Is Capitalism Christian?: Toward a Christian Perspective on Economics

by Frank Schaeffer (Editor)

Book by

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1985

About the author

Frank Schaeffer is a New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books. Frank is a survivor of both polio and an evangelical/fundamentalist childhood, an acclaimed writer who overcame severe dyslexia, a home-schooled and self-taught documentary movie director, a feature film director of four low budget Hollywood features Frank has described as “pretty terrible.” He is also an acclaimed author of both fiction and nonfiction and an artist with a loyal following of international collectors who own many of his oil paintings. Frank has been a frequent guest on the Rachel Maddow Show on NBC, has appeared on Oprah, been interviewed by Terri Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air and appeared on the Today Show, BBC News and many other media outlets. He is a much sought after speaker and has lectured at a wide range of venues from Harvard’s Kennedy School to the Hammer Museum/UCLA, Princeton University, Riverside Church Cathedral, DePaul University and the Kansas City Public Library.

Reviews

[Eric D · Rating 1 out of 5]

Propaganda from the pre-Trumpian philosophy. Main argument: Between Communism and Capitalism, Capitalism is the "lesser of two evils, so therefore" it must be Christian. The author(s) admit there are problems with Capitalism, and that it is man-made, but continues to advocate the righteousness of its philosophy. Also, since it is best that mankind has come up with thus far that critics should stop being "anti-American" and enjoy the ride.

[Jacob Furdui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. I found it very helpful in my younger years when I was a fan of Franky Schaeffer. He is a very gifted speaker and writer and the book was useful but I suspect he no longer believes what he has written here.

[Kristofer Carlson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book tries to show that capitalism is consistent with Christianity. That may be true, as long as you only include the American Protestants. But they asked the wrong question. The answer is not whether Capitalism is Christian, but whether the capitalist shares anything in common with the teachings of Jesus Christ. The answer to that question is a resounding NO!

When Jesus said "Blessed [blissful] are the poor [in spirit]," (Lk 6:20; Mt 5:3) he was making a profound economic and spiritual statement. In the second temple period, the sign of God's blessing was assumed to be weath. Jesus turned that around. He taught: "The last shall be first, and the first shall be last." Jesus told the rich man: "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." Jesus told his disciples: "Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

You can rationalize it all you want, but Capitalism is not Christian.

[Eric D · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author saying that since Capitalism is the best mankind can create thus far, it is therefore God-ordained. Beware of communism, because it is 'un-christian'.