The general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (of which the EPC is a member), the Rev. Setri Nyomi, recently spoke to the Christian Lifestyle Conference of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. According to a WARC press release:
The WARC general secretary applauded the church for organizing a workshop on the commitment to justice and its implications for the lifestyles of Reformed Christian and he urged participants to resist consumerism through ethical investing, the use of fairly traded products and by advocating for economic and ecological justice.
I support what’s called “fair trade,” though I suspect the economics behind it are rather naive and I don’t buy the politics of a lot of the movement’s supporters. On a micro-economic scale, and when practiced freely, it’s certainly worthwhile. “Ethical investing” is simply a matter of moral preening, given the inevitable compromises that are involved in being involved in the global economic system and the reality that no company, no matter how careful, is going to be able to completely avoid everything that someone like Nyomi would find objectionable. As for “economic and ecological justice,” those are terms that send my horse hockey radar into high alert. Substance, please.
“We cannot yield to the rather mediocre view in which the powers that manage God’s household today convince us that individual needs and greed are more important than the needs of the community and that privatization and the motif of unbridled profit are paramount even if they oppress large numbers of people.”
Again, this is boilerplate. Specifics, please. On the other hand, his reference to “privatization” almost certainly means that he’s coming from a socialistic perspective, and if he thinks that that’s going to benefit the poor–well, let’s just say that he should stick to theology (maybe).
Many people do not have enough money to buy food, privatized drinking water, decent health care or education while Structural Adjustment Programmes imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank further exacerbate their plight.
I don’t know enough about the programs to which he refers to comment on them, except that knowing that they are standard whipping boys for the far left makes me skeptical. There are other reasons, perhaps in addition to this, that contribute mightily to poverty around the world, that Nyomi might have mentioned.
The Bible tells us that God cares for those who suffer and calls on believers to challenge systems that fail to exhibit concern for those on the margins of society through no fault of their own. Reformed theology refuses to blame the poor for their poverty.
“How can we stay silent when the way the household is managed leads to death for some people in the household?” Nyomi asked.
The general secretary reviewed the Accra Confession, a statement on neoliberal economic globalization by WARC’s 24th General Council which states that it is contrary to Christian faith to remain silent in the face of the current economic system that kills millions.
“The Accra Confession places demands on us. It is humbling and we too, churches and church structures, stand in judgement under the claims of faith inherent in this confession. Therefore a commitment on our part is called for,” Nyomi said.
And now here’s where I have to ask: what about the leaders of the countries around the world that have the worst poverty? I would never suggest that the world’s economic system is flawless (nothing devised by human beings is), or that there aren’t plenty of injustices that are caused by it. But if you’re going to bring this up, an honest examination has to include the conclusion that many of the world’s nation-states are horribly mismanaged. Nyomi is from Africa (Ghana, to be exact), and must surely know that many of the millions who live in dire poverty there are also governed by corrupt kleptocracies, practitioners of ethnic and religious cleansing, and other assorted tyrants. Criticize the IMF and World Bank, by all means. By when you point the finger at them, and never mention Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Omar al-Bashir of the Sudan, or a host of others, it’s hard to believe that you really understand the problems of the world’s poorest people.
March 16, 2007 at 11:00 pm
The Bible tells us that God cares for those who suffer and calls on believers to challenge systems that fail to exhibit concern for those on the margins of society through no fault of their own.
David, do you know what he’s talking about here?
March 17, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Well, I think he’s saying that God wants Christians to tell systems (read: Western governments, private financial institutions, businesses, and quasi-governmental organizations such as the IMF) that they should factor in the impact on the poor when they are deciding on actions. At least I think that’s what he means. WCC-speak can be positively impenetrable at times.
