REAL CONSERVATIVE Capitalist Contemplations

[theraskal]

Is Christianity in America Subservient to Capitalism?

That many of the powerful do not acknowledge the image of God in the weak has become apparent during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

When a pastor ignores the defilement of the image of God in a production worker processing 140 chickens a minute, earning $12.65 an hour, and wearing diapers because of the lack of scheduled bathroom breaks, he or she most likely adheres, perhaps unwittingly, to the preaching of the two great apostles of American capitalism, Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand.

The Two Ethos of America: “Success Is Everything” and “Love One Another”

I wish to suggest that all of us, religious and laypersons alike, heard in Sunday school and repeatedly in sermons and homilies that God is Love and that we should love others as Jesus loved us, yet the ethos we came to live was taught and practiced first in elementary school and continued through graduate school. Public and parochial schools are founded on grading, a system of competition that instills the ethos of capitalism.

Christians—laypersons and clergy—in America adhere to two opposed systems of morality. In school, on the playing field, and in the workplace, we learn to thrust others aside, to ignore the pain and humiliation we cause others as we reach for the bauble of success. As far as I know, seminarians engage in a competitive struggle to outshine others in Greek and New Testament studies. In Sunday school and in church, we hear that we are to love others and seek the good for them for their sake. The directives “success is everything” and “love one another” are not equally balanced. Love is heard Sunday mornings, and striving for success is practiced every day. The ethos of capitalism is our dominant moral system; if a person violates its precepts, he or she will sink into a second-tier life, maybe into poverty. Success is the dominant goal of our society; not love your neighbor.


At Tyson Foods, as in the rest of America, we see Christianity in service of Capitalism. Christian beliefs are welcomed, indeed encouraged, at Tyson Foods, because such beliefs never disrupt the enterprise’s smooth operation that tramples human dignity underfoot. Preachers and politicians tell us we are a Christian nation; the way we live belies that, although we are not bold enough to say we are a capitalistic nation.-----

https://theimaginativeconservative.org/ ... anciu.html

[Lester Burnham]

In school, on the playing field, and in the workplace, we learn to thrust others aside, to ignore the pain and humiliation we cause others as we reach for the bauble of success.

It's just competition. It's not anti-Christian to strive to do well. You've been competing since prior to your birth.

[Luigi]

I actually agree with Raskal here. Regardless of how inherent competition is to the human spirit and more broadly to all life, that doesn't mean its not still anti-Christian. The gospels paint a pretty clear picture of who Jesus was and what his outlook on life was. He roamed the slums associating with beggers, slaves, lepers, and prostitutes. He truly believed all men were created equal, and this not only contradicts capitalism it also contradicts the American values of prioritizing freedom and opportunity. Freedom means freedom to seize the life you want, opportunity means getting the chance to do better, to rise above mediocrity. Free men are not equal, equal men are not free.

[theraskal]

^thanks for the good words Luigi and I would like to expand a bit on your contribution with something I have observed:

when Jesus saved the harlot from the Stone Throwers he didn't tell her to go back to harlotry and instead, after saving her, Jesus said: ok, now go and SIN NO MORE

RiffRaff like to try and justify their poor life choices by saying "Jesus would hang out with _____" but in the above example we see that Jesus did hang-out with them, not to encourage their poor life choices to instead to INSPIRE them to BE BETTER humans

and thanks also Lester Burnham for your contribution too....and to expand on what you have stated; part of being human is to evolve, to use the minds God gave us to question things like reading what I shared in that article and ask ourselves, is this justified because "natural competition" or should we desire and endeavor to be better by treating our "neighbors" better?

[theraskal]

Capitalism used for GOOD is NOBLE......Capitalism used for 1% Wealth Inequality GREED is VULGAR