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The Good of Affluence The Good of Affluence: Seeking God in a Culture of Wealth by John R. Schneider Eerdmans, 2002 233 pp. $24, paper

It may be possible to have a good debate over whether or not Jesus believed in fairies," G.K. Chesterton said. "Alas, it is impossible to have any sort of debate over whether or not Jesus believed that rich people were in big trouble—there is too much evidence on the subject and it is overwhelming." 1

In The Good of Affluence: Seeking God in a Culture of Wealth, John Schneider disagrees. Offering "a theology of affluence for Christians seeking to live with integrity within this culture of capitalism," he finds that enjoying extreme riches is just fine with Jesus. He sees his book as an antidote to Ron Sider's Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. And he states candidly at the outset: "I strongly challenge the widely held belief that the world-shrinking effects of globalism generate strong obligations for any wealthy person in an advanced society to any poor person in an undeveloped one."

I found much in the book to admire, lines worth quoting, some that soar. But a pattern emerged for me as I read. Schneider makes a point that I applaud, then takes it in a direction that invites dismay—mine at any rate.

In his opening chapter, Schneider sketches the emergence of capitalism and explains that in contrast to biblical times, when wealth was usually obtained at the expense of others, current free-market capitalism typically creates wealth and spreads its benefits widely. He presents this well. However, his uncritical enthusiasm for the achievements of capitalism—"the greatest liberating power in human history"—takes over. Despite his acknowledgment that acquisitive desire is sometimes insatiable and spiritually corruptive, Schneider sees mainly a remarkable harmony between modern habits of acquisition and moral virtues. And he disparages the conclusions of a growing body of research that beyond a fairly basic level additional wealth brings little or no more happiness. "People who say that money doesn't buy happiness simply don't know where to shop," he quips in one of 25 citations in one chapter alone from The Virtue of Prosperity by the very conservative Dinesh D'Souza.

Genesis "helps us to see that God in fact designed human beings to enjoy life in the material world," Schneider writes. The narrative, he says, "almost overflows with the love and joy that God feels as he brings forth this world." Again one cheers—until this garden of delight is said to tell us "that abundance, fruitfulness, and excess [a word Schneider likes] are the proper conditions for a full life of delight," and that "it is the condition of affluence alone that makes full delight possible." Citing the wealth and power promised to Abraham and the patriarchs, Schneider baldly asserts that "God's promises have always been material in nature." Forgiveness? Joy? Peace? The Holy Spirit?

Schneider builds next on the exodus. It shows "that the God of Scripture has a peculiar interest in setting the poor free from poverty." But it also provides a theology "uniquely aimed at the concerns of wealthy people seeking God." God promises to bring his people "into conditions of material prosperity and power in the extreme." God "leads a whole people into a rich land to become an extremely wealthy nation."

Schneider turns to the prophets, who tell us that a main reason for the exile was economic immorality. The rich exploited the weak in order to increase their own wealth—typical then, but not typical in our economy today, we are reminded. The prophets were objecting to "extreme indulgence," which is "a very different spiritual and moral behavior than merely having and enjoying prosperity in the extreme." What is the difference? Extreme indulgence reflects "a lack of proper, sacred grief for the suffering around and about [us]." "For had [the rich addressed by Amos] truly grieved, perhaps there would have been no summer homes or beds of ivory." Perhaps. But then their prosperity would not have been so extreme.

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