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Christianity Today, December, 2008 |

A Serious Decay

We're paying the bill for relativism.

Charles Colson with Anne Morse | posted 12/31/2008 08:45AM

Americans are hoping the new administration will ride into Washington like a knight in shining armor to rescue us from our economic woes.

Let's pray it does. The sub-prime mess has shaken financial markets ...

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susan

Posted: January 13, 2009 10:13 AM

By voting 5 stars, it does not mean I am in agreement with the article or not. It stimulates thinking and for that it is a good thing. It is so hard to express with words what God the Holy Spirit has to be able to teach each individual Christian. Each person is responsible to pay attention to the H. S. and seek His guidance if they profess the faith as Christ did. Christ had faith and perfectly lived out the faith by doing the will of His Father in Heaven. People need to see his example of this. Not even His works are what we need to see. We need to see HIM and HIM in ONENESS with the FATHER. Alas, many of us who have this faith, seek this greater oneness as a lifelong pursuit in worship of WHO He is. At the same time we do live in this world. All I want to say is, in a sense, all of this talk is insignificant in the larger scheme of things, in the Spirit, talk is not what is needed. Just each of us needs to be faithful and allow the Church Universal to the "silent talking".

T3266

Posted: January 05, 2009 6:49 PM

It has been said that one of the great curses of our times is people speaking above their knowledge, and clearly Colson knows nothing about current economics or the scriptural proscriptions about it. Colson learned the hard way that ethics makes a difference, yes, and so does economics, but he's made no compelling case as to how they can be integrated in a world full of materialism, idolatry and corruption. If 2000 years of Christianity hasn't saved us from ourselves and our capital flaws, who does Colson think Obama is that he can????

H. D. Schmidt

Posted: January 04, 2009 4:32 AM

With all due respect to the sincerity of Charles Coulson; I personally demand an apology from him when he starts the article with: "Americans are hoping . . . " Not all Americans are that stupid Mr. Coulson, while you seem to exclude yourself to begin with, and yet you still get a big "F" from me as I read your article. Number one, let me suggest, that America never ever really obeyed the Founding Fathers in truly establishing a Capitalistic free market economy, period, based on the Biblical principles upon which this nation was founded. The proof lies in the fact that because of greedy wealthy money men, they soon started running truly sweat shops in America, with many a time child labor included working up to 12 hours a day with very little pay, while the Federal Government really did nothing to stop such, hence labor Unions were born and as of today, remain ever stronger. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is completely unknown in business. NO ROOM TO SAY MORE!

Callers

Posted: January 04, 2009 12:08 AM


Why should Christians be interested in "sustaining personal [and I assume, economic] prosperity and the free-market system"? I doubt Jesus had these in mind when he talked about a life more abundant. When are we going to stop baptizing the American way of life (in whatever form) and start being the Church? And moral relativism? Really? When are Christians going to give that strawman a rest?

A hermit

Posted: January 03, 2009 7:35 PM

Mr. Colson's arguments are well stated; however, he conveniently overlooks the idolatry of the profit motive itself. The purpose of human activity and economics should be to serve man- instead, man places himself at the mercy of the profit motive. Instead of material gain being the by-product of loving and caring for one another (a truly Christian view), it instead becomes the focus for human activity. Both free-market and socialist/communist economic systems fail on this- economics and business cannot be divorced from human psychology and community, and the environment (creation) on which it depends. Jesus says it simply- "you cannot serve God and money". [mammon] Man must choose clarity and love as the primary values, not material gain.

bill	Posted: January 03, 2009 5:44 PM


Colson is right on...America's fiscal responsibility relies with the individual not the gov't. Great article!

Ed Evans

Posted: January 03, 2009 4:39 PM

I have been blessed by Charles Colson’s writings yet in my (possibly worthless) opinion he seems to have a weakness about any criticism of the free market. He seems to be saying that there have been golden ages prior to post-modernism the financial markets worked beautifully without regulation. The financial scandals of 17th and 18th C such as the Tulip Bulb Crash and the South Sea Company Bubble were both events that happened during so called God fearing times. Surely Scripture teaches us that all economics will be subject to the same sins as other areas, i.e., greed and the lust for power over fellow man. Were not the Jubilee laws designed to place strict boundaries upon that greed and limit the effect of powerful men monopolising land, the main source of capital, and re-distribute it every generation? Can we have a debate to have on this neglected area of the Bible. Is not the moral functioning of the markeplace, a by-product of the gospel rahter than any end in itself?

ex-preacher

Posted: January 03, 2009 12:14 PM


There is no evidence that the financial meltdown has anything at all to do with worldviews. Can Colson provide any evidence that people holding worldview A did any better managing their funds than people with worldview B or worldview C? Colson's article is further proof that anyone who is armed with only a hammer sees every problem as a nail.

