Tag: linear time
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Prosperity: Linear Time and Progress
Throughout history, religions have had a cyclical (or at least nonlinear) view of time. Religious ritual was an exercise in honoring and appeasing the cycles of nature established by the gods. Life was an endless succession of cycles. One of the most striking features of the Jewish tradition is the notion of linear time. There…
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Prosperity: Opening Thoughts on Cultural Environment
We have visited five elements within the cycle of prosperity: technology, food supply, human capital, economic growth and wealth, and trade. We have seen how these five interact in mutually reinforcing organic ways to generate prosperity. We have also seen how the environment and natural resources can influence how an economy develops. We turn now…
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Theology and Economics: Creation Implications
As we reflect on the creation portion of the biblical narrative, we can make the following observations and see the following implications for economics. Observations (These are linked to my earlier post on creation near the start of this series.) God ultimately owns all. The opening words of Genesis are, "In the beginning, God created…
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Theology and Economics: Creation
Any meaningful economics discussion from a Christian perspective must be grounded in the epic narrative that God is unfolding in history. That narrative begins with the first two chapters of Genesis. At least six aspects of the creation stories have great importance as we begin to think about economics. God created all that is, and…
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“The Victory of Reason” Book Review
We all know how capitalism came to be. Thrifty Reformed Protestants planted seeds in the Sixteenth Century. The much-touted "Protestant Work Ethic" sanctioned hard work, frugality, and wise investment. As these thrifty Protestants became successful and the secularizing effects of the Enlightenment took place, capitalism began to enter full bloom. This thesis has been taught…
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Eschatology: Breaking the Cycle of Time
Throughout early history, the world's religions shared a common theme: time moves in endless cycles. The goal of human existence was to understand and conform to those cycles. With the rise of Judaism 3,000 years ago, all that changed. The Jews introduced the idea of linear time. The Jews did not abandon the idea of…
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History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, but it Rhymes
What time is it? Ask that question; usually, someone will look at a watch and tell you what it reads. Actually, there are several valid answers to the question. How about daytime? Wintertime? Christmastime? Wartime? Downtime? Dinnertime? Tool-Time? (Okay. Maybe not the last one.) All these have in common that they mark some point in…