{"id":31110,"date":"2023-02-16T17:35:02","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T01:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=31110"},"modified":"2023-02-16T17:35:02","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T01:35:02","slug":"christian-roots-of-capitalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/christian-roots-of-capitalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Roots of Capitalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

The book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism<\/em>, by Max Weber was a challenging read for me this week. It was necessary more than ever to go to videos and websites for help dissecting the material. I watched a professor give a talk on the topic from this title after reading most of this book as best I could, and think I have a grasp on the concepts now, thankfully.<\/p>\n

For the purpose of this blog, I would like to write a bit about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation which was the catalyst for free-market capitalism as we know it now. [1] After that, I will touch a bit on John Calvin, particularly on predestination. Then I will write about other denominations and their influence on early capitalism. Finally I will make an application of these thoughts to my own life and situation.<\/p>\n

Martin Luther<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Not long ago, I read a wonderfully written book on Martin Luther by Eric Metaxas. It was entitled Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World<\/em>. Martin Luther is famous for nailing the 95 theses to the door. In fact, Metaxas points out in a bit of trivia that he probably didn’t actually nail them to the door at all. It was common practice at that time to paste things to doors instead. [2] Martin Luther believed that the indulgences of the Roman Catholic church were unbiblical. He set out to change those. [3] Metaxas points out that the consequences of his reforms went far beyond reforming the Catholic church – to forming new denominations and even causing political uprisings. [4] Perhaps most pointedly, the Reformation taught people that “work is good”. In fact, it is positive, saintly, and even holy. [5] Before the Reformation, work was considered punishment from the fall of man. [6] So this was a big change.<\/p>\n

John Calvin<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Among the five points of Calvinism is predestination. This is the belief that from the beginning of time, some people are destined for heaven and some are not. Those destined for heaven have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. [7] So, some might ask, if your name is written in the Book of Life no matter what, then why not live any way you want to? Why not just party all the time? [8] In fact, Max Weber argued that people didn’t know if they were predestined or not. [9] It caused a lot of anxiety in their daily lives. They came to the conclusion that the mark of God was prospering in business. [10] So people worked harder to prove they were predestined.<\/p>\n

Other Denominational Influences<\/strong><\/p>\n

Methodists taught that God loves an orderly life. Work is good. And that success in business is a sign that you are going to heaven. [11] Presbyterians lived frugally. They taught that you shouldn’t spend your money on yourself, but should reinvest it, and also give it to charity. [12] All of these ideas together: work harder, try to succeed in business, plan, be frugal and invest … these are all the seeds for free-market capitalism. [13] And they were planted by the denominations born out of the Protestant Reformation.<\/p>\n

Application<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Scarbrough, the professor whose video I watched, said that the richest nations are Protestant today. The poorest are tribal. I have lived in both. I believe this is the truth. There is something to be said for an American in today’s society to dwindle all of their worldly possessions down to a crate the size of a twin bed as I voluntarily did when I moved to Kenya. Then further dwindled them to go live in a hut in the bush. Five years later I returned to the States with very few possessions in the world’s eyes. But don’t be mislead – I had everything I needed and so much more in things that don’t have a price tag. It would be difficult to say when I was the richer – now or then.<\/p>\n

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[1] John Scarbrough, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, Lincoln Land Community College, 2014, YouTube, 20 minutes, Link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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[2] Metaxas, Eric. 2017. Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World<\/i>. Unabridged. New York: Penguin Audio.<\/div>\n
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[3] Weber, Max, Peter Baehr, and Gordon C. Wells. 2002. The Protestant Ethic and the \u201cSpirit\u201d of Capitalism and Other Writings<\/i>. Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics. New York: Penguin Books.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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[3] Metaxas, Eric. 2017. Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World<\/i>. Unabridged. New York: Penguin Audio.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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[4] John Scarbrough, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, Lincoln Land Community College, 2014, YouTube, 20 minutes, Link<\/a>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
[5] Ibid.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
[6] Ibid.<\/div>\n
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[7] Crosswalk Editorial Staff, “What is Calvinism?”, Christianity.com, April 28, 2021, Link<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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[8] John Scarbrough, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, Lincoln Land Community College, 2014, YouTube, 20 minutes, Link<\/a>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
[9] Weber, Max, Peter Baehr, and Gordon C. Wells. 2002. The Protestant Ethic and the \u201cSpirit\u201d of Capitalism and Other Writings<\/i>. Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics. New York: Penguin Books.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
[10] Ibid.<\/div>\n
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[11] John Scarbrough, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, Lincoln Land Community College, 2014, YouTube, 20 minutes, Link<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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[12] Ibid.<\/div>\n
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[13] Ibid.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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