think hard, think well

Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/bureaucrash:

I’ve commented at EverydayLiturgy:

Some more thoughts following the Emergent podcast on social justice…

I’ve become disturbed by the growing trend to define “social justice” or “economic justice” as equality of outcome.  I dispute this, both principially and pragmatically.

Doubtless, there are millions of oppressed people in this world who deserve justice.  But their poverty is the consequence of injustice, not the basis.  There is nothing inherently unjust about some individuals having more than others.  I think of great heroes of Scripture, rulers or mighty men who were called just: David, Solomon, Boaz, to name a few.  These great men did not renounce their wealth as loathsome inequality; they used their power to protect the rights of the widow, orphan and sojourner, and to reward the righteous.  That is true social justice.

As Christians, we are not simply called to have good intentions when it comes to pursuing justice and charity, we are called to act wisely as God’s stewards.  As such, we must take care that we pursue truly helpful policies.  I am often labelled as uncompassionate because I oppose such policies as nationwide universal health insulation, and third-world debt cancellation.  I oppose them because it can be demonstrated that these policies will, at best, not help the people they are intended to help, and at worst, perpetuate and exacerbate the existing problems.

Good intentions are not enough.  I sympathize with the Jim Wallises and Tony Campolos of this world, but I wish they could see the world as it is, rather than how they would like it to be.

Bishop Tom Wright does an interesting interview with Time about heaven.  Christians need to rethink theirlanguage when referring to loved ones who have passed on.  To speak of heaven as our telos is to minimize the wonder of the resurrection and all its implications for our present lives.  To speak of our dead as having “met Jesus,” and have that be the end of it, is to understate the glorious future kingdom of Jesus on earth, in our renewed bodies.

Corrie and I have decided that if we can’t be married in the resurrection, we’re at least going to shack up.

“The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart
And on the horns of their altars,
As they remember their children,
So they remember their altars and their Asherim
By green trees on the high hills.
O mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will give over your wealth and all your treasures for booty,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
And you will, even of yourself, let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your enemies
In the land which you do not know;
For you have kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.”

We’ve all been at points in our life at which, wherever we turn, something reminds us of sins past and present.  Fortunately, when my previous relationship ended, my ex had transferred to another school.  It was much easier to heal and deal with the past when she was not chillin’ with my friends or sitting at my table in the cafeteria or the library.

The people of Judah had sinned in the most horrific of ways: not only leaving the covenant with YHWH, but worshiping other gods by child-sacrifice.  Rather than worshiping YHWH on the mountain of the temple cult, they worshiped Ba’al and his consorts, the Ashterot, on hills, under trees, in the valleys.

In this passage, the punishment promised Judah is that they will be plundered and taken into exile.  This does not seem to reflect YHWH’s grace, does it?  However, when we consider this passage, we remember three truths.  First, YHWH takes sin seriously–he cannot let it go unpunished.  Second, to do so would be to leave us wallowing in our own filth.  YHWH chastened his people to drive them back to himself.  Third, the prophet here appears to be speaking hyperbolically, since he promises restoration elsewhere (see 16:14-15; 31:31ff.).

If I had not been part of a selfish, destructive, manipulative relationship, I myself would have transferred, as was my original plan, so I wouldn’t have been part of a wonderful, YHWH-glorifying marriage.  Or maybe she would have found me anyway.  Who knows….

Walter Williams has an excellent column this week about the ways in which the environmental movement affects politics.

I care about the environment–no one wants to live with dirty air and polluted water.  But there are always costs to environmental restrictions.  A smaller, more fuel-efficient car is also less likely to protect its occupants in an accident.  Lowering arsenic in drinking water that is already at an acceptable level may save a few dozen lives in America each year–but could that extra money have been spent by struggling families, or on cancer research, or by a businessman to employ poor workers?

Many environmental restrictions come with few or unknown benefits and present exorbitant public cost, which is really cost to individuals.

Why do I love economics so much?  Economics is the study of human choices, not just financial decisions, but the cost-benefit analyses that go on in your mind every second of every day.  You are choosing to read this meandering muse, but you could be utilizing your time differently — playing a game, talking to someone, or practicing the bagpipes.  Why aren’t you?  Because you’ve judged, rightly or wrongly, that this will give you more satisfaction than the alternatives, given the fact that you are already sitting here and at this site (transition cost) and you may be a friend of mine, so when I bug you about reading my blog, you can politely say that you checked it. 

The field of economics gives us the tools to better understand human psychology, politics, religion, romance, and even baseball.

Economics should inform Christianity, as well.  If John Piper’s Christian hedonism is anything like a good model, Christians have done the ultimate cost-benefit analysis, deciding that serving YHWH satisfies our deepest longings.  Every Christian should be an economist.