POVERTY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: A THEOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT
David S. Lim, Ph.D.
This paper offers a paradigm by which to interpret what the Bible teaches about material poverty and economic development. It constructs a systematic framework by which these biblical norms can be applied in the modern economic order through the perspectives of “Transformation Theology.” “Transformation Theology” is the newly coined term to refer to the theology of mission that believes in the balanced use of both evangelism and social responsibility in addressing the needs of each context.¹
This study outlines eight basic tenets from the Scriptures; and alongside each tenet, it also presents some applications for Christians in general and Christian development organizations (CDDs) in particular. Each doctrinal section (Section A of each tenet) uses various materials from the Bible, which provide a theological paradigm for economic development. The Bible speaks extensively and clearly of economics and poverty, but with a perspective different from our human worldview. Section B of each tenet consists of applications in relation to poverty and development made from the doctrinal study.
I. Humanity is created by God
A. Foremost is the biblical teaching that God created all things ex nihilo (“out of nothing”): “In the beginning God created…” (Gen. 1:1). God’s creatorship gives him the sovereign control and sole authority to own and rule over all things. He showed his absolute authority by giving a command to the first humans (Gen. 2:17), thereby revealing that they must live by his word and enjoy his creation according to his terms. This demonstrates God’s absolute ownership of the whole nature and sections thereof (Ps. 24:1), which is assumed throughout Scripture (e.g., Lev. 25:23; Exod. 19:5; 1 Chron. 29:11). He is Lord over all His works and is also involved in them through Christ, the Incarnate Word, in whom all things were created, are sustained, and are being redeemed (Col. 1:15-23; cf. Jn. 1:1-18).
B. Therefore, any creature that neglects or refuses to acknowledge the reality of a Creator-God and render worship to him lives under the judgment of God (Rom. 1). Rather all humans should worship and give praise to the Creator-God in humble recognition of their dependence on him for their existence (cf. Ps. 148-150). All people, rich or poor, are accountable for all their beliefs and actions to this Creator (Exod. 24:3-7; Deut. 26:16f); and all of life, including the basic human needs of eating and drinking, should be done to His glory (1 Cor. 10:31). Modern thinking which neglects or separates economics for almost all aspects of life, except for the privatized practice of religion perhaps) must therefore be condemned as a form of apostasy from biblical faith.
Worse may be the sin of idolatry, the worship of Mammon (“Mammon” literally means “riches” or “wealth”), which has plagued all people, rich or poor, in their prioritization of acquiring more and more possessions rather than in focusing their attention on the Creator, thereby denying the very nature of their creaturely existence. Those who are caught up in the treadmill of striving for bigger and better things will discover that what they are laboring for do not really satisfy (note Ecclesiastes “vanity of vanities, all is vanity”). All people, rich or poor, need to realize that true human fulfillment does not consist in the accumulation of possessions (Lk. 12:15), but rather in their proper relationship with the Creator.
Since the only absolute owner is God, all human ownership is derivative, and exercised only by his permission. Humans are called to be stewards or managers of what belongs to Him. This means that careful understanding of and obedience to His Word are essential aspects of human stewardship. Human choices and actions must be made in accordance with His will and purposes. The rest of this study will elucidate further the other implications of this basic doctrine.
II. Humanity is created with dignity
A. The second tenet holds that God created the human race in his own image (Gen. 1:26; cf. 9:6). This gives humankind the innate dignity as the crown of God’s creation, to serve as the image-bearer of God. Humanity has the great privilege of reflecting who God is; and a significant part of this image is the freedom and responsibility to act as moral agents, as well as the ability to extend God’s sovereignty over all of life.
As created and dependent on creation, humans are different and infinitely inferior to God. But as created to transcend creation (“let the have dominion”, Gen. 1:26) and living by the breath of God (cf. 2:7), they reflect God’s own relation to creation. The value of human life is, therefore, far greater than any other creature’s greater than even the whole world’s (cf. Mk. 8:36). They are able to take responsibility for their lie and environment and to shape their social existence freely and creatively.
