Gospel and Wealth: The Wickedness of Wealth in American Capitalism, Conversational Thoughts by Jermaine J. Marshall

In 1906, German Economist Werner Sombert characterized America as the Canaan or the Promised Land of Capitalism. It is a widely popular belief in American society that the supposed evolution of economic success and prosperity in America has been predicated upon its capitalistic principles. It is not surprising that such a belief pervades the very fabric of American culture since our country was founded to foster elitism. The Founding Fathers of America envisioned and created a country that would cater to wealthy European American males who owned property. During the 2008 Presidential Election season, John Edwards ran on an economic platform that suggested that we live in a country that is divided economically. Edwards argued that there are two Americas: those who have and those who have not. In essence there is a wealthy America and there is a poor America. At the time I did not believe that Edwards was the best candidate overall for the presidency and to date I still do not believe he was, but I do believe that his economic philosophy as it relates to America was very accurate.

The impact of economic narcissism

It is a fact that in Matthew’s gospel Jesus says that the poor will always be present in human society, yet it is also a fact that Jesus gave instructions on how to treat and deal with those who are poor. I believe that there are many in our country who profess Christianity as their faith yet have drastically failed to follow these instructions, in fact they have done the opposite of what Jesus commanded in the book that they claim to hold sacred. I believe this blatant rejection of the instructions given to them by one whom they consider their Lord and Savior is a direct result of economic wickedness, a form of wickedness that evolves from their narcissistic inclination to greed, which unfortunately is a reality that has corrupted and controlled the very nature and function of American Capitalism. While I believe that many of the people who are responsible for the economic divide in this country are wealthy due to American Capitalism, please do not misinterpret my thoughts as a sort of capitalistic pessimism. I am in no way, shape, form, or fashion suggesting that all who are wealthy in America are wicked, because there are some wealthy people who have specialized in following the instructions of Jesus by having mercy and compassion on the less fortunate.  Furthermore, wealth itself is not the problem. Even the holy scriptures declare that it is not money itself that is evil, but it is the love of money that is evil and I believe it is the love of money at the core of the wickedness embodied in American Capitalism.

American Capitalism: A Game with Rules

Recently comedian Ron Swanson’s pyramid of greatness was featured on some major television networks and websites. In his satirical way he defined capitalism as “God’s way of determining who is smart, and who is poor”. While it is obvious that Swanson was indeed being sarcastic, it is my belief that some people who ascertain wealth through American Capitalism actually believe and practice Swanson’s definition. American Capitalism is a game with rules and in order to succeed in the game one must know and follow those rules. The rules of the game were created by a select few to benefit a select few. The rules are really not taught in schools nor are they featured in books designed for self-learning. The knowledge of these rules are reserved for the elite and privileged. In essence the rules of the game are the product of inheritance; therefore while the rules are inherited and the game is played the masses that are indeed the disinherited of American society suffers – including those of us who are considered “middle-class”. I am not attempting to advocate a form of Marxist thought; I am however acknowledging the capitalistic game and attempting to identify the players. Just as there are two Americas, one poor and the other rich, there is even a divide among the wealthy in America. Economically some people in America who are considered wealthy are very healthy in gaining and maintaining their wealth, while others are wicked. The driving force and catalyst that undergirds this wickedness is greed, and the wickedness of wealth in American Capitalism has theological, historical, and socio-political implications.

Theological Implications

I have always been mystified by the words of the writer in Ecclesiastes 10: 19, who says, “A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things”. The mystery for me is that the wisdom books of the Bible are writings that have always helped to guide me in my daily living, yet it has been my experience that money does not answer all things. It seems to me that this one verse could indeed be misinterpreted and serve as the mantra of the wicked wealthy in American Capitalism. I do believe the words of the writer in Deuteronomy 8, who suggested that God has indeed given us the power to gain wealth. It is not the gaining of wealth in itself that is wicked, it is the motive, intent, and practices of those who play the game of American Capitalism which determines whether or not they are healthy or wicked with their wealth.

In the Early Christian literary work, The Shepherd of Hermas, Early Church leaders of the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries advocated for a symbiotic relationship between the rich and poor. Even in the Early Church there were some fears of future false prophets who would utilize their prophetic gifts to foster a prophetic arrogance in an effort to exploit the people whom they claim they are called to serve. Today these would be your modern day pimps in the pulpit who lavish themselves with luxury cars, magnificent mansions, and even fully loaded private jets while some of their people suffer through car repossessions and mortgage foreclosures. These are they whom the writer in the gospel of John characterized as “hirelings”, the complete opposite of the undershepherd or pastor.  These are they whom the writer in the gospel of Matthew characterized as “wolves in sheep clothing”. With the rise of Imperial Christianity through the efforts of Roman Emperor Constantine, the church embraced capitalism. The more capitalistic the church became, the more corrupt it became. The leaders in the church begin to practice simony and nepotism, which led to the rise of monasticism. The development of monastic life flourished as monasticism was the reaction to classicism and materialism in the church. The church was now controlled and dominated by the wealthy, so the critical question became, “How could the church witness to members living in an ocean of poverty, while church leaders live in a sea of plenty”?

