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Capitalism and Paganism--An Intimate
Connection
Introduction
The following essay does not require a
detailed knowledge of either capitalism or paganism. It simply points out some
rather obvious features of the economic system in which we live and relates them to paganism. In
many ways, North
American Christians are pagan in a number of their habits, beliefs, and
attitudes. The fact is, the economic system in which we live
promotes a pagan approach to life. Once Christians see the connection between
capitalism and paganism, they will be better equipped to stand against the pagan
way of life.
A Few Features of Capitalism
Capitalism has many dimensions, but several are readily apparent. The primary productive units
of capitalism are giant world-wide
corporations. These corporations compete with one another, and their
success is measured in profits. These profits need to grow, and this for a
number of reasons. A firm that does not grow, that stays the same year after
year, may be able to compete in certain markets, but by and large, all firms
seek to grow for the simple reason that large firms are more competitive than
smaller ones. Large firms enjoy economies of scale, they have greater financial
resources to survive market downturns, they can diversify so that profit losses
in one sector can be offset by gains in another, and finally, their shareholders
demand an increasing return on their investments. For that reason, corporations
continually seek to expand, and as they expand, they flood the market with an
ever-swelling river of products and services. As a result, capitalists
societies grow, they grow relentlessly.
In order to grow, corporations must convince the populace to buy their
goods and services. This is done through advertising, and capitalist populations
live in an ocean of advertising. This advertising is everywhere--on television,
magazines, books, billboards, radio, food items, clothes, everyday
objects, and in conversations which reflect advertising slogans. Further, this
advertising is relentless, from the time one wakes up in the morning until one
goes to bed at night.
Advertising is both direct and indirect. Direct advertising is obvious, the ads
seen on television or billboards, for example. Indirect advertising reflects
styles, ways of living, and beliefs that are created by advertising. For
example, a family may invite some friends over for lunch one Sunday after
church. As the guests arrive, they see the SUV in the driveway, notice that the
lawn has been properly manicured by a lawn service, are greeted at the door by
someone wearing khakis and a polo shirt with a logo, sit down to lunch on carved
wooden chairs with needle-point seat covers, eat ham, fish, or roast beef from the
local market with the best meats, and after lunch, sit out on the patio for drinks
and talk about football, places to shop, vacation spots, and the best schools
for their children. The people themselves, who they are, what they own, how they act, are a form of
advertising, a very powerful form that sells products. In short, we are a society
saturated by messages, images, slogans, and ways of life that daily fuel the giant
corporations in their unending search for product expansion and profits. How is
this state of affairs related to paganism?
What is Paganism?
What is paganism? Paganism is the worship of natural powers and forces. Among
the common forces and powers worshipped by ancient peoples were such things as
the sun, the moon, the earth, political powers such as the emperor or the
pharaoh, internal forces such as sexual passion or the intellect, or the
ambition or revenge that leads to war. Many of the forces worshipped by ancient
people are no longer overtly worshipped in Western society. One rarely finds,
for example, statues to the god of war, or to Venus, the goddess of love, nor do
most people worship the sun. But that does not mean that natural powers and
forces are not covertly worshipped, where "covertly" means that human beings,
both in thought and action, give certain natural powers first place above all
others. How does this occur in our capitalist society? Let us return to
advertising.
Capitalism and Paganism
Advertising must appeal to people. In making this appeal, what aspect of a
person is elicited and developed by direct and indirect advertising? To
begin with, it is not the new person in Christ born from above by water and the
Spirit. The new person in Christ only exists in so far as he or she reflects the
life of Christ. Among other things, Jesus made choices. He chose the will of
God over his own desires. This can be seen in his temptations (Mt. 4:1-11, Lk.
4:1-13). In the temptations the devil offered Jesus bread, all the kingdoms of
the world, and the glory and adulation that would presumably be his if he were
to jump off the temple and be rescued by God. The first temptation represents
bodily desires, the second, power and wealth, the third, status and
religious sanction. Against these temptations, Jesus appealed to the will of God
as revealed in Scripture. This decision to obey God's will, rather than his
wants or needs, led eventually to the cross and the giving up of his life in
obedience to God. This is the essence of the Christian life, choosing God over
one's desires, inclinations, instincts, needs, and wants. Jesus expressed the
matter in these words, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it" (Matt 10:39).
