Balancing public morality with Christian faith

The study of the Bible has changed dramatically. The 21st century understanding of the Bible is not driven by an analysis of the Bible itself.

The study of the social, economic, political and religious context in which the Bible was written has come in sharp focus. This is particularly true of our pursuit of understanding the life and teachings of Jesus from Nazareth in the early first century C.E. We now know that Jesus was not simply a religious figure. He was a religious figure who had strong opinions about social relationships, politics and economics. Jesus was very committed to the application of his faith to the world in which he lived and taught.

Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners Magazine, insists that commitment to Jesus from Nazareth forces the faithful believer to be intensely involved in every aspect of public life. In his most recent book, “On God’s Side,” Wallis argues that a part of the foundation of the United States is the commitment to the common good for every citizen. It is found in our founding documents. The common good is the basis of a public morality that must be honored if America is to maintain itself as a great nation. Wallis does not equate common good and religion’s love of neighbor, but he does believe they have enough kinship, that devout religion and a secular government committed to common good can join together to produce a more just, equitable and peaceful nation.

Wallis makes his case that modern America has tragically defined itself first by unconstrained personal freedom, and second by the pursuit of wealth without regard to equity, justice or charity. Both of these defining traits have forsaken the common good inherent in our founding documents. From Mr. Wallis’s perspective, corporations without soul or conscience have been allowed to gain control of the life of our nation. Corporations have become too large to allow to fail and too powerful to submit to meaningful regulation. The greed that drives American corporate life has produced unimaginable wealth for the rich and nagging poverty for the poor. The American middle-class is shrinking. At one time minimum wage was a living wage. Today minimum wage must be supplemented by food stamps and subsidized housing.

For me, Wallis’ argument is convincing. His statistics are overwhelming. The kind of economy that America has developed is not only unjust, but is also unsustainable. If significant economic changes are not made, the plight of the poor can only grow, the middle class will disappear and wealth will be sequestered by the wealthy. The common good will have suffered an overwhelming defeat.

Is a moral economy possible in a modern capitalist world? Can the common good become a significant factor in the structuring of the American economy? This is a challenge that must be addressed by religious bodies of every kind. It is also the challenge of sensitive Americans who recognize the folly of our present economic structure and the imperative of the common good. Are there enough American people, religious and non-religious, who care enough about their neighbors to bring about a new economic day?

There is a huge shake-up of the structures of American Christians. Apparently, a new breed of young Christians has decided to take the social agenda of Jesus seriously. Do they dare raise the moral issues that have been presented to America by corporations driven by naked greed?

Along our path in history, Americans have confronted glaring social evils. I am awed by our confrontation with the evil of slavery. The magnitude of the change that was triggered by emancipation stretches my imagination. Common good demanded to be served. Common good was served. For the first century and a half in our nation’s history, women were not allowed to vote. The 19th Amendment was inevitable. Common good demanded to be served. Civil rights for all could not be denied. Common good demanded justice. Full civil rights for gay and lesbian Americans is inevitable. Common good will be served.

Economics is just as much a moral issue as slavery, women’s suffrage, racial equality and gay rights. For the informed Christian it is now obvious that Jesus protested opulent wealth and unjust labor practices. He identified with the poor and needy. He associated service with greatness, not wealth. Following Jesus’ lead in demanding economic justice, I am not ready to give up on the Jesus way.

How? Get information. Call for repentance. Protest. Organize. Get involved.

I serve on the board of a small not-for-profit corporation. We have an executive director and employ social workers. The board has placed a demand on the executive. The corporation shall have no employee who is not paid a living wage, who does not have health insurance for self and family at no cost to the employee and who has no retirement program.

It is the demand of the common good and a priority of a good neighbor.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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