What Kobia doesn’t understand is that those “systems” frequently do so, and either 1) incorrectly predict the impact; or 2) have a different conception of what constitutes beneficial impact; or 3) look at things long-term rather than short. The IMF put rather stringent requirements on Poland in the 1990s, for example, requirements that the population chafed against, and that even resulted in the left coming back to power for a time. BUt eventually those requirements had their intended effect, and Poland’s economy is now headed in the right direction. Kobia wants every kind of change, including that from command to market economy, to happen overnight and without pain to anyone. Sad to say, waving a magic wand, or simply saying that you want that to happen, doesn’t make it happen.
March 17, 2007 at 10:35 pm
That’s a sticky situation because different people will have different definitions of what will work to help those on the margins of society. So we might end of railing against something as “un-Godly” simply because we don’t understand the ramifications of the decision.
However, what I really wonder is where does God say this? He said “God … calls on believers to challenge systems that fail to exhibit concern for those on the margins of society through no fault of their own.” I was wondering if you knew what scriptural citation he was using.
March 19, 2007 at 11:57 pm
Amy: Sorry to take so long to get back to you. I saw this on Sunday morning, didn’t have time to respond at the time, and forgot about it until later. But now to answer your question…
I don’t think it was any specific text that he had in mind in writing this. There are a number of passages in the Old Testament prophets that sound at least something like it, however. One that comes immediately to mind is Amos 5:7-24, which says:
7 You who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness to the ground
8 (he who made the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns blackness into dawn
and darkens day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the LORD is his name-
9 he flashes destruction on the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin),
10 you hate the one who reproves in court
and despise him who tells the truth.
11 You trample on the poor
and force him to give you grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.
You oppress the righteous and take bribes
and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
13 Therefore the prudent man keeps quiet in such times,
for the times are evil.
14 Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.
Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil, love good;
maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy
on the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailing in all the streets
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through your midst,”
says the LORD.
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the LORD!
Why do you long for the day of the LORD ?
That day will be darkness, not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
21 “I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, [b]
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
There are others, but this a favorite of social justice liberals, and with good reason. There’s no question but that God’s people should care for the needy among us. I don’t think you can necessarily turn that into support for a particular piece of legislation, but Nyomi doesn’t do that here (that’s more the work of the National Council of Churches in the US). The biggest problem, and the one he seems to fall into, is trying to turn passages like this into commands that are incumbent on non-Christians or secular institutions. I may find it a persuasive guide for my action, and even for what I should work toward in society in general. But I doubt that the IMF would find a reference to Amos very compelling. To me, that means that we’ve got to be willing to use the language and reasoning of the world (or what Christians used to call natural law) to try to temper the results of the fallenness of human society with the grace and mercy of God. Does that make sense?
March 20, 2007 at 9:15 pm
But this is where people get into trouble. They don’t seem to have a true understanding of the Bible and take things out of context. So you have the prophet Amos exhorting his fellow Israelites (living in a theocracy), to turn back from their evil ways, embrace the Almighty, and care for their fellow religionists. Someone looks at that and extrapolates that this means God calls on believers to challenge systems that fail to exhibit concern for those on the margins of society through no fault of their own.
It clearly does not apply to the situation they want to apply it to. The Israelites certainly never went to the Canaanites to “challenge the systems that fail to exhibit concern for those on the margins of society.” The ancient Israelites were a theocracy. They were all one religion accountable directly to God. The United States is simply not analogous to that.
Let’s look at an example of an Israelite who had a position of power within another government. Daniel. He did his job without any indication he tried to challenge the way the Babylonians did things. He is justly remembered for the personal sacrifices he was willing to make to stay faithful to God.
Although a person may have good intentions (helping the poor and disadvantaged), the ends do not justify the means. Twisting the scriptures to fit personal ideology is not the answer.
March 21, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Amy: I agree completely. There are calls to aid the poor in the NT as well, but those are pretty much in the context of brothers and sisters in the church. Certainly there’s nothing that would suggest we shouldn’t help those in need, but doing so with other people’s money through the government’s budget is probably not the best way for Christians to do so.