By contrast, when ancient peoples worshipped the pagan deities, they worshipped
spiritual powers that catered to their needs, desires, instincts, and wants.
Advertising is pagan because it appeals to this same set of needs without
reference to the Word of God. It simply offers satisfactions, the same
satisfactions the devil offered Jesus in the temptations. Christians and
non-Christians alike succumb to advertising and the world view it represents. As
they do so, they become pagan even as they attend church and speak the name of
Jesus.
Almost no one in our society worships a statue of the goddess of love, but
billions are spent on sex itself, on making oneself sexually attractive, on
finding "love" and keeping it, and on seeing in print or on screen the
celebrities who physically personify the perfect sexual object. Further,
advertisers use sex to sell products; in fact, sex is one of the most
common ways of selling goods and services. As a result, our society is
saturated with the images and words of sex in the same way that ancient cultures
surrounded themselves with sexually explicit images and carvings of their gods.
Some years ago a longitudinal study on values held by American women was
published. In
the middle 1950's, there was a sudden change from such values as family and God to
fashion, sex, and entertainment. This sea change in values coincided with the advent
of television. These new pagan values fed directly into the sexual revolution of
the late 1960's and led to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases,
promiscuity, children out of wedlock, and single-parent homes.
Further, most people today do not worship the baals and asheroths that once
guaranteed the fertility of land and herds, but millions pursue the American
dream, a fine home, car, vacations, clothes, status and wealth. Everywhere they
look they see others doing the same, driven on by an endless stream of
propaganda produced by the corporations, their government, their neighbors, and
fed by their own inner desires. When parents buy into the American dream, the
expensive car, the nice house, the vacations and the cruises, they can expect their children to
adopt the same values, and buy into the
sexual revolution as well.
People today do not worship a statue of Mars, the god of war, nor do they worship
the figure of an emperor, but millions resonate to images of precision bombing,
the sight of aircraft carriers, and tough talk by a president dressed in a flak
jacket and surrounded by smartly dressed men and women in uniform.
On this last point, one might wonder if there is really an intimate connection
between war, capitalism, and paganism. Generally speaking, war is endemic to all
societies, capitalist or not, and this is due to the fact that the pagan passion
for revenge, conquest, and domination resides in every human heart and society.
The present economic system, however, leads to war and
this for a number of reasons.
Capitalism and War
First of all, in their quest for profits corporations must go overseas for raw
materials, cheap labor, and markets, and this at once demands that foreign
governments and peoples be willing to play by the capitalist rules. From time to
time foreign governments do not play by the rules, and as a result, they must be
coerced by invasion, blockade, or subversion. This has happened a number of
times in the last one hundred years, especially in Latin America. Among others,
think of Panama, Nicaragua, Chile, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.
Secondly, advertising rarely appeals to legitimate needs or rational argument.
It appeals to fears, desires, and instincts. Once a population losses the
ability to discriminate between legitimate and illegitimate needs, whether in
buying a new car or bombing a foreign capital, political rhetoric descends to
the level of advertising. When threats occur, war is frequently an immediate
option. War for the body politic is like taking a pill. It offers a
simple, apparently effective solution to complex political and social problems.
A population accustomed to immediate gratification, and to thinking at the level
of advertising, will not follow political leaders who offer complex negotiated
solutions to international problems. They will follow leaders who offer a
simple, effective solution, and war is the answer.
The values pursued in any society shape a society's perception of the
world. A society dedicated to the headlong pursuit of wealth carries within its
bosom a profound fear of losing that wealth. This profound fear distorts a
society's perceptions of reality, allowing it to perceive threats that may not
be there, or to respond to real threats with military actions beyond the
necessary. This is especially true of the leadership of the United States. By
and large, that leadership is very wealthy. As rich people, they see the world in
terms of free enterprise, access to markets and raw materials, and profits. It
is difficult for them to believe that others may not share their point of view.
Instead, they see themselves as called to "help" others become free, democratic
capitalists. At times, this help becomes invasion or subversion.
