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Christianity in a global economy
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In The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark, he argues that spread and complete acceptance of capitalism as we know it is not only attributed to the Europeans but to the rise of Christianity. In his book, he hopes to explain why capitalism only developed in Europe and not in Asia or Islamic countries. This is arguably attributed to the fact that European Christians “embraced reason and logic as the primary guide to religious truth” (x). In chapter one Stark argues that theology consists of “formal reasoning about God” (5). He claims that polytheistic gods are not capable of withstanding theological discussion because they are not discussing an actual image of an all powerful deity. Stark discusses the lack of theologians in the East is due to their rejection of a conscious, almighty God. Christian theologians are abundant because they believe in the Lord as all powerful, all sufficient God. Important theologians like Augustine and Aquinas argued that reason is from God so we must try and reason with our faith. According to Stark, the Scientific Revolution is a complete misunderstanding as science is based on theory and research, just as faith in God is based on theory and arguing with reason. Christians have grappled with morality for centuries and Stark claims that individualism was not …show more content…
France and Spain were against this capitalism as they continued to rule with a heavy hand that “taxed, looted, and regulated commerce to a virtual standstill.” (163) Spain and France were both incredibly avaricious states and prevented wealth from entering into the economy, hindering development. Spain declined from their Golden Age after the rule of Ferdinand and Isabella ended. France was relatively underdeveloped after the Hundred Years War taxed their nation greatly. The king was the ultimate and uncontested power which created an absolutist
McFague, Sallie. "New House Rules: Christianity, Economics, and Planetary Living."Subverting Greed: Religious Perspectives on the Global Economy. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2002. 125-40. Print.
Ideologies unite groups of people and promote the collection of ideas necessary for operation of a properly varnished society. E.K. Hunt and Jared Diamond are two well known authors who discuss the scrupulous importance of ideologies within society. Their books, Property and Prophets and Guns, Germs, and Steel, discuss the success of certain ideologies throughout history, while also integrating the commendable relevance of economics. In determining the correlation of the two novels, one must assess the social, political, and economic factors associated with their viewpoints. Through interpretation of their understandings we can determine the rationale of medieval ideologies as well as, the breakdown of the Christian Paternalistic Ethic as
The Myth of the Lost Cause was edited by Gary Gallagher, Alan T. Nolan, and other several editors have taken the challenge of a difficult task of trying to summarize of what happened in the end of numerous of misrepresentations of this historic event. The book has a total 9 essays, giving me a different kind of reading style and showing its precision in showing it. I think what the editors were trying to convey was that the final analysis of the book is trying to explain how the Lost Cause myth was created and how it is still in effect to our national memory of the Civil War.
However, here the was a monarchy and a king with great control over the government. Using his control of the economy, a strong "Mercantilism" system was used aimed at maximizing foreign exports and reserves. The king became the center of this new power. The last major point which increased political power was the reorganizing of the central governments in both England and in France. The economic changes in this century required new relationships between the King and his subjects.
Louis XIV controlled France’s economy. He began to heavily tax to support the military reforms. Louis agreed not to tax the nobility, therefore taking away the right for the upper class to have a say in where the taxation money was spent. This gave more and more power to the king. He could spend the money that he was getting from the poor and middle class in any way he pleased without upsetting the nobility. Unfortunately for Louis, the poor could not provide the money he needed. Soon, with the help of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis introduced mercantilism in Europe. He regulated the flow of trade, making sure that France was exporting more than it was importing. To accomplish this, he raised the taxes on imports and lowered those on goods made in France. He encouraged skilled workers and craftsmen to immigrate to France, offering them goods and privileges.
In laissez-faire capitalism, there are no restrictions on business so the enterprising capitalists were able to obtain monopolies by combining with other companies or simply buying them out. By doing this, the owners could raise the price of their goods or services to an intolerable amount so that they could gain even more money. This often put the common working people out of a job because the owners could get children and poor European and Asian immigrants to do the same menial factory jobs for pennies a day. This angered the Unions of America because their livelihood depended on the American working class. The Unions then persuaded the government to regulate the business giants and control the amount of money the companies could take in by disallowing monopolies and child labor. The "Kings of Capitalism" disregarded the impact their actions had on the lives of the working class men and their families. Many went hungry because of the lack of jobs available and were forced to go into debt to the companies that was impossible to be repaid. The Robber Barons would do almost anything to gain more money and more power even putting hard working people out of their houses.
