Tag: Deuteronomy 8
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Should Christians Really Stop Saying This?
A Facebook friend linked this article this week, The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying. I get the gist of what he is saying, but I also have reservations. He is a businessperson and tells of how a friend asked how his business was going. He answered with his usual response: "Definitely feeling blessed. Last…
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MEC: Theocapitalism
We now jump several chapters ahead in Everything Must Change to Part 6 of the book on “The Prosperity System.” Up to this point in the book, there have been some polemic passages, many of which I found distasteful. This section of the book spins into a whole new level. McLaren introduces his notion of…
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Living Simply in Abundance (7)
Earlier in this series, I wrote that wealth and prosperity were promised outcomes for faithfulness to the Mosaic covenant. But within that covenant, we find this warning: Deuteronomy 8:17-20 17 Do not say to yourself, "My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth." 18 But remember the LORD your…
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Living Simply in Abundance (5)
The biblical narrative was revealed into specific historical-cultural contexts. If we go back into the world of the Old Testament, we find a distinctly agricultural society. Unlike our Enlightenment/Modernist-influenced culture, "rights" did not begin with the individual or the state. The emphasis was on relatedness. God owned all that is, and humanity was made stewards…
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Theology and Economics: Distributive Justice
Distributive Justice – How capital and goods are distributed throughout society. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…" and only God is eternal. Therefore, everything ultimately belongs to God. Yet God created us to be "stewards" of his creation. "Steward" is not widely used today. I love its Old English origins. Hundreds…
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Keepers of the Pig Sty
Centuries ago, in feudal England, one's wealth was based largely on the amount of land and livestock owned. An army of servants managed livestock. A "ward" was a servant responsible for some aspect of the operation. The feudal lord's most valued possession was often his herd of pigs. Consequently, the most trusted ward was the…