B. The belief in innate human dignity becomes the basis for at least two attitudes toward every person. First if the high respect that needs to be accorded to even the weakest and poorest human being. Each person’s self-respect must be honored; his/her right to be treated well, against any form of discrimination or cruelty, must be upheld. Each is precious in and of him/herself, not for what he/she has attained or will become.
Another is the need to honor each one’s freedom and responsibility to decide his/her own destiny. This right to make responsible choices must be upheld by all, although for peaceful co-existence, limits have to be defined lest someone’s freedom becomes another’s loss of freedom to choose with dignity.
III. Humanity is created with a body
A. The Bible also reveals that although humans were especially created, they still belong essentially to the material universe. This is clearly emphasized in the Genesis 2 account, where God formed the human being from the dust of the ground. Each human possesses a physical body and shares the need to eat (Gen. 1:29).
Belonging to the material world is not a handicap or liability (nor the result of the Fall). This bodily aspect of humans is the natural (and the only) means by which they are to live out their personal lives. The human body is the unique vehicle by which spiritual virtues are to be expressed (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31), even as the temple of God’s Spirit (6:9). As God invites this people to rejoice in His work as He does (Ps. 104:31), he remembers that humans are dust (Ps. 103:14). Human forgetfulness of this has not only ruined individual lives but also the social life of human communities. The spiritual value of human beings consists in and through their bodily existence.
B. The bodily reality of human creatureliness has three very important implications for thinking about material wealth and wealth creation.²
First, concerning the ownership of wealth, people should own some basic necessities and resources to live as decent human beings. Some form of property ownership is a necessity and a right.³ People need to have access to resources necessary for participation in the life and activities commonly accepted in their community. Enjoyment of the good things in life (including material ones) should be an asset of every person’s experience.
Material poverty is, therefore, an evil that dehumanizes people. God hates poverty. Many suffer from deprivation of basic needs, resulting in premature deterioration of health or even premature deaths. Ways to alleviate this and other conditions of poverty (lack of resources) should be found to lessen these subhuman modes of existence and to provide for the minimum needs of every individual.
Second, on wealth-creation, people have the right and duty to provide for themselves and their dependents the food, shelter, clothing, health and education facilitates, and recreation at a level acceptable and sustainable in the society in which they live. At worst, they should have the opportunity to earn a living for keeping their own families, and for maintaining self-reliance and integrity, even if in fact they live below the level of their expectations. Thus, wealth-creation must be conceived as the God-ordained means by which everyone’s basic needs for a dignified life may be met.
And third, also on wealth-creation, people should be able to enjoy the fruit of their labor. God promises ample rewards (cf. Gen. 1:29f; 2:16). Workers have the right to just reward, i.e., to share in the benefits they create. Profits earned must be shared among those who contributed to the production of such. This means that certain standards for just compensation and profit-sharing must be set. At the same time, workers should have the right to express their needs by forming unions and even going on strike as a means (perhaps as a last resort) to demand what they perceive to be the just wages and benefits they deserve. Wage systems that provide built-in incentives (in the form of bonuses or profit-sharing) have proven to enhance productivity. In Two-Thirds World contexts, they also stimulate the demand side of the economy and minimize labor unrest.
IV. Humanity is created with habitat
A. The physical nature of human existence leads to the fourth tenet: human interdependence with creation. Human beings can never be independent from their physical habitat, for God placed the first humans in a garden on a specific land on earth (Gen. 2). Humans are utterly dependent on the air they breathe, the food they eat, and the water they drink. These needs should not be considered a burden, but rather as constitutive of the joy of being alive. This dependency helps human to realize that their ultimate dependency is upon the Creator who lovingly sustains the material universe with His care. Non-cooperation with this earthly order has not only been ruining human lives, but has also been destroying the earth.
Further, this created habitat is good – in all its intricacies and varieties. Its innate goodness is not only a declaration of God (“He saw it was good…”), but also a characteristic of God’s works (Ps. 19: 1-6; 1 Tim. 4:3-4). The Creator put humanity in an abounding earth to enjoy “abundant life.” His creation offers plenty to meet human needs and desires; the ground only needed to be tended and harvested (Gen. 2:15).
