{"id":28329,"date":"2022-03-05T07:58:32","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T15:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=28329"},"modified":"2022-03-05T07:58:32","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T15:58:32","slug":"the-sovereignty-of-god-guarantees-the-continued-relevance-and-indispensability-of-evangelicalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-sovereignty-of-god-guarantees-the-continued-relevance-and-indispensability-of-evangelicalism\/","title":{"rendered":"The sovereignty of God guarantees the continued relevance and indispensability of evangelicalism."},"content":{"rendered":"

Karl Polanyi is a historian and political economist who wrote the book, The Great Transformation, as historical explanations of the political and economic origins of the collapse of nineteenth-century civilization, and the great transformation that he had lived through in the twentieth century.[1]<\/a> Jason Clark is a Theologian, leadership expert and a pastor in the city of London who has written Evangelism and Capitalism where he explores written materials from different authors on the two phenomena and epiphenomena, and tries to diagnose the pathogeneses of the relationship.[2]<\/a> Polanyi considers capitalism as a recent invention in human history where \u201cthe self-regulating market is a new human invention for which there are no parallels in past human history.\u201d[3]<\/a> It is important to note that Max weber also considered capitalism as a late arrival in human history, which he say was inextricably linked to the great reformation that saw the emergence of the protestant church.[4]<\/a> This new development of capitalism was held at bay by religion which was able to \u2018discipline\u2019 behaviors away from the profit motive. Polanyi identifies the emergence of the self-regulating market (SRM) as the defining feature of capitalism where, for the first time in human history the market was disembedded from social relationships, such as those of religion.[5]<\/a> Polanyi is clear on the limitations of the SRM that left on it\u2019s own, capitalism would be harmful to society and the environment, and that there is necessity for a countermovement that corrects the ills of SRM. Gregory Baum writes:<\/p>\n

In the past, Polanyi argues, economic activity was embedded in the social relations that make up the community as a whole. What was new and startling with the self-regulating market was that it \u2018disembedded\u2019 the economy from its social base, created widespread cultural alienation among workers and owners, and left the society and the natural environment without protection. This \u2018disembedding\u2019 of economic activity from people\u2019s social relations remains a key concept in Polanyi\u2019s analysis.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Polanyi has been particularly criticized for his argument that the reciprocative and redistributive forms of integration have been more common in human history than the self-regulating market systems. There is no doubt that Polanyi\u2019s work of logic and historical account helps us to understand the origins of where we stand today. To me, the big question is where do we stand as evangelical Christians in our quest to invest all that God has given us to live for Christ, in today\u2019s capitalist society? Is evangelicalism relevant in our capitalist society and will it remain relevant, or will it be swallowed up in irrelevance in future. The screaming truth is the fact that religious actors in the arena that is history have been ignored and if the left-wing liberals were to have their way, religion would have no place in society. Weber and Polanyi play an important role of bringing history to bear witness of the key and pivotal role that religion plays in bring corrective balance and sobriety in society. There is no doubt that Weber\u2019s \u2018discipline\u2019 that religion brings to bear in society is critical and cannot be dismissed without negative consequences to our society, and I will dare that pure capitalism would not last without the corrective balancing by true religion that is evangelicalism. God is sovereign and rules over all the affairs of men. Though He is \u2018invisible\u2019 and does not \u2018literally control\u2019 things in the world, He remains \u2018in charge\u2019 of the affairs of the world, and is actively involved. As Christians, we are His agents who should play an \u2018active\u2019 role and significantly influence and impact society by investing all that we have in living for Christ. Man has been given the free will and but tends towards independence from God because of sin that dwells in Him which, is enmity with God. We are to live our lives as God\u2019s \u2018active\u2019 agents who reconcile men to God. Polanyi\u2019s account of capitalism and it\u2019s resultant: \u2018disembedding\u2019 of the economy from its social base; widespread cultural alienation among workers and owners; and leaving the society and the natural environment without protection, are very important indicators of the dangers of pure capitalism. Polanyi also highlights how religion encourages and nurtures relationships that shapes the morals and values in society that helps in reciprocity and redistribution that are important for equity. Christianity in particular has been credited with promoting high moral standards and values that have contributed to significant human progress in broad and diverse range of fields, both historically and in modern times.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

The big task, challenge and responsibility for Christian leaders is as clear as daylight and there is no denying it, how shall we remain \u201cactive and not passive\u201d players in our capitalist society today and in the future as: the salt of the earth and light of the world; a city that is built on a hill that cannot be hidden, and a lamp that cannot be hidden under the table? The threat to evangelicalism, of capitalism and the liberalism that it promotes is real and cannot be downplayed. It behooves on Christian leaders to discern this threat but more so to understand the indispensability of the church in influencing and shaping the future of our society. I stand to be counted as a Christian leader in not absconding from my responsibility of not only remaining relevant but in empowering other Christians to stand tall and play their important role as the salt and light in our society. In my research, I intend to draw attention to the church, the important place of holistic ministry in transformation of society.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Karl Polanyi. The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of our Time<\/em>. 2nd<\/sup> ed. (Boston, MA. Beacon Press, 2001).<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Jason Clark. \u201cEvangelism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship,\u201d 2018. Faculty Publications \u2013 Portland Seminary. 132. https:\/\/digitalcommons.georgefox.edu\/gfes\/132.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>[3] Ibid\u20265.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Max Weber and Talcott Parsons. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism<\/em>. (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2003), 36.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Polanyi, The Great Transformation<\/em>, 5.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Gregory Baum. Karl Polanyi on Ethics and Economics<\/em>. (Montreal: McGill-Queen University Press, 1996), 4.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Sheridan Gilley (2006). The Cabridge History of Christianity: Volume 8, World Christianities c. 1815 -c. 1914. Brian Stanley. Cabridge University Press. P. 164. ISBN 0521814561. \u201c\u2026many of the scientists who contributed to these developments were Christians\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Karl Polanyi is a historian and political economist who wrote the book, The Great Transformation, as historical explanations of the political and economic origins of the collapse of nineteenth-century civilization, and the great transformation that he had lived through in the twentieth century.[1] Jason Clark is a Theologian, leadership expert and a pastor in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2024,1775,2243,2233,383],"class_list":["post-28329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp11","tag-dr-jason-clark","tag-evangelism-and-capitalism","tag-karl-polanyi","tag-the-great-transformation","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28329"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28330,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28329\/revisions\/28330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}