Bill Bray

Posted: January 03, 2009 9:43 AM


Chuck remains the most powerful prophetic voice at Christianity Today and one of the most important to the whole Body of Christ. A timely message.

Eugene M. Wiese

Posted: January 03, 2009 7:34 AM

Organized religion should bear its share of the blame. Clergy have turned the Christian message into one of "believe and everything will be fine," and "ask for whatever you want and you will get it." Morality in many churches is limited to "how much can you give to the church?" Then the church spends more and more on "big" programs, "bigger" buildings, and "biggest" message. Instead, they should be preaching what the Bible says about caring for one another, giving up all to follow Christ, and the wonderful news of the death and resurrection of the son of God. He showed us what we should DO, but because of abuses, good works are ignored. They cannot redeem us, but they must be done to fulfill our obligation to God. Let's get our priorities right! Love God first, and then love everyone else, including our enemies!

M. McDonald

Posted: January 03, 2009 3:31 AM

i don't think our problem is christians instilling more positive worldview. it seems Paul's message in Acts 17 would be far more approprite - repentance towards God! stock market decreases and lowered home valuations are nothing compared with "God has appointed a time in which he will judge the world..." Time for repentence! no amount of wealth redistribution, universal healthcare, governmen regulation, green living will work - only repentence!

Steve

Posted: January 02, 2009 6:44 PM

Rich thinks that free markets are unbiblical, as if centrally-planned (and always disastrous) economies are supported by scripture. Nonsense. Jack on the other hand seeks not to comment on the virtues or failures of the article. He merely likes to be critical for the sake of being critical. Read any of Jack's other posts from different CT articles. Colson does have a point. When we lose any sense of personal moral virtue, based on objective standards of truth, the consequences touch us socially, economically, etc. We've made our beds in Western culture. Now we're paying the consequences.

Edward S.

Posted: January 02, 2009 5:55 PM


Jack, I have to wonder about your Christianity. For you to bring up Watergate in this context says to me you don't understand forgiveness. Watergate happened over 30 years ago and Mr. Colson gave his life to Christ. Since then he has done more for the Kingdom than many churches. Your comment was below the belt and beneath our Savior!

Jack	Posted: January 02, 2009 5:37 PM


It seems to me that "relativism" could better be termed as "post-Watergate morality". Thanks Chuck for your contribution.

Padre Dave

Posted: January 02, 2009 5:01 PM

Another area that Christians have fallen for is the sense that God "wants" us to be prosperous in this life and in the world. A sense of entitlement, bolstered by a heretical "Gospel" of prosperity can lead a financially fragile Christian into buying a home they cannot afford or using the equity in their home to show how prosperous they are....the fruit of this is now coming home to reality. As Christians, we must be responsible with the goods of this world, striving for what we truly need, disregarding the call to more and more of what we want.

PeterI

Posted: January 02, 2009 3:44 PM

Ecosystems and environmental issues are also costs of free market choices. As Colson says, "worldviews matter" - and I have a worldview that sees the Kingdom lived out in right relationship with God, with other humans and with the creation. I ponder the role of collective and common good within the Kingdom and ask "Is the free market and/or the Kingdom just the amalgamation of individual behaviors and choices? Or is there a role and a need for collective common good, for public policies that promote Kingdom values? As Mr Colson says, a "Christian worldview teaches us to live within our means, defer gratification, and treat others (including creation?) honorably..." Can government - accountable to to the people - create public policies that do good? I am increasingly seeing the role for good government in regulation and mandating personal behaviors such as recycling, energy effeciencies, species protection and pollution reduction. It is too bad free-markets have become so sacrosanct.