Historically, God gifted His people with a “land flowing with milk and honey,” and eschatologically, he promises his people the full realization of shalom (as an abundant paradise with a prosperous city), i.e., social wholeness and ecological harmony.
Human rootedness to this good and abounding world is revealed in God’s instructions to His people to give Sabbath rest to their land, His promised land-gift to them. The Law provided for the Jubilee Year, so that at the end of each fifty-year cycle, every family among His people will have the opportunity to own a piece of property for their habitat. The prophets dreamt of shalom in which each person sits under his/her own vine and fig tree (Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10), with the assumption that this will be on his/her own land.
B. This tenet leads to at least four implications:
First, our concern should extend beyond the human body to include the non-human environment. Such a widening of interest and responsibility will change the priorities, methods, and projects which predominate the modern world. Objects in nature have become “property” or “goods” to be sold, bought, and used. If left unchecked, this commercialized use of material resources will lead to further deterioration of the ecosystem, to greater devaluation of limited natural resources, and worst to greater dehumanization of people, especially the poor.
Second, since God’s purpose in creation is for it to supply all the needs of those who inhabit the earth, it is implied that there will be enough for all. As modern science realizes more and more the limited capacities of nature to provide infinite resources, there is the need to be reminded of the confidence of Genesis 2 that creation will provide enough abundance. What is needed is the resolve of those who love in abundance (in luxury and excess) to cease to serve their own comfort far beyond basic needs, and rather to use their capacities both to help the poor and to conserve nature and its resources for future generations.
Third, it is apparent that the modern ecological crisis can be traced back to the exploitative and manipulative attitude of human domination over creation. This has led to subordinating environmental concerns to even the smallest human appetite. Many have gotten rich at the expense of nature. Instead, resources should be used sparingly and appropriately, their use determined by attending to the total well-being of the ecosphere. Hence, we should be concerned with the conservation of the earth. We can find vocations (and give support only to those projects that seek development) which do not cause irreparable destruction of natural resources.
Lastly, interdependence of humans with creation points to a basic need, and hence a human right, to own a piece of land or property in which each can have the security for survival and the stability for development as a person on planet earth. Providing a “house and lot” (or its equivalent) for each person or family should be a central issue for concerned citizens, especially Christians.
V. Humanity is created with a duty
A. The fifth creation tenet reveals humans as co-rulers of creation with God: “Subdue (or fill) the earth” (Gen. 1:28), as delegated stewards over the created order. They are called to rule over creation, to reflect God’s own rule over nature by directing its processes. Like God, humans are not to be ruled by nature, but to share in His control over nature (cf. Ps. 8:5-6).
A basic task given to humans concerns their relationship to nature. God has loaned the earth to the whole human race “to work it and to tend it” (Gen. 2:15). By the very nature of being image-bearers of the creative God and by the mandate which their Creator has ordered them, humans are made to share in the care and maintenance of the whole creation. God created humanity with a purpose: to take good care of creation.
B. This has important implications for our views about employment for the poor and the use of technology to alleviate poverty.
Since work is part of human nature and is the essence of God’s mandate by which humans use their unique gifts to serve God and creation, people must work, not only to transform nature, adapting it to their own needs, but also to achieve fulfillment as persons. Thus people, especially laborers, ought to be treated, not as mere instruments of production, but as creative subjects of work, as co-creators with God.
Hence, employment should not just be the product of one’s desire for profit or wages, or one’s prosperity for trading, but also a venue for one’s self-expression. Societies should therefore aim to give each person a “field” in which he/she can work out his/her own God- endowed innate talents or potentials. Here lies the biblical basis for calling unemployment and underemployment inhumane and evil; they inhibit a person from using to the fullest what he/she has been created for.
