Jesus Against Mammon

“You cannot serve both God and Mammon”
(Matthew 6:24)

“I believe in one god:
Economic Growth,
maker of all goods,
seen and unseen.”

“I believe in Economic
Growth’s only Son:
Capitalism, who was
conceived by the
power of Greed…”

“I believe in
happiness through
owning and using
more.”

It’s not just about
owning…

It’s about owning
MORE and more…
and more…

“Go Shopping”

Mammon also performs creation ‘out of nothing’!

“I believe in one holy,
catholic and apostolic
economy, and in the
communion of
unaccountable
corporations.”

In rural communities, everyone depended on each
other and was thus accountable to the community…

In the global economy,
MNCs’ (with ‘limited
liability’) can create
environmental havoc and
wash their hands of it…

Ok Tedi,
Papua New Guinea

“If nations want to avoid war
over diminishing
resources…they must both
consume LESS and become
MORE self-sufficient.”

But theo-capitalism says the
opposite: “We should
become LESS self-sufficient
and MORE globally
integrated as part of the
overriding quest to
consume ever MORE.”
Herman Daly, Ecological Economist

Jakarta, INDONESIA

West Virginia, USA

All that the true God provides,
false gods also offer…

REST! Id ntity
e
Security C m unity
o m
Transcendance
Ec ta y
s s

Jesus vs.
Theo-Capitalism:
3 Action-Steps from the
Gospels

Don’t be like the rich fool!
(Luke 12:13-21)

REST!
'WhatTE
F-IN shall Ido? I have no place to
SEL
store my crops….This is what I'll do. I
will tear down my barns and build
bigger ones, andUthere I
PTI ON- will store all
NS M TED
my grain and OR goods. And I'll say
C OmyIEN
to myself, \"You have plenty of good
things laid up for many years. Take
OF
life easy; eat, drink and be GLECT S!
merry.'
NE THER
O

“You fool!”
“This very night your life will be
demanded from you…This is how it
will be with anyone who stores up
things for himself but is not rich
toward God.\"

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Answer: Love God…and love your
neighbour as yourself (Luke 10:25-27)

a.k.a. the
parable of
the
unexpected
neighbour

#1 Serve the community and
work for the common good

“Today salvation
has come to this
house. For the
Son of Man came
to seek and save
what was lost”
(Luke 19:9-10)

“Look, Lord! Here and now I
give half of my possessions
to the poor, and if I have
cheated anybody out of
anything, I will pay back four
times the amount.\"

Tax-Collector ‘Hell’
• Exploitation for quick profits
• Creating a class of very rich
and very poor i.e. growing
inequality
• Oppressing / Cheating those in
poverty

#2 Connect ‘salvation’
with ‘justice’

1,020
THE NO. OF TIMES ‘JUSTICE’ APPEARS IN THE BIBLE

“Do not worry…but seek
first the kingdom of God
and His justice and all
these things shall be
added unto you.”
Matthew 6:33

#3 Train Ourselves in Gratitude

Gratitude is an exercise in contentment

“Gratitude is an
act of defiant
contemplation”
Brian McLaren, Pastor/Author

Book References
• McLaren, B. (2008) Everything must change: Jesus, global crises
and a revolution of hope, Nashville, TN:Thomas Nelson
• Stassen, G. & Gushee, D. (2003) Kingdom ethics: Following Jesus
in contemporary context, Downers Grove, IL:Intervarsity Press
• Stiglitz, J. (2007) Making globalisation work, New York, NY:W.W.
Norton
Websites & Online Articles Consulted
• First ranking for mutual funds based on carbon footprinting (22 May,
2009), CSR Malaysia retrieved on 23rd May 2009 from
http://www.csr-malaysia.org/news/world/first-ranking-mutual-funds-carbo
• How the companies line up (March, 2009) Greenpeace, retrieved on
23rd May 2009 from
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/h
• International Baccalaureate, http://ww.ibo.org
Photo Credits
• Flickr, http://www.flickr.com