In this week's United Methodist Reporter, J. Richard Peck has a fascinating commentary in which he quotes a letter from John Wesley addressing an economic crisis from 1772 which bears a few similarities to our current mess- namely massive national debt and an economy driven by luxury items.
I could not help but notice how Wesley, the co-founder of Methodism and the poster child for 18th century Evangelicalism, writes in favor of policies bound to make modern American Evangelicals think twice. (It made me squirm a bit. I even googled searched to make sure the letter was legit and that the quotes weren't taken grossly out of context.)
Wesley states his disdain for taxes in general (and I, for one, agree.) But then he points out that taxation was needed due to massive national debt. Accordingly he called for raising the taxes on luxury items.
In other words, Wesley wanted the rich to pay the bill while protecting the middle class and the poor.
He even went as far as to suggest that the government should encourage and perhaps even compel people to stop buying luxury items so that the economy could be re-focused on the plight of the poor, sustainability, and debt reduction.
I'm still digesting this, so I'm not going to venture into endorsing or denouncing Wesley's ideas or Peck's modern application thereof. But I will confess that this is making me re-think what it means to be a theologically conservative Evangelical at the voting booth in the midst of economic turmoil.
Anyone with thoughts, questions, or ideas, please share them in the comments.
Grace and peace,
John
Ever since Israel demanded a king in 1 Samuel 8, governments have instituted policies that do not reflect God's will and God's righteousness. The Lord makes it clear in this chapter that the king will do things that would not please the people under his rule. After saying all the king would do, in 1 Sam 8:17b God says, "and you yourselves will become his slaves."
ReplyDeleteThe fact that so many Christians, including John Wesley, insist on government providing solutions to problems that are inherently cultural and spiritual rather than political reinforces for me that what God said would happen has happened. Sure we can change government policies to change the reality of some people's lives, but those people will become dependent on government as a benefactor exactly like the survival of a slave depended on the mercy of his master.
Jesus himself said the poor will always be with us and the gospels make clear that true righteousness cannot exist in the the world until Jesus returns to establish his kingdom. Therefore, I believe it is better to restrict the influence of government on people's lives so that Christians will be more free to respond directly to the needs of the poor, aged, and sick in a manner that reflects their faith rather than having their money, talents, and time laundered through a government.