Further, the rich and powerful are accustomed to buying and getting what they
want. They see the world as a "can do" place where money and power get quick
results. War, the application of military power, the "shock and awe" of military
might, makes sense to them. Diplomacy, negotiation, cooperation with
international bodies, make far less sense because, as directors of corporate
empires, they are accustomed to giving orders, not working with others as
equals.
For years, the United States has
bombed, invaded, subverted, or coerced some other nation. Some of these military
actions could possibly be justified along the lines of Christian just-war
theory. A goodly portion of it, however, is simply capitalist wealth and
distorted perceptions creating the conditions for war. The sad thing is that
Christians go along with it.
What Shall We Do?
To begin with, Christians need to focus on the person of Jesus as known in
Scripture. He did not put his instincts, wants, and desires above the will of
God. We need to receive his atoning sacrifice and follow his example. This means
that decisions need to come under the scrutiny of Holy Scripture. Above all, we
cannot adopt the pagan life-style of this culture. Jesus called some of his
followers to give up their possessions, and he called everyone to practice
generosity and mercy. Jesus was not a prude. He loved associating with people.
He turned the water into wine at the wedding feast, and he loved to dine at
people's houses. There is a certain joy in material blessings, but only as a
lesser end, not as a primary concern. For Christians, God is first, always.
Generally speaking, the tithe has been seen as a standard of Christian giving.
That is a good place to start in terms of breaking with the world. In addition
to giving, Christians are called to live modestly and to use their resources for
the Kingdom rather than ostentatious homes, cars, and vacations.
There is also such a thing as a Christian business or Christian employee. A
Christian business is run on Christian principles, sustained by prayer and
dedicated to the will of God. Among other things, Christian
businesses pay fair wages with pension plans and health insurance. They do
not exploit but respect their employees. They seek to produce a good product and
market it truthfully. The management holds itself accountable to high standards
of conduct, and employees are held to similar standards. A Christian business is
not a charity agency. People can be fired, but only with just cause. Christian
employees do their job well, treat others with respect, do not lie or promote
themselves unfairly. They are a blessing in any business. It is wonderful what God can do in a business
run according to his will. It would be a real blessing if Christians would seriously consider the wealth of biblical material on fair
wages, not exploiting the poor, just management, and hard work by employees and
employers alike.
Finally, Christians are members of political societies, and these societies
pursue various policies. These policies generally favor one group over another. By and large, Christians are called to favor the poorer and weaker
members of society. Once this idea is broached, however, the prejudiced mind at
once thinks welfare and goes no further. There is a place for welfare for the
small fraction of the population who is disabled mentally or physically.
Churches can and must play a role in this regard as well. What people really
need, however, is decent education with smaller classes and enforced discipline,
jobs with a living wage, and good working conditions. Most people do not
need charity. As Paul said, "If a man will not work,
he shall not eat" (2 Thes 3:10). People also need to live in societies that
pursue war as a last resort, and then only in a proportionate and legal fashion.
Invasions without some level of international consensus, unless clearly
defensive, violates Christian understandings of a just war.
What generally happens in the political sphere, however, is that the body
politic is so bombarded with advertising, slogans, half-truths and just plain
lies, that many people find it difficult to think clearly. The pagan mind
produces this propaganda which in turn appeals to the pagan mind. Such a
mind thinks raw power and wealth can solve any problem. In the final analysis,
these problems are spiritual. People need to hear the gospel,
respond to Jesus Christ in faith, and then begin to crucify the self that frees
the heart from the wants, instincts, desires, and passions that focus on this
world rather than eternal life in Christ. Once people are spiritually purified
they can see clearly. They can live more simply and are able to discern the
paganism prevalent is so much political rhetoric and policy. It is a tragedy
that so many Christians are pagan at heart. They resonate to the rhetoric
and images of power and wealth. They succumb to advertising that promotes a
pagan way of life. What we need in this country is a revival, an
outpouring of God's spirit leading to holiness of life. If that were to happen,
our country would be refreshed and renewed, and a number of social problems could
be resolved. We need Jesus Christ now.
The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
December, 2008
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