalistic Evangelicalism emerged. In the words of the late Jesuit theologian Dean Brackley, “The most straightforward road to security is by pursuing wealth. Capitalism aggravates the universal desire to possess and rewards covetousness more generously than earlier societies in which social position depended more on birth.”[8]
Products of, or Prophetic Voices within, Capitalism
The diagnosis is delivered. The allures of capitalism have over-exerted their influence. Walter Brueggamann exhorts “The contemporary American church is so largely enculturated to the American ethos of consumerism that is has little power to believe or act.”[9] But Brueggaman continues with an invitation to the work of prophetic ministry: “The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perceptive alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.”[10] The gas leak of the dominant, capitalistic culture needs to be brought to light. A crossroad is now before Evangelicalism as a whole. Now is the time to make a radical shift from being products of capitalism to being prophetic voices within capitalism. This means critically engaging within capitalism, being vigilant of the toxicity of a capitalistic environment and how it can deform us. It means working within this economic system to do what we can to, in the words of Isaiah, “cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”[11]
[1] David Brooks, The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life (Random House Publishing Group, 2020), 22.
[2] C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (Zondervan, 2001), 61.
[3] David W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain : A History From the 1730s to the 1980s (Routledge, 1993), 4.
[4] Jason Paul Clark, “Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship” (2018). Faculty Publications – Portland Seminary. 132. https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gfes/132, 51. Here, Clark cites Townsend in Nicholas Townsend, “Transcending the Long Twentieth Century” in Jeremy Kidwell, Theology and Economics: A Christian Vision of the Common Good. 1st ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, 204. The emphasis in this quote belongs to Dr. Clark.
[5] Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, 48.
[6] Ibid. 50.
[7] Clark, “Evangelicalism and Capitalism,” 65.
[8] Dean Brackley, The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times: New Perspectives on the Transformative Wisdom of Ignatius of Loyola (New York: Crossroad Pub. Co, 2004), 93.
[9] Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination (Fortress Press, 2001), 1.
[10] Ibid. 3.
[11] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 1:16–17.
About the Author
David Beavis
David is Australian by birth, was raised in Southern California, and is the Youth and Young Adults Pastor at B4 Church in Beaverton, Oregon. David and his wife, Laura, live in Hillsboro with their dog, Coava (named after their favorite coffee shop). M.A. Theology - Talbot School of Theology B.A. Psychology - Vanguard University of Southern California8 responses to “Evangelicalism and Capitalism – Products of, or Prophetic Voices within, Capitalism”
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David
Agreeing with you and Brueggerman, you quote:
“But Brueggaman continues with an invitation to the work of prophetic ministry: “The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perceptive alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.”[10]
How did you come to incorporate Brueggerman’s voice ?
Hey Kristy,
Honestly, in writing this I noticed Brueggeman’s book “The Prophetic Imagination” and thought “Ah, that looks like a book with some fascinating thoughts to contribute to this. Sure enough, there were a couple of quotes on the first three pages. There, I’ve shared my research secrets!
David,
I love how you summed up your post with words from Isaiah directing them to our own generation. Well said, and well written!
Unlike C.S. Lewis’s description of the gradual descent to hell, your post had amazing signposting. I always appreciate how clear your writing is and how you incorporate so many other voices. I also imagine you have a lot to offer from your own experience. So I’m curious, as a young adults and youth pastor, how do you encourage those in your church to do the work that you quote from Isaiah?
Hey Caleb,
Honestly, as a pastor to youth and young adults, I am a little (actually, much more than a little) freaked out by what I am observing. There is great commitment in theory and in words by young adults to do what Isaiah 1:16-17 says, but the commitment is lacking. When it comes to the youth, I find that they are living in more of a self-focused, pessimistic view of the world with little motivation to do something about it. There ARE exceptions to this, and I have met some remarkable young people who are committed to carrying out the words of Isaiah. I guess my role is to encourage, empower and equip them for the work of ministry they feel passion for. But I honestly don’t know what the solution is to the lackadaisical commitment to the mission of God I am seeing in many (and this is honestly a reflection of the overall American Church).
David – Thanks for the great post, I Like the way you started with C.S. Lewis’s classics. Isn’t C.S. Lewis amazing? I have admired his timeless wisdom. Your invitation as you concluded is essential “Now is the time to make a radical shift from being products of capitalism to being prophetic voices within capitalism”. May the Lord help us.
Wow, David, what an amazing post! I really appreciate how you took these difficult concepts and made them more understandable and clear. Also, the way in which you brought in additional voices helped to shed light on this topic and further strengthen your points. I especially liked your last section, “Products of, or Prophetic Voices within, Capitalism,” and am motivated to live out the words of Isaiah with which you ended. Thank you so much for this great post.
“Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot…without signposts.”
Man… This is good. I was thinking when I read this about how to incorporate this with a youth lesson…
There may not be any clear signs to warn you when you are veering away from God, but vigilance and self-reflection are important if we are to stay on the path of righteousness.