Larry, I posted a reply to your question at Daniel’s blog and I’ve posted an article by Wendell Berry (heard of him?) on my blog. I also have an article on Christian Agrarianism under my archives. I plan to update and repost it soon.
I did notice the article on your site, i just haven’t got around to reading it yet. I’ve never really considered economic systems in light of Christianity. My comment on Daniel’s blog was mostly in jest, but you have peaked my interest.
Most Christians, even “reformed” ones haven’t considered the socio-economic ramifications of our every day lives in light of Scripture. Our economic choices should be guided by Biblical principles.
Without trying to explain the whole thing, I have found agrarianism seems to find strong biblical and historical warrant in contrasted to modern socio-political and economic models. Simply put, God placed Adam in a garden and told him to keep and tend it. This fundamental mandate given to mankind (though Adam) is never repealed throughout Scripture and is the basic economy for Israel, and the majority of world history until recent rise in merchantilsm and captialism and the I.R. A call to return to an agrarian lifestyle is an extension of trying to apply all of Scripture to all of life.
I find it hard to get behind the idea that Jesus came to endorse any political or economic system. I believe that Christians can be biblically sound no matter what economic system they live in.
It is an interesting concept, but wouldn’t the same logic apply to saying that we should also live in a theocracy? After all, the majority of the Biblical record has a theocratic government.
Well, yes we should live not in a theocracy per se, but guided by biblical (theocratic) law and it’s correct intepretation and application. Any reasonable Christian wouldn’t deny this. One of the most important principles to come out of the Reformation is the idea that Scripture is sufficient in all that it speaks to, and that, in principle, it speaks to everything.
So the issue of how we are to deal (economically) with our resources (stewardship of the earth) and with other people (the second table of the law) is not outside the perview of the Word. When you pull of the the concepts from Scripture together, your going to find some form of agrarian economy being either explictly taught or implictly applied. Read this I wrote:
December 13, 2006 at 5:58 pm
Westboro Baptist is the craziest thing I have seen in a while…that or http://www.atruechurch.com
They believe (a true church) that they are the only true church in the world…he pickets and hands out material at MacArthur’s church
December 13, 2006 at 6:35 pm
Larry, I posted a reply to your question at Daniel’s blog and I’ve posted an article by Wendell Berry (heard of him?) on my blog. I also have an article on Christian Agrarianism under my archives. I plan to update and repost it soon.
December 13, 2006 at 7:02 pm
David,
I did notice the article on your site, i just haven’t got around to reading it yet. I’ve never really considered economic systems in light of Christianity. My comment on Daniel’s blog was mostly in jest, but you have peaked my interest.
December 13, 2006 at 9:11 pm
Most Christians, even “reformed” ones haven’t considered the socio-economic ramifications of our every day lives in light of Scripture. Our economic choices should be guided by Biblical principles.
Without trying to explain the whole thing, I have found agrarianism seems to find strong biblical and historical warrant in contrasted to modern socio-political and economic models. Simply put, God placed Adam in a garden and told him to keep and tend it. This fundamental mandate given to mankind (though Adam) is never repealed throughout Scripture and is the basic economy for Israel, and the majority of world history until recent rise in merchantilsm and captialism and the I.R. A call to return to an agrarian lifestyle is an extension of trying to apply all of Scripture to all of life.
December 13, 2006 at 10:17 pm
David,
I find it hard to get behind the idea that Jesus came to endorse any political or economic system. I believe that Christians can be biblically sound no matter what economic system they live in.
It is an interesting concept, but wouldn’t the same logic apply to saying that we should also live in a theocracy? After all, the majority of the Biblical record has a theocratic government.
December 13, 2006 at 10:33 pm
Well, yes we should live not in a theocracy per se, but guided by biblical (theocratic) law and it’s correct intepretation and application. Any reasonable Christian wouldn’t deny this. One of the most important principles to come out of the Reformation is the idea that Scripture is sufficient in all that it speaks to, and that, in principle, it speaks to everything.
So the issue of how we are to deal (economically) with our resources (stewardship of the earth) and with other people (the second table of the law) is not outside the perview of the Word. When you pull of the the concepts from Scripture together, your going to find some form of agrarian economy being either explictly taught or implictly applied. Read this I wrote:
Christian Agrarianism
…along with the piece by Berry and let me know what you think.
December 14, 2006 at 1:13 am
I do look forward to reading those articles when i get some time. It is an interesting topic.