God as the Source of Wealth (original) (raw)
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Melanesian Journal of Theology 3-1 (1987) 74 GOD AS THE SOURCE OF WEALTH
2015
There are no primal (or so-called “primitive”) societies which fail to celebrate their material blessings. When the animals are plentiful; when the tubers grow fat in the ground, or the maize tall and strong in the field; when the women are pregnant, and the men vital in war or negotiation, a small people has the elbow-room to be confident. It is a guarantee of self-respect if one has beasts and harvests good enough to meet one’s round of obligations, or answer the needs of a feast, and it is the fruit of a group’s identity that its members delight, shame, or frighten, out-bargain, or satisfy, its natural competitors. Wealth in primal society is group wealth. There are undeniably individuals, families, or castes more noticeably well-off, and “primitive capitalism ” can indeed exist, so that, among the Tolai of New Britain, for example, it is harder for a native rope to pass through the eye of a bone needle than for a poor man – a man who has failed to accumulate shell-money – to ent...
This paper is a theological reflection on the theology of wealth in Africa-its nature, philosophy, and sustaining factors. Through the methodology of theological reflections, the paper found out that the theology of wealth, though difficult to describe, is sustained on the African continent by economic hardship, the influence of some preachers of the theology of wealth, and the availability of improved facilities for disseminating the content of the theology of wealth. It also found out that the entire philosophy of the theology of wealth is biblically, theologically, and ethically deficient. Biblically, it adapts parts of scripture to suit its teachings. Theologically, it puts forth viewpoints that are foreign to theological thought. Ethically, it is a means of exploiting congregants. The paper concludes with a recommendation that the content and nature of the theology of wealth must be highlighted and thoroughly explained to both clergy and membership of different denominations so all will be safeguarded against the impact of this false gospel on their lives.
The Purpose and Meaning of Wealth for God's People Based on the Bible
Understanding the true purpose and meaning of wealth will influence the attitude and behavior of everyone. Therefore, the authors conducted research so that God's people understand what true wealth means for God's people and what is God's purpose in providing wealth for His people. The author uses a research method with a qualitative approach, namely the literature research method (library research) and based on Bible analysis. Based on this research, a clear description of the purpose and meaning of wealth can be generated. In this way God's people can understand what the Bible says about the purpose and meaning of this wealth, so that it will have an impact on their attitudes and behavior.
Wealth and Poverty: Christian Economic Thought
Prophecy, Piety, and Profits
This chapter explores the vast tradition of Christian economic thought on the subject of wealth and poverty. This tradition includes the scripture of the Old and New Testaments, the writings of the early Church Fathers and the medieval Scholastics, the modern Papal encyclicals, and the opinions of contemporary Christian theologians and economists. The predominant Christian position on the subject is largely derivative of the stewardship view of wealth, and its implications with respect to property, poverty, and charity.
The Problem of Wealth: A Christian Response to a Culture of Affluence
2017
Poverty is often seen as the condition of having too little. In this book Elizabeth L. Hinson-Hasty says that the problem is that some have too much. She argues that the "most pressing theological and moral problem of our time" is "popular US attitudes toward the unlimited right of white individuals to their wealth and to the ways in which our current dominant forms of wealth creation are increasing poverty and accelerating the wealth gap within the United States and between nations around the globe" (10). Her proposal is to "radically alter our attitudes, systems, and policies that support and justify the increase of one's individual wealth at the expense of a larger commons and to learn to distribute wealth and money more justly" (10). This goal is accomplished by inviting "people of relative privilege to ask what will motivate those who profit from the current systems and structures to transform them for the sake of the commons" (22). She advocates a program, called Zacchaean economics, where one restores oneself to community by returning what was received "because of unjust economic policies and unfair, unearned social privilege" (236). Hinson-Hasty maintains that her program is consistent with the Christian worldview and spends much of the book defending that position. The book is an ambitious and wide-ranging work, touching on fields such as economics, anthropology, comparative religion, biblical exegesis, and theology. There is much to be applauded in this book, although as an economist, this reviewer found parts that are wanting.
Riches, Poverty, and the Faithful
2013
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