Today, marks the first day of an indefinite series on the -isms shaping the week's current events and global discourse. Why do this? Well, two main reasons motivate me to make each Friday post a different -ism......First, I actually heard someone say the other day, 'I am glad communism fell and I love capitalism, but there's so much cynicism and pessimism and not enough optimism, don't you think?' I was exhausted and energized listening to the onslaught of -isms thrown out. Exhausted because I wondered if the speaker truly knew how nuanced some of the words are and energized because I thought to myself, 'hey, I bet there's a lot of -isms, worth talking about.' And so, I am talking about them, but not in a worldview catalog sort of way, but in a week in review manner. The theme of this blog is to ponder ideas that impact us both locally and globally understanding that ideas have consequences, so each Friday, I will focus in on an --ism that has been particularly raised in the global discourse for the week. And since it's been an odd week, my first --ism post will have two words featured, one of them spelled differently than conventional --isms.
Capitalism should be mentioned this week not only because of recent discussions surrounding whether or not Capitalism can survive or if faith and capitalism mix (see also a recent Duke University Press release by William Connolly entitled, "Capitalism and Christianity, American Style" ), but because Goldman Sachs was charged with fraud by the SEC and once again we're left wondering who is telling the truth and if capitalism can survive its own success. The markets reacted by going down and the blood pressure of many reacted by going up. Is this relegated to a chosen few or has capitalism run its course? Furthermore, those of us who are convinced of the truth of the Bible need to assess if we fear the decline of capitalism more than God. We should not confuse the current version of capitalism with Scriptural teaching letting the former inform the latter. We always critique capitalism in light of Scripture and if there's a discrepancy, well, then capitalism, not the Bible, must go. There may be challenges ahead, though, as the predominant prosperity gospel takes a beating in the public square.
Cataclysm is the next --ism of the week, although the spelling will challenge the anal retentive among us. As a synonym for disaster, the China earthquake and the Iceland volcano remind us not only of the power of nature and the enormity of creation, but we should also be reminded of the need for humility. When Jesus calmed the winds and the waves, the Gospel writers tell us that the ability to calm the storm frightened the disciples more than the storm itself. Jesus is actually more powerful than volcanoes and earthquakes, but we treat him lightly and take disasters far more seriously. In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, millions of dollars were raised very quickly, but missionaries continue to struggle to make ends meet. Of course, this is not an either-or discussion, rather cataclysms often reveal other cataclysm. Hurrican Katrina revealed a broken government and a neglected group of people living in poverty. What will the Iceland volcano (already wreaking havoc on the airline industry) and the China earthquake reveal? It's not what goes into a man, but what comes out that makes him unclean. What is coming out of our hearts when we see capitalism run amuck and cataclysms multiply...maybe that's worth paying attention to in our quiet time tomorrow morning.
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