Concerning technology, this tenet serves as the basis for technological progress and industrialization. Humanity is by nature technological; to be human is to be creative and technological. All tools, however humble, have their intrinsic value, and when used properly, they glorify God!
In this age, industrialization is a must. When one looks at the nations according to their GNP, rich nations are almost always industrial, while poor nations are all agricultural. What makes agricultural communities efficient are industrial inputs. Without industry, there is nothing but primitive subsistence agricultural communities. Unless each nation makes its own fertilizers, insecticides, water distribution systems, tractors, diesel fuels, and hybrid seeds, they will remain poor while foreign suppliers get rich supplying their industrial needs. Without developing its own industrial base, a nation’s economy will remain backward.
Therefore, CDOs should protest against any policy or program that hinders research, development, and industrialization on the local/national level. We must work for the removal of trade policies that prevent local development and the encouragement of processing raw materials locally.6
Nevertheless, in view of the fourth tenet, technological development needs to be balanced with ecological concerns, too. Technological progress, even on the local level, must be done with full recognition of nature’s limits, and with responsibility in, with and for the whole of creation. This calls us to use restraint on the use of technology, for the most efficient technology may not be the best for nature’s and humanity’s (especially the poor’s) well-being.
The increasing power made available to humanity by technology means that the consequences of human choices, especially on the poor, continually become greater. It seems most urgent therefore that humanity takes seriously the call for “appropriate” or “intermediate” technologies. While making use of modern knowledge, appropriate technology (A.T.) aims at compatibility with nature, gentle use of scarce resources, and availability to the common people – vastly superior to primitive technology, yet much simpler and cheaper than modern super-technology of mass production. Its greatest benefit, among others, would be to put people more in direct touch with the physical sustenance of their lives in the bounty of the earth, thereby increasing human awareness of being stewards of God and fellow-creatures with the earth. Given this solid rootage in the realities of nature, the development of human technology (skills, crafts, resource management) can be exercised by many more people in producing their own food, in private or commercial gardens, and in small-scale use of solar energy for home and water heating – and most importantly, without destroying or consuming irreplaceable natural resourses!
VI. Humanity is created with a community
A. The next tenet concerns the social dimension of human existence: a person cannot reflect God alone – for God is a plurality-in-unity, and God’s call to participate in His purposes is always a social call. “Male and female created the them” (Gen.1:26) is further elaborate in 2:20-25. People are created for partnership and community – created to live in relationship: they cannot exist as human beings by themselves.
The connotation of “helpmate” emphasizes that the basic thrust of human inter-relationships is mutual service. From this basic familial relationship grows all the social groupings which define the nature of human social relations. Humans are commissioned to serve one another in their daily work, to build a society based on the family. The family is not only the basic social unity; its sharing relationship also serves as the paradigm by which all larger communities should aspire to reflect.
In a family, all property belongs to all, and every one selflessly volunteers to help others who are weaker or more needy. All the world’s resources (e.g., sun, air, land, seas, etc.) can be viewed as belonging to every earthling in common. Sharing and redistribution of wealth should then be a natural outgrowth of each one’s appreciation of his/her co-ownership of creation with the whole human family under one God.
The idea of egalitarian communitarian fellowship of people was legislated in the Mosaic Law (esp. in the Jubilee provision that land ownership reverts to its original family once every fiftieth year),9 projected before Israel by the prophets, lived out by Jesus and his disciples (Lk. 8:1-3; Jn. 12:6; 13:29) and the earliest church in Jerusalem (Ac. 2:41-47; 4:31-5:11), as well as taught by Paul ( esp. Gal. 3:28; 2 Cor. 8: 14-15).
B. Unfortunately, modernization tends to lead towards individualizing land ownership and production efforts. There needs to be the revival of the understanding that earthly goods should be enjoyed by all in a sharing community. The earth’s resources should viewed and used as God’s gifts to the whole human race, including those of present and future generations, for they all belong to the human family indeed. Commitment to this kind of perspective have the following implications:
On the individual level, what people own in excess of their simple necessities should be treated as common property for all. With accountability one to another, people can share in resource development, decision-making, and benefits/profits10 – as one family sharing the earth’s bounty.
