JesusJesus AgainstAgainst MammonMammon

““You cannot serve both God and Mammon” You cannot serve both God and Mammon” (Matthew 6:24)(Matthew 6:24)

““I believe in one god: I believe in one god:

Economic GrowthEconomic Growth, , maker of all goods, maker of all goods, seen and unseen.”seen and unseen.”

““I believe in Economic I believe in Economic Growth’s only Son: Growth’s only Son:

CapitalismCapitalism, who was , who was conceived by the conceived by the

power of Greed…”power of Greed…”

““I believe in I believe in happiness through happiness through owning and using owning and using

more.”more.”

It’s not just about owning…

It’s about owning MORE and more…

and more…

“Go Shopping”

Mammon also performs creation ‘out of nothing’!

““I believe in one holy, I believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic catholic and apostolic economyeconomy, and in the , and in the

communion of communion of unaccountableunaccountable corporations.”corporations.”

In rural communities, everyone depended on each other and was thus accountable to the community…

In the global economy, MNCs’ (with ‘limited liability’) can create

environmental havoc and wash their hands of it…

Ok Tedi, Papua New Guinea

“If nations want to avoid war over diminishing

resources…they must both consume LESS and become

MORE self-sufficient.”

But theo-capitalism says the opposite: “We should

become LESS self-sufficient and MORE globally

integrated as part of the overriding quest to

consume ever MORE.”Herman Daly, Ecological Economist

Jakarta, INDONESIA

West Virginia, USA

All that the true God provides, false gods also offer…

Identity

Transcendance

CommunitySecurity

REST!

Ecstasy

Jesus vs.Theo-Capitalism:

3 Action-Steps from the Gospels

Don’t be like the rich fool! (Luke 12:13-21)

'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops….This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.'

SELF-INTEREST!

NEGLECT OF

OTHERS!

CONSUMPTION-

ORIENTED

“You fool!”“This very night your life will be

demanded from you…This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich

toward God."

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Answer: Love God…and love your neighbour as yourself (Luke 10:25-27)

a.k.a. the parable of the unexpected neighbour

#1 Serve the community and work for the common good

“Today salvation has come to this

house. For the Son of Man came to seek and save

what was lost”

(Luke 19:9-10)

“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

Tax-Collector ‘Hell’

• Exploitation for quick profits

• Creating a class of very rich and very poor i.e. growing inequality

• Oppressing / Cheating those in poverty

#2 Connect ‘salvation’ with ‘justice’

1,020THE NO. OF TIMES ‘JUSTICE’ APPEARS IN THE BIBLE

“Do not worry…but seek first the kingdom of God

and His justice and all these things shall be

added unto you.”

Matthew 6:33

#3 Train Ourselves in Gratitude

Gratitude is Gratitude is an exercise in contentmentan exercise in contentment

“Gratitude is an act of defiant

contemplation”

Brian McLaren, Pastor/Author

Book References

• First ranking for mutual funds based on carbon footprinting (22 May, 2009), CSR Malaysia retrieved on 23rd May 2009 from http://www.csr-malaysia.org/news/world/first-ranking-mutual-funds-carbon-footprinting-20090522200/

• How the companies line up (March, 2009) Greenpeace, retrieved on 23rd May 2009 from http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-up

• International Baccalaureate, http://ww.ibo.org

• Flickr, http://www.flickr.com

Photo Credits

Websites & Online Articles Consulted

• McLaren, B. (2008) Everything must change: Jesus, global crises and a revolution of hope, Nashville, TN:Thomas Nelson

• Stassen, G. & Gushee, D. (2003) Kingdom ethics: Following Jesus in contemporary context, Downers Grove, IL:Intervarsity Press

• Stiglitz, J. (2007) Making globalisation work, New York, NY:W.W. Norton