JC Shakespeare

Posted: January 02, 2009 1:54 PM


The world is not lived in black and white, Chuck. There is a huge range of options between "living only for the present" and the "Christian worldview." More to say here: http://tinyurl.com/8unq8h

Rob Z

Posted: January 02, 2009 12:52 PM

Rich, you are mistaken. The crisis in trust is proof that business, properly conceived, is a moral endeavor. Consider the most basic economic transactions: barter. I approach you with an offer of trade, something of value for something of value. You can freely accept that offer or decline. In either case, we are basing our interraction on certain preconceptions of trust -- that neither will rob nor defraud the other. When an act of robbery or fraud occurs, the government is the necessary agency in this fallen world to punish the aggessor. This is not to say that no economic regulation is necessary. As economies become more complex, the state must define the terms of contract to prevent new modes of fraud. Contrasted with the free market, however, all command economies involve the goverment in taking from one group and giving to another. This is robbery writ large. Or, in the case of the devaluation of our currency -- the root of all economic bubbles -- fraud on a grand scale.

Howard Pepper

Posted: January 02, 2009 12:39 PM

There is a lot of good common sense in this article. However, help is available from a broader source than Colson seems to envision. As a former Evangelical who has studied worldviews and systems of ethics and morality extensively, I'd add that many of us hold the kinds of values and moral commitments he espouses, but we see no reason or need to any longer connect them with a specifically "Christian worldview." Thus, it is not just Christians who can and must "renew in our culture a worldview encouraging virtue and responsibility."

tr.	Posted: January 02, 2009 12:04 PM


this article is just another instance of the West's obsession with the economy and money. The devil, only the devil, has an economy. The Christian prays thus: "Our Father...give us our daily bread" Daily means one single day at a time just enough for us to use!

DanS	Posted: January 02, 2009 10:46 AM

Good article, Charles. However, one of your many fine points needs emphasized. Not all “free market” economics are created equal. The free markets of the past several decades were not the self-governing Christian variety. Rather, they were libertarian and libertine, á la the French Revolution. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was a devotee of atheist Ayn Rand. The broad moralisms of the Reagan era were good, but not good enough. What few Christians or political conservatives will acknowledge is that public education has destroyed the Nation.

Dick	Posted: January 02, 2009 10:13 AM

Kudos! 5 stars! Who is to blame: "we has found the enemy and he is us", as my old friend Pogo would say. We are facing the most serious recession since the great depression, economic experts tell us, but recent news articles tell us that most universities, especially the "top" ones are being inundated by applications from students whose parents are willing and able to fork over $25,000 to $40,000 a year for an education when only a relatively small percentage will ever graduate. One of my grandchildren (21 years old) said recently during Christmas, "I couldn't live without my (cell) phone", another (19) said, "my (cell) phone is my life". What a tragedy! This family is preparing to move out of state had a huge garage sale reently and I was amazed to see all the electronic "toys", each of which cost several hundred dollars, were being offered for sale after just a few years use. These seemingly unrelated events are just a few which how shollow our lives have become.

Debbie

Posted: January 02, 2009 9:10 AM

I agree with the entire article. But I wonder where it leaves low income families and individuals when rental units are not priced fairly. Individuals and families with lower incomes will not be able to afford homes and will not be approved for a loan, understandably. But there is another issue that parallels this situation I think which is whether or not there is enough affordable housing available.

Edward S.

Posted: January 02, 2009 8:25 AM

I think you're wrong Mike S. Romans 13 tells us the responsibilities of government and that is to protect the good from the evil. I Timothy 2 directs the Believer to pray for kings and all who are in authority. What do you think we should be praying for? In my opinion, it should be that they make wise decisions concerning the nation morally, politically, and economically. In the U.S. we have the privilege of influencing this process through the vote. We should take full advantage of this. We should also preach the Gospel of the Kingdom so that souls can be saved and changed. One is influence on the nation, the other is influence on the individual. It's not an either/or proposition. Both are needed! How else can I Timothy 2:2 be a reasonable expectation? Verse 3 in that same passage says "...this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour".

Steve G.

Posted: January 01, 2009 11:02 AM

I disagree with Rich; relativism, not free markets, are at the root of the issue, as Colson maintains. As long as people buy into a relativist viewpoint, we can expect corrupt business practices, people bent on making money at all costs. Government regulation, then, becomes a 'must'--putting limits on what greed can do. Yet if the government buys into relativism, who will regulate the government? It doesn't have to be that way, if enough people are committed to a lifestyle that is concerned with the welfare of neighbor, and to the love of God over money. And that is a better way than depending on the government to maintain public morality. And how is this accomplished? Mike S. is right--through winning people to Christ, helping them deepen in their understanding of God, and encouraging the character formation that follows. In that sense, business ethics begins with discipleship; as long as 'making money' is what business is all about, we will not arrive at a long-term solution.

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