Since the Bible seems to assume that each family unit is entitled to a piece of planet Earth as the context of human social life, we should work for the traditional land rights of aboriginal peoples, for land rights of small farmers being overturned by big landowners, and for laws and policies which will facilitates the just distribution of land for each family.
Also at the local and national level, care must be extended to those who are relatively unable to fend for themselves from the tough struggles of modern commercial life – the handicapped, widows, orphans, cultural minorities, and foreigners. ¹¹ This “preferential concern for the poor” is not an endorsement of poverty nor an affirmation of the poor’s salvation, but a commitment to seek actively to reflect God’s purpose to see his image (of community) in all people living together in loving harmony.
Through the redistribution of money and skills to people living in poor communities, societies can provide the goods and services they need to help turn their neighborhoods into true communities. The measure of a society’s progress is not whether it adds more to the abundance of those who have more, but whether it provides enough for those who have little.
On the international level, many CDOs are seeing that affluent nations have become richer by making the poor nations poorer by colonialism (politico-military) and neocolonialism (economic). They call for the elimination of unjust international structures; for the poorer nations to develop freely, we need to persuade the developed nations to reconsider their policies of exorbitant terms for the transfer of technology, payments for patents, licenses, as well as managerial and technical services.
VII. Humanity is marred by the Fall
A. The seventh tenet asserts that the good creation has become fallen: humans who have been delegated the duty to be the stewards of nature have chosen not to be fully obedient to God’s mandate, having allowed creation to overpower their obligation to follow His instruction (Gen. 3:1-6; cf. 2:16f).
Through the Fall, humans have become self-centered and destructive, a distorted reflection of God’s Lordship. Human relationships with God, with nature, and with other humans have become flawed. Instead of using their unique abilities as a means to love and obey God, to honor fellow-humans, and to care for nature, humans have tended to exercise their dominion so as to increase their own power and comfort, at the expense of others, including nature’s.
The Bible views that oppression is the main cause of poverty.¹² This craving for security against the fears of losing possessions (“nakedness”) has led to unlimited acquisitions, often even through unjust means.
Because of this fallen tendency to abuse human power, God has prescribed laws by which humans are to live in harmonious relationship with their fellow-humans and with nature. It is a necessity that God should reveal his will in the Mosaic Law so as to show an orderly plan by which creation’s potentials may be developed and maintained for the best possible living conditions in a fallen world.
Rising out of the Law is the clear biblical theme of God’s concern for social justice and righteousness. God loves justice, and thus he desires humans to maintain right relationships; and if such are missing, they are to restore just relationships. God has provided commandments by which social life among humankind can be ordered in justice. Historically, he has often acted to bring deliverance to the poor, suffering and lost, to free them from the power of sin and its oppressive effects.
B. hence societies need to provide means for social control lest the basic human rights of some may be overcome by others. Those who have more power or assets can easily use legal means to further their goals and desires. If they become abusive, they can rationalize; and if unable to, they can wield influence or power to protect themselves or cover-up their misdeeds. ¹³ Left on their own, “economic forces” will lead to greater injustices; thus there is the need to set limitations.
In an imperfect world, some form of social control seems to be the only way of dealing with abuses of power. Government decisions relating to the economy will depend on what activities to stimulate and what imbalances to correct. Because of their massive powers and the general tendency to dominate and become oppressive, large institutions need to be controlled by proper legislation and strict implementation. ¹ It is in this light that CDOs must also work for stricter controls on social institutions, like corporations, stock markets, banks, insurance agencies, trade unions, and even nation-states and multi-national firms, which exercise so much power, and have easily brought harm to disprivileged groups and poor individuals.
VIII. Humanity is redeemed with hope
A. The last tenet calls for the redeemed people of God to pioneer, develop, and maintain economic systems which promote shalom built on social justice and ecological balance. Because of what Jesus has done (cf. Jn. 10:10) people can envision the possibility of living out the ideals od a restored humanity, where there will no poor person among them (cf. Acts 4:34).
