While blogging this morning I came across a very interesting blog entry called “Healing the Economy Means Going Beyond ‘What’s in it for me’” by Douglas Todd. He claims that one of the contributing factors that has led to the economic crisis is Pentecostal prosperity teachers, among whom, he says, Joel Osteen's is one of the greatest proponents, who have fed into the desire for materialism, in a word the glorifying of self. Following is a quote from his blog:
Spiritual insight into the economic collapse comes from Martin Marty, of the University of Chicago Divinity School, one of the most distinguished religious historians in North America.
Marty believes the economic meltdown grew out of a growing global obsession with the “self.” He points to the way many economists talk about how the “spreading disease” in the global economy will “self-heal.” But Marty believes the modern free world is fixated on terms such as “self-generating,” “self-developing” and “self-correcting.” It’s the kind of thinking that has led many to over-optimistically advocate for an “unfettered” and “unregulated” market that never impinges on the supremacy of the “self.”
Marty suggests Americans haven’t been willing to face the dark, shadow aspects of an economic system and foreign policy that focused on serving only the “self.” Marty says the battered economy is making us look at all aspects of what happens when “the self” is glorified as absolute.
I know this is an atypical blog for me, but couldn't resist sharing this insight.
Greg,
ReplyDeleteI remember an article published some years ago about the attrition of many of the dot.com businesses being due to their deifying the power of positive thinking. However, they didn't take into account the self-centeredness of their stakeholders and one leg--the positive one--was not strong enough to hold them up in an economy based so much on greed. This article you quoted points to yet another example of "putting the cart before the horse" in our religious systems. It is one thing to expect a generous Father to share with His children the bounty of His resources by virtue of relationship. It is entirely another thing to behave and think like a member of the Family of God, also by virtue of relationship. The latter is foundational to the accuracy of the former.
Yes, to expect that God gives His promises unconditionally is rather presumptious. Somehow the message is that God's DNA is inside me and that is all that matters!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the economy, I have little confidence the stimulus package will work because it seems to be premised on the good will of all who recieve the money and that they will consider the good of others...