Historical Implications

Jesus asked a rhetorical question in his discourse to his disciples on Christian discipleship. Jesus says, “What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul?”.  As a theologian and an African American whose ancestors involuntarily became valuable commodities for the economic benefit of European nations, I would argue that in pursuit of wealth the European enslavers lost their souls. All of the European nations involved in the Atlantic Triangular Slave Trade were Christian nations who claimed their souls were filled with the Holy Spirit. Their imperialistic spirit, not the Holy Spirit, enabled them to justify their claim that God had some kind of way mystically ordained or anointed them with what has been characterized as the “white man’s burden”. Therefore in the name of Christianity they felt like it was their Christian duty to colonize, civilize, and Christianize the barbaric and uncivilized savages on the African continent. The Atlantic Triangular Slave Trade was the genesis of the capitalistic global market. It is a fact that the practice of slavery and even the selling of slaves had been around since the beginning of time, but never before in human history had slaves been subjugated to the horrors of this slave trade specifically in America. The enslavement of African people is indeed America’s original sin. The slaves in America were considered and utilized as chattel. In America the slaves were de-humanized, de-socialized, de-sexualized, and de-personalized and the cause of such heinous crimes was the wickedness of wealth in American Capitalism.

The Christian doctrine of original sin suggest that this sin is not only an action but it is also a condition, and unfortunately America’s original sin is still a condition that pervades the very depths of American society. African Americans have come a very long way, but having a president of African descent does not negate the fact that we have a very long way to go if we intend on overcoming and defeating the wickedness of wealth in American Capitalism. The Christian doctrine of original sin suggests that it is a sinful condition that is permanent, and unfortunately it seems that America’s original sin works in the same manner. We may no longer be slaves on cotton and tobacco plantations, but many of us ethnic minorities in America are now slaves in a different form: we are slaves on political and corporate plantations through which we are overworked and underpaid. Even the inner cities and urban centers of America where most African Americans reside affectionately dubbed the “ghetto” or “hood” are in actuality urban plantations designed for the continued economic oppression of the African American race. Places that cause debauchery and decadence such as liquor stores are allowed to infiltrate Black neighborhoods in America but are not allowed to heavily populate upper class white suburban areas. Worst of all, the prison system in America is a legalized slave plantation. The prisons are overwhelmingly populated by African American males many of whom are victims of racism and bigotry due to racial profiling and an unjust justice system. The wicked Republicans continue to insist on privatization of these prisons in order to foster this legalized slavery and grease their political pockets with the wealth of big business, and therefore commit the unconscionable and unconceivable sin of building more prisons based on the failure rate of black males in elementary school as opposed to more centers of learning that would foster better education.

Socio-Political Implications

In the 1930’s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Democrats provided the vision and enacted legislation with Congress to give relief to the unemployed and poor following the great economic travesty known as the Great Depression. Many federally funded programs such as Social Security were established and gave Americans, especially the less fortunate, some economic stability. In the 1960’s, President Lyndon B. Johnson extended the New Deal through his Great Society initiative as a war on poverty and racial injustice in America. Historians suggest that President Johnson left office very unpopular because of the Vietnam War, but I disagree. The war I believe was indeed a factor, but I believe the overall catalyst behind his political demise was his Great Society and his civil rights legislation. It is appalling that people worship and adore Ronald Reagan when his economic policies dubbed “trickle-down economics” was a massive travesty for the American economy.  It did nothing more or less than make  the wicked wealthy in America more wealthy.  Even his opponent and eventual Vice President, George H. Bush, called it “voodoo economics”. It is a shame before the Almighty God that President Obama had to negotiate with the Republican congressional leadership in order to achieve extended benefits for the unemployed. It is of the utmost hypocrisy of the Republicans and Tea Party fanatics to advocate the extension of Bush tax cuts for people who in no way, shape, or form need the money and yet cry about the deficit that they claim to want to cut. If it were up to the Republicans and the wicked wealthy in America the minimum wage would never become a living wage, social security would be eradicated, and there would not only be a repeal of healthcare reform but of all forms of care including Medicare and Medicaid.

Conclusion

In closing, I say to the Republicans and all those who do not gain and maintain their wealth in a healthy manner but gain and maintain their wealth by exploiting people who are less fortunate, disinherited, and lack the voice to speak for themselves: remember the words of Jesus whose instructions you refuse to follow concerning the poor in Matthew 25.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  (Matthew 25: 34-46 NIV)?