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Advanced Worldview Analysis - Lesson 13

Socialism and Capitalism

The Bible and Socialism, Moral Defense of Capitalism

Ronald Nash
Advanced Worldview Analysis
Lesson 13
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Socialism and Capitalism

The Christian Worldview and Economics

Part 7
 

I.  The Bible and Socialism

A.  The Jubilee Year

1.  Leviticus 25

2.  Freedom for slaves and return of land

B.  A Reexamination of the Jubilee Concept

1.  Redistribution did not affect every kind of wealth

2.  Not all the poor benefited from the redistribution

3.  Land would be leased instead of sold

C.  Abraham's Purchase of a Grave for Sarah - Gen. 23

 

II.  A Moral Defense of Capitalism

A.  Help for the Masses

1.  Makes a bigger pie

2.  Made poor more noticeable

B.  Social Cooperation

C.  Private Ownership and Moral Behavior

1.  Arthur Shenfield

2.  Personal property is treated differently

D.  Everything has a Cost

1.  Capitalism teaches this truth.

2.  Socialism urges people to behave as if there were no cost.

E.  Conclusion

1.  The alternative to free exchange is coercion and violence.

2.  Capitalism is the most more, most effective, and most equitable system of economic exchange.


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Class Resources
  • Discussion of the content of a worldview and the criteria used to evaluate worldviews.

  • Discussion of liberalism and conservatism, and statism and anti-statism.

  • Political systems fall along a continuum between the extremes of anarchism and totalitarianism.

  • People favoring statism support extensive government involvement in education and social programs.

  • From a biblical point of view, statism is evil.

  • Discussion of justice on an individual and corporate level.

  • An economy based on capitalism has much less government involvement than an economy based on socialism.

  • Interventionism is a capitalistic economic system in which government gets involved to allow free exchange within a framework of laws.

  • Discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of capitalism.

  • Two basic concepts of economics are limited resources and the choices we make that reflect our values.

  • Marxism is an economic system based on the idea of a class struggle with the goal of a classless society.

  • Article from The Free Market

  • The Bible and Socialism, Moral Defense of Capitalism

  • We are responsible to be a good steward of the wealth God gives us to manage.

  • Some of the root causes of poverty are government, social and religious systems.

  • Liberation theology is an ideology promoted by people trained in Marxism. True liberation theology delivers people from tyranny, poverty and sin.

  • Christians ought to care about poverty and oppression. People who hold differing economic and social theories propose very different approaches and solutions to these problems.

  • Discussion of the differences between evangelical liberals and conservatives.

  • Guest Lecturer, Alejandro Moreno-Morrison discussing the inflation of rights.

  • Guest Lecturer, Alejandro Moreno-Morrison discusses legal positivism.

  • A balanced approach toward environmentalism is needed because it can be a serious threat to individual liberty.

  • Discussion of how people work in a capitalistic system to address environmental concerns.

  • The public school system in the United States has fostered functional illiteracy, cultural illiteracy, and moral/spiritual illiteracy.

  • Discussion of the pros and cons of setting up a voucher system to fund the education system.

These lectures were given at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida during the spring of 2002.