For a humane social life, the best system seems to call for a decentralized economy, as advocated in the Scriptures.¹ In 1 King 21, the prophet Nathan showed that God wants to protect a relatively poor family from the greed of a powerful monarch. This story and the Mosaic prohibition of theft and removing one’s neighbor’s landmark both demonstrate that no person has the right to use superior strength to take away what others need for their earthly subsistence or what they produce for themselves. Ownership was placed in the communal structure of the extended family, so that this basic unit of society might be able to exercise responsible stewardship.
B. Therefore, CDOs should work for structures which promote a more egalitarian order for a more just distribution of wealth. This will enable all citizens to participate in the decisions which affect their own lives. The rise of “economic democracy” would empower even the poor to find their true identity and exercise their duty as God’s image-bearers.
A just society is so ordered that the fullest possible share of a community’s wealth can be enjoyed by each citizen. This seems to call for the promotion of the following policies: ownership of small farms by those who work the land, low interest rates, utilization of unused lands, and provisions for property-less and disprivileged people.16
Many have already raised questions about the policies being imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) upon Third World nations.¹ What rights do foreign experts have to define local/national programs and strategies? The poor seem to suffer most in these macro-economic planning!
Further, this means that economic research done with the hope of improving social conditions is commendable, because the effects of sin can be remedied. However, much of modern economic analysis has been ideological, and thus efforts should be exerted to see to it that they will be done with more integrity. We should work for definitive, documentary, empirical, and historical work on controversial issues, such as poverty, welfare experience, income distribution, and economic development, without being afraid to face the facts.
Economists are now recognizing that pure market forces can easily overwhelm communal goals which are often not economically profitable, and usually inefficient or wasteful;
firms, communities, or nations that maintain them suffer discipline from unadulterated market forces. Firms with commercial commitment are ripe for takeover by those with less; communities with social concern may lose businesses to communities with less; nations may perceive foreign competition to be undermining their social policies.¹
Thus “barriers to market forces are not only defensible, but often necessary to meet communal goals. Efforts should be exerted to determine which alternative societal interventions (inevitable interferences!) in the market are “best” on biblical and economic grounds.
CONCLUSION
These eight tenets and the applications suggested here throw big challenges to CDOs. They call us to proclaim that the fallen world (including the present economic order) has been potentially redeemed, and can be redeemed, through human obedience to the divine laws as people allow the Spirit of the Creator to empower them.
We are called to exercise stewardship, dominion and justice, guided by Christ and His Word. We should use human intellect and technology for the wise and loving management of creation, especially to alleviate the poverty of others.
On the individual level, we must live the life of Christ (popularly called “the way of the cross”) in our generation amidst its daily demands and all relationships – with employers, employees, clients, customers, strangers, and especially the poor. The Bible recommends some form of regular giving as a habit which seeks to discipline our enjoyment of wealth and builds the detachment necessary for living with sensitivity to justice issues.
Moreover, we are called to “simple lifestyle,”20 so as to share more with the needy and to show that the meaning of life is not measured by one’s level of consumption. In a materialistic “consumer society”, ²¹ we should demonstrate that earthly existence is not to be measured by wealth and power. Our lifestyles should convince others that the modern lack of restraint in production and consumption will not lead to increased true happiness.²²
On the corporate level, we should try to model economic systems which are ecologically sound, economically viable, and politically just. The best model so far seems to be some kind of family ownership of small business enterprise and workers (cooperative) share-ownership of large industries. The integrity of share-ownership should be protected by reasonable returns on investments, not by the right to impose policies on those involved in the production process. Further, national assets and raw materials that are not corporately owned should be publicly owned by a government truly accountable to the people for what it does with the wealth it holds on behalf of the whole community.
