Gospel, Politics and Wealth Inequality

by Ron (Kansas)

It amazes me people can't see what's going on. Beginning in the 1960's and accelerating after the "Reagan Revolution" in 1980, the United States has become one of the most unequal countries the world has ever known.

Every year the gap between the few rich and many poor widens. Every year more people leave the middle class and join the ranks of the poor. Every year, virtually all new wealth our society creates goes, not to the workers who created it, but rather to the wealthy owners, CEO's, Boards of Directors, etc of the increasingly multinational companies. Something is seriously wrong.

But wait, it gets even worse. Tea Party types are always talking about the deficits and debt (though rarely do they admit they were caused by huge tax cuts for the wealthy and profligate spending on wars and a wasteful health care system).

Well, as things stand now, it seems likely the poor and middle class will get stuck with the bill for it all. We hear calls nearly every day for the poor, middle class, and government to "tighten your belts" and "do more with less." When's the last time you heard someone say the rich, who benefit so much from our society, need to sacrifice anything?

So, we live in a country of great economic injustice, which appears on the verge of getting much worse, and yet the Christian church stands by largely silent. Why is that?

Comments for Gospel, Politics and Wealth Inequality:

Yup - by mojo

Thanks Ron, I'm with you. I think the reason the Christian church is mostly silent about these things is due to the shrinkage of the gospel discussed at America's Gospel Problem.

I think a devotion to conservative political principles, that place individual wealth creation over community good, has led politically conservative Christians to adopt a smaller, weaker gospel than the gospel that Jesus proclaimed.

Generally, it is much more comfortable to make Jesus' gospel all about individual, otherworldly, spirituality and not apply it to politics. This is discussed more at How Big is the Gospel?

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Mosaic Law Redistributes Wealth - by Anonymous

Do Christian Republicans realize that the Mosaic law redistributes wealth and assumes that the rich are stewards of land/money and not its owners?

Forgiveness of debts. Restoration of land. These things are Christian values.