Bible in politics and economics
From
Ilya Shambat@21:1/5 to
All on Mon Oct 24 15:38:47 2022
The problem with using the Bible to address economic and political issues is that it is unclear on both of the above.
Economically, there is the “love of money is the root of evil” line; there is also admiration for a number of wealthy or economically shrewd individuals such as Joseph and Abraham.
Politically, Israel was never a democracy. For most of its history it was either a monarchy or a colony of foreign invaders. God did not appear to be happy with either arrangement. The only time when he was happy was when Israel was run by judges. I do
not see anyone advocate that Western democracies be run by judges.
On social issues, probably the only one in which Bible is consistent is condemnation of homosexuality. On other issues it is unclear. There is a lot of noise about lust and sins of the flesh; there is also a positive role played by a number of
prostitutes. There are statements that are misogynistic and statements in admiration of women such as Esther and Ruth. There are statements in support of one-man-one-woman-for-life marriage system and there are accounts of Biblical figures, most of whom
were either single or had any number of wives and concubines. There are statements against feelings and sexuality; there are also highly emotional Psalms and highly sexual Song of Songs. There are all sorts of wars and genocides; there is also “blessed
be the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God.” There is mistreatment of various neighbouring tribes; there is also the line that the Israelis need to be good to the foreigners as they have themselves been foreigners in Egypt.
If a 20-page document that is the American Constitution can be subject to so many different interpretations, then how much more so the over 1000-page long document that is the Bible.
The truth is, most of the current system is not based on the Bible at all. It is based on the philosophy of European Enlightenment. There are any number of people within Christianity who are against this philosophy; but they owe to it the democratic
system.
So when you see people thumping the Bible, read what the Bible actually says. Chances are, you will find something there to contradict what these people are saying. And the more you find out about the Bible, the better you will be in correcting abuses of
the Bible by unscrupulous political and economic figures.
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