Although there were still clear boundaries between rich and poor, this no longer played a practical role in the political system. However in France the rigid system which dictated the social and economic standing of all the country's citizens, from the King to the poorest peasant, was still very prominent. The King was second only to God, while the clergy and nobles, many of them very wealthy, paid no taxes and the peasants lived in poverty serving the landlords and carrying the weight of the rest of France through the heavy taxes they were forced t... ... middle of paper ... ... restricted the growth of industry and trade and the increase in food prices led to riots among the lower classes.
Mercantile capitalism and mercantilist thought started off in the early times, specifically the 16th century to the 18th century. Trade was very much known among countries. As the years progressed, merchants, financiers, public administrators and the kings wanted to unify the country and end the opposition of nobles and landlords. To make sure the state’s power was effective internally, the security and stronghold of the Church and feudal aristocracy was implemented. As a result, the monarch seized the lands owned by the Church and tried to integrate feudal aristocracy into the system and at the same time provided the Church with economic opportunities within the world of trade. As time passed, the new mercantile system allied itself with the
Those ideas are highly dependent on each other, and it is hard to find one without the other two. Being a Christian myself, I came into this reading knowing I would take the authors side considering he was discussing topics I wholeheartedly agreed with. To prove the thesis, how Christianity led to Capitalism, freedom, and western civilization, could take up a lot more than three hundred pages, but Stark does a decent job. In his conclusion, he brings up an extremely valid point. Stark says that the modern world only arose in areas where Christianity was the dominate religion. Neither Asia, Africa, nor the Middle East grew as much as Christian societies did. In fact, the most prosperous and wealthy nation in the history of the planet, the United States of America, was founded on Judeo-Christian values. The irony is that there are millions of people in the US that are trying to move the country as far away from those values as
The emergence and spread of the Christian faith influenced the Western civilization significantly, particularly between BC and AD when most civilizations based their leadership and divinity on Christianity. The Biblical truth was more pronounced in the Greco-Roman civilization than other previous civilizations. The present Western lifestyle and culture controls a significant chunk of the attributes that were derived from ancient Western civilization. This paper explores the evolution of the western civilizations in relation to the lineage attributes, influence of the Christian faith, and the impact of the contemporary West on the attributes of the western civilizations (Noble,
Christian Science is an idealistic and most radical form of transcendental religiosity. The study of Christian Science teaches a feeling of understanding of God's goodness and the differences between good and evil, life and death. The purpose of this paper is to address how the study of Christian Science helps us better understand the impact of globalization in America, as well as the impact of American on globalization. This paper is important because globalization features a dominant worldview. All throughout the world people believe, study and teach different types of religious movements that impact others. People need to better understand how certain religions modify, conflict with, and impact the world. First, it will discuss the life and work of the founder, Mary Baker Eddy. Secondly, it will examine the primary rituals and religious services of the Christian Science movement. Then, it will outline the precursors and history of the religion. In the conclusion, a response will be offered to the question of how Christian Science helps us better understand the impact of globalization on America and of America on globalization.
Those who seek power will stop at no cost, sacrificing anything to accomplish their conquest. In the process, they lose sight of who they are, twisted by the power they possess, until inevitably, they become evil. This was a concern in Stoker’s time with the rampant introduction of new technologies following the first Industrial Revolution and amidst the second. In the pursuit of Science and advancement, many abandoned their Christian beliefs. With the abundance of discoveries and improvement to life, “God was not only no longer necessary for progress but he was not necessary for life itself” and “science would become the new faith of the masses” (Christy). However, without Christian faith, people lose sight of the values and morals associated
Max Weber’s work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is arguably one of the most important works in all of sociology and social theory, both classical and modern. In the decades since its inception, this work has gone on to influence generations of social scientists with its analysis of the effect of Protestantism on the development of modern industrial capitalism. This work, examining such broad topics as religion, economics, and history, is not only an interesting and insightful look into the history of the development of capitalism, but a major work in laying a foundation for future works of social theory.
Tawney, R. H. Religion and the Rise of Capitalism: A Historical Study. London: Hazell, Watson, and Viney, 1926.
Hooker, Richard. “Capitalism.” The European Enlightenment Glossary. 14 Aug. 1999: n. pag. Feb. 2011. http://wsu.edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/CAPITAL.HTM