This should develop into a movement for a new economic order based on the reduction of wants rather than the increase of wealth; though the latter may happen also; it comes about with more care. It assumes that wealth consists only of such things as are necessary to live a relatively comfortable life, and “human fulfillment” comes from contentment with “just enough”, and with the abundance shared with others in community.²³
In our communal life, we should be willing to become voluntarily (relatively) poor, to be despised and rejected by our contemporaries in our commitment to build a more egalitarian society, no matter what the cost. ² CDOs may have to become “communities of the poor”, ² as we become more faithful in reflecting the suffering and sacrificial features of our Lord’s “way of the cross.” In our life of sharing in the struggles of the less privileged, we will inevitably encounter the powerful forces of those who refuse to relinquish certain benefits they enjoy in the status quo. Such “voluntary poverty” has a strange way of enriching others, just as selfish prosperity has a strange way of impoverishing others!
Those who find the idealistic tone of this paper to be problematic should be reminded that the Christian hope is most realistic!26 All nation-states, farms, corporations and factories on Earth will someday be revealed to belong to the Lord Jesus Christ in reality! To base human thoughts and actions on biblical teachings is to put human life in harmony with the original plan of the Creator-God who did not intend to have poverty exist in the first place!
ENDNOTES
1. “Transformation Theology” recognizes the theological primacy of evangelism, but emphasizes the contextual nature (with sensitivity to differences in local situations) of the practical outworking of mission. Other mission-theologies may be classified as follows: (1) “Humanization Theology” views social action as the only agendum in the church’s witness in the world; (2) “Liberation Theology” prioritizes social action, but does not neglect the importance of evangelism; (3) “Evangelization Theology” (or the Church Growth School) puts priority in evangelism, but regards social concern as a partner of evangelism; and (4) “Salvation Theology” views evangelism to be the only strategy, and social action to be unimportant, if not detrimental, to the church’s mission. [Editor’s note: This endnote became the focal point of discussion in the group and in the conference; see Group Reports Section].
2. Wealth includes all possessions owned individually or corporately which can be exchanged for money or other goods, and wealth-creation is done through the process of production.
3. However, the right to ownership is not absolute. Traditional Christian teaching has always distinguished between individual or personal property, which is a necessity, and exclusive or private property, which is damaging and divisive.
4. Industrialization and technologization have given a new hope for the human race. With the use of machines for mass production and mass consumption, with new ideas about division of labor and interchangeable parts, many more people can populate the earth than if humans remained in the hunting and farming stages.
5. The irony is that industrial nations are not starving, whereas agricultural nations often are! Many laborers loss jobs to efficient machines which requires imported fuels and parts. “Foreign aids” have often diverted the scarce resources of developing nations to advance the purposes of “helping nations”. Third World people spent on electric generators for rural electricification that depend on foreign diesel fuel and spare parts; artesian wells dependent on imported pumps and speedboat motors that are unusable after two years; artificial fertilizers that leach the soil and kill the bacteria that gives natural fertilizer; hybrid seeds that yield only after huge inputs of fertilizer – all of which keep poor farmers as poor as ever.
6. Export-oriented industrialization has proven to be failure, because of its technocratic bias, i.e., decisions were made by a few elite “experts.” This reflects vestiges of colonial times, which views the poorer nations only as storehouses of raw materials from which to draw on.
7. Popularized by Schumacher, who alludes to Gandhi’s vision for India’s development.
8. This basic calling to servanthood is highlighted in Christ’s ministry in giving himself for others (Mk. 10:45; 1 Jn. 3:16).
9. Lev. 25:1-7. In Luke 4:19, the proclamation of the Jubilee that Jesus proclaimed was not just a Jubilee Year but the Jubilee Year, for the arrival of the messianic kingdom is a perpetual Jubilee.
10. Earlier cultures tend towards communal responsibility and ownership; lands were usually “owned” by extended families or communities.
11. The biblical mark of a society’s success is not in its wealth or military power, but in its care for its weaker sectors. Wealth-creation is good and proper as long as the priority is to satisfy the needs of all, rather than to let some own and enjoy whatever they can afford.
