{"id":33557,"date":"2023-10-20T00:00:15","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T07:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=33557"},"modified":"2023-10-20T03:37:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T10:37:03","slug":"assurance-vs-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/assurance-vs-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"Capital Assurance Vs Spiritual Anxiety?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cBeware of thinking all your own that you possess, and of living accordingly. <\/em><\/p>\n

It is a mistake that many people who have credit fall into.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

-Benjamin Franklin-<\/p>\n

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Assurance and anxiety stand as polar opposites. Throughout history, individuals have striven for assurance through a multitude of guarantees that offer a sense of confidence. Anxiety is widely unwelcome among humans, as it disrupts their peace of mind. In their quest for solace, people seek reassurance through various avenues. Some regard wealth and prosperity as cornerstones of life’s predictability. Conversely, others place significant importance on nurturing positive social bonds. Moreover, there are those who find solace in their social standing and positions, fostering a feeling of safety and well-being. For people of faith, a robust spiritual life serves as the cornerstone of their comfort. Nevertheless, some argue that true comfort encompasses a blend of the various factors mentioned earlier.<\/p>\n

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Reading Weber’s book, “The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism,” enlightened me to the idea that during the post-Reformation period, comfort for Protestants revolved around their ability to address their religious anxiety. In the reformed church, especially among the Calvinists during that time, a good faith must be seen in a matter. Weber writes, \u201cThe Calvinist also wanted to be saved sola fide<\/em>. But since Calvin viewed all pure feelings and emotions, no matter how exalted they might seem to be, with suspicion, faith had to be proved by its objective results in order to provide a firm foundation for the certitudo salutis<\/em>. It must be a fides efficax<\/em>, the call to salvation an effectual calling.\u201d[1]<\/a> What is the real form of realizing God’s work of salvation in the life vocation of the people? In the Protestant\u2019s predestination doctrine it is said, \u201conly one of the elect really has the fides efficax, only he is able by virtue of his rebirth and the resulting sanctification of his whole life, to augment the glory of God by real, and not merely apparent, good works.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

The doctrines of predestination and worldly asceticism played an increasing role in underscoring this divine calling. Individuals earnestly sought certainty and assurance regarding their status as one of the chosen, predestined by God for salvation. This is when we can observe the manifestation of the Protestant work ethic during that era, characterized by an exceptional commitment to hard work and diligence. Weber describes it as follows: \u201cWaste of time is thus the first and in principle the deadliest of sins. The span of human life is infinitely short and precious to make sure of one\u2019s own election. Loss of time through sociability, idle talk, luxury, even more sleep than is necessary for health, six to at most eight hours, is worthy of absolute moral condemnation.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Protestantism, especially the Calvinist denomination, is allegedly one of the important factors in the emergence of capitalism. Weber writes, \u201cThat of Calvinism, even in Germany, was among the strongest, it seems, and the reformed faith more than the others seems to have promoted the development of the spirit of capitalism, in the Wupperthal as well as elsewhere.\u201d[4]<\/a> On the other hand, Protestant asceticism teaches people to restrain themselves from the desire to enjoy the wealth and luxury goods they obtain from the results of their hard work. Weber then says, \u201cThis worldly Protestant asceticism, as we may recapitulate up to this point, acted powerfully against the spontaneous enjoyment of possessions; it restricted consumption, especially of luxuries, and looked upon it as directly willed by God.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

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Weber has demonstrated how the Protestant work ethic, interpreting God’s call and election through predestination, materializes in a strong emphasis on hard work and the accumulation of substantial capital as evidence of one’s divine salvation. However, a significant peril arises when Christians begin to equate salvation solely with wealth or possessions. In doing so, Christianity does not truly alleviate religious anxiety but rather shifts the assurance of safety onto wealth alone. Does this not, in turn, create new anxieties? After all, regardless of the magnitude of one’s wealth, it does not serve as an indicator or guarantee of a person’s salvation status in Christ. Dr. Clark has uncovered the potential dangers associated with capitalism. Clark writes, \u201cLife in the new Protestant world generated anxiety about assurance of faith. That anxiety was attended to with a relocation of assurance into providence. But the terms and limits of providence became increasingly set by market imaginations, rather than the original Evangelical horizons of faithful Christian living in the material world.\u201d[6]<\/a> These two books serve as a poignant reminder not to succumb to the temptation of equating “capital assurance” with the alleviation of religious anxiety. It is crucial to maintain unwavering faith in our salvation through Christ our Savior, knowing that nothing can sever our connection with His love. With this profound assurance, we are less likely to become entangled in the allure of worldly riches, nor will we erroneously attribute our safety solely to them. Capital and possessions should not be misconstrued as indicators of salvation. Rather, they are instruments to be utilized for the glorification of His name and the betterment of others.<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism<\/em>, (London: Routledge, 2005), 68.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Max Weber, 69.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Max Weber, 104.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Max Weber, 9.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Max Weber, 115.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Jason Paul Clark, Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogenes in the Relationship <\/em>(2018), Faculty Publications – Portland Seminary, 120-121. https:\/\/digitalcommons.georgefox.edu\/gfes\/132<\/a> Accessed October 18 , 2023.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cBeware of thinking all your own that you possess, and of living accordingly. It is a mistake that many people who have credit fall into.\u201d -Benjamin Franklin-   Assurance and anxiety stand as polar opposites. Throughout history, individuals have striven for assurance through a multitude of guarantees that offer a sense of confidence. Anxiety is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"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":[2310],"tags":[2874],"class_list":["post-33557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-dlgp02-weber-clark","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33557","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\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33557"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33563,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33557\/revisions\/33563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}