12.Cf. T. Hanks, God So Loved the Third World (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1983). Oppression is the result of humanity’s sense of insecurity, and hence the need to fund security, as seen in the Genesis accounts of the human search for covering for shame and guilt (vv. 7-13), and for protecting from potential enemies or threats (real or imaginary; vv. 8-10; cf. 4:13-15, 11:4).
13. Hence it is normally difficult and risky to speak for justice for privileged people wield power to protect their interests, and the majority often side with the oppressors, primarily through their indifference and silence.
14. In the modern world, one cannot be politically neutral or uncommitted; one cannot love his/her neighbor without getting involved in the political sphere – to seek the common welfare through political action on issues of freedom, justice and peace. Thus if their reasonable economic needs are not met, people may actively pursue various means to achieve social, economic and political changes. Even in their limited personal and corporate capacities, the righteous people of God have often advocated for loving and just communal life, starting from among themselves. The rise of civil rights, hunger and ecological groups should also be welcomed and encouraged.
15. Cf. the Law’s Jubilee provisions (Lev. 25:1-8; 27:34; Num. 36:4) and the prophets’ rebuke against land accumulation (Isa.5:8-9; Mic. 2:1f,9). It seems safe to assume that ancient Israel was a broad confederation of extended families, clans, and tribes which tried to decentralize authority, in contrast to the centralized political-economic structure of the late Bronze Canaanite society. Israel’s Law had two basic principles: Yahweh is the ultimate owner of the land, and the land is not a saleable commodity.
16. This calls for both capitalist private ownership and socialist redistribution of wealth, and also critiques both the capitalist reluctance to intervene in checking the unbalanced accumulation of wealth, and the socialist tendency to deny each family’s right to exercise such stewardship.
17. Director General Edouard Saouma of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) blamed the IMF for having worsened world hunger, and the agricultural policies of industrialized states for sinking the Third World into greater debt. On the IMF, he said, “The tragedy is that these programs start with radical austerity measures that merely aggravate the economic difficulties and social tensions”, Reuter, Philippine Daily Inquirer, (March 19, 1989), 1,8.
18. J.D. Richardson, “Frontiers in Economics and Christian Scholarship,” Christian Scholar’s Review XVII/4 (June, 1988), 394.
19. Ibid.
20. I.e., living according to our needs rather than wants. Understanding God’s grace, we should view our possessions, health, vocation, and even life itself as God’s gifts to be “stewarded” wisely through a sharing lifestyle.
21. On the biblical perception of limited goods and contentment with readily available basic necessities of life; cf. Bruce J. Malina, “Wealth and Poverty in the NT and Its World”, Interpretation, XLI/4 (October, 1987), 354-367.
22. Jesus said, “… one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his/her possessions” (Lk. 12:15b). In OT, farmers should not glean completely, and should observe rest on Sabbath days and years, thus leaving something for the poor (Ex. 23:10-11; Lev. 25:1-7).
23. This view has yet to attract more followers, even among Christians. Until it does, the demands which drive the present market economy (which puts such huge burdens on earth’s resources) will continue to destroy creation and increase the sufferings of the poor.
24. It is easy for the affluent to be unmindful of the poverty and injustices suffered by the millions of fellow-humans in their neighborhoods and in other lands, while enjoying “God’s blessings” for themselves! They are not persecuted for they do not take offence against the unjust aspects of the status quo. “Voluntary poverty” in the sense of actual renunciation of luxurious lifestyles will free much energies and resources for working sacrificially for the establishment of a better world order.
25. Just like the early church, but this time by conscious choice! Basic respect for the dignity of all humans will lead churches away from spending millions for the grandiose projects at the expense of the masses; e.g., cathedrals, modern facilities, sophisticated equipments mainly for the service of the privileged, often with funds collected “for the evangelism of the poor”. This is perhaps more important in the Third World where the poor constitute the vast majority of the population.
26. The recognition of the reality oh human sin or fallenness, both individual and social, presents this idealism from becoming triumphalistic or utopian. Successes in development will always be limited, imperfect and temporary. Nevertheless, substantial transformations of communities witness to the reality of God’s grace at work in human history.
