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Money & Power
Tracing attitudes toward wealth from the Old Testament to the New Testament, Jacques Ellul discusses both societal and individual responsibilities related to the use of money and power.
173 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
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502 people want to read
About the author
Jacques Ellul
119 books446 followersBaptised Catholic, Ellul became an atheist and Marxist at 19, and a Christian of the Reformed Church at 22. During his Marxist days, he was a member of the French Communist Party. During World War II, he fought with the French Underground against the Nazi occupation of France.
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strausbourg and Montpellier. In 1946 he returned to Bordeaux where he lived, wrote, served as Mayor, and taught until his death in 1994.
In the 40 books and hundreds of articles Ellul wrote in his lifetime, his dominant theme was always the threat to human freedom posed by modern technology. His tenor and methodology is objective and scholarly, and the perspective is a sociological one. Few of his books are overtly political -- even though they deal directly with political phenomena -- and several of his books, including "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" and "The Technological Society" are required reading in many graduate communication curricula.
Ellul was also a respected and serious Christian theologian whose 1948 work, "The Presence of the Kingdom," makes explicit a dual theme inherent, though subtly stated, in all of his writing, a sort of yin and yang of modern technological society: sin and sacramentality.
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strausbourg and Montpellier. In 1946 he returned to Bordeaux where he lived, wrote, served as Mayor, and taught until his death in 1994.
In the 40 books and hundreds of articles Ellul wrote in his lifetime, his dominant theme was always the threat to human freedom posed by modern technology. His tenor and methodology is objective and scholarly, and the perspective is a sociological one. Few of his books are overtly political -- even though they deal directly with political phenomena -- and several of his books, including "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" and "The Technological Society" are required reading in many graduate communication curricula.
Ellul was also a respected and serious Christian theologian whose 1948 work, "The Presence of the Kingdom," makes explicit a dual theme inherent, though subtly stated, in all of his writing, a sort of yin and yang of modern technological society: sin and sacramentality.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 1, 2013
Ellul's Money and Power is just as powerful as I remembered it to be. He calls for individual action (against socialist corporate action and capitalist resignation to the market), despite the contempt in society for those who try to live by personal standards. "Truth resides in the masses, and as long as the problem is not solved everywhere for everybody, nothing has been done." "The reason for this inactivity is the extreme difficulty of incarnating truth." The world will not be changed by our individual action, yet we must act faithfully, trusting in the God who has redeemed us. Either collective and materialist action is primary or "individual decisions made in the presence of God have priority." Christians must be faithful to God's will and this requires individual action and no resignation to any particular system.
Ellul takes Jesus at his word that Money is a spiritual power that Christians must contend with intentionally. "Jesus is not describing a relationship between us and an object, but between us and an active agent. He is not suggesting that we use money wisely or earn it honestly. He is speaking of a power which tries to be like God, which makes itself our master and which has specific goals. Thus when we claim to use money, we make a gross error. We can, if we must, use money, but it is really money that uses us and makes us servants by bringing us under its law and subordinating us to its aims." And I love this idea about God's economy "Indeed the major characteristic of God's world is the fact that in it everything is given freely. Grace is grace precisely because it is not bought.... God's one way of acting is giving."
It is a book I probably need to argue with regularly. Not systematic, but it certainly stopped any worship at the altar of the market for me. For Ellul our every use of money is a test "that shows whether we have truly understood grace." Every expenditure is a spiritual act. The Christian must always side with humanity over money, keep from loving money (which includes a rejection of the security it provides - "The best that can be said is that God directs our lives in spite of our precautions and savings accounts. Of course God uses human instruments, but that is no reason for us to accumulate instruments which have no meaning other than distrust of God."), and maybe most importantly must profane money by giving it away. "Money in the Christian life is made in order to be given away." "If we really worked to give away the money we earned, that would undoubtedly set limits to the thirst for money which can possess us!" "Giving to God introduces the useless into the world of efficiency, and this is essential to faith in today's world (Jn 12: 1-8)."
Ellul is not interested in solving tensions, but in increasing them, in driving every follower of Jesus to more giving, to more reliance on God, to deeper relationship with the poor, while acknowledging how broken we are, operating in a sinful world, with our sinful selves.
This is not the final book on the relationship between the Christian and money. Instead it is a prophetic one that asks the uncomfortable questions and demands personal involvement. I understand why I return to it again and again, but it does nothing to salve my conscience or increase my comfort in this world. That is for Jesus alone.
Ellul takes Jesus at his word that Money is a spiritual power that Christians must contend with intentionally. "Jesus is not describing a relationship between us and an object, but between us and an active agent. He is not suggesting that we use money wisely or earn it honestly. He is speaking of a power which tries to be like God, which makes itself our master and which has specific goals. Thus when we claim to use money, we make a gross error. We can, if we must, use money, but it is really money that uses us and makes us servants by bringing us under its law and subordinating us to its aims." And I love this idea about God's economy "Indeed the major characteristic of God's world is the fact that in it everything is given freely. Grace is grace precisely because it is not bought.... God's one way of acting is giving."
It is a book I probably need to argue with regularly. Not systematic, but it certainly stopped any worship at the altar of the market for me. For Ellul our every use of money is a test "that shows whether we have truly understood grace." Every expenditure is a spiritual act. The Christian must always side with humanity over money, keep from loving money (which includes a rejection of the security it provides - "The best that can be said is that God directs our lives in spite of our precautions and savings accounts. Of course God uses human instruments, but that is no reason for us to accumulate instruments which have no meaning other than distrust of God."), and maybe most importantly must profane money by giving it away. "Money in the Christian life is made in order to be given away." "If we really worked to give away the money we earned, that would undoubtedly set limits to the thirst for money which can possess us!" "Giving to God introduces the useless into the world of efficiency, and this is essential to faith in today's world (Jn 12: 1-8)."
Ellul is not interested in solving tensions, but in increasing them, in driving every follower of Jesus to more giving, to more reliance on God, to deeper relationship with the poor, while acknowledging how broken we are, operating in a sinful world, with our sinful selves.
This is not the final book on the relationship between the Christian and money. Instead it is a prophetic one that asks the uncomfortable questions and demands personal involvement. I understand why I return to it again and again, but it does nothing to salve my conscience or increase my comfort in this world. That is for Jesus alone.
March 9, 2019
L'homme et l'argent may not be Jacques Ellul's most mature work, but it is a valuable one nevertheless, full of his usual ardor and insight; his words may smolder in my mind for a long time to come. There is something here for each (and probably every) reader to disagree with—the interpretation of this passage or the rejection of that political system—but it is held together by prophetic clarity of vision and conscience. One of the striking things about Ellul is his unflinching commitment to truth, however uncomfortable. He does not try to paper over ambiguities or construct perfectly consistent systems; he simply speaks from his own earnest grappling with scripture.
The result is always worth engaging. Ellul's analysis of the Old Testament, for example, navigates its apparently conflicted treatment of wealth in a fresh and compelling way. I also appreciated his refusal to take the usual escape hatch of our society and posit money as a mere neutral substance. For Ellul, money or Mammon is an enslaving power, necessary and useful but never good. Thus his project is to ponder how Christians can participate in the economy (as we must) while subverting its attempts to dominate us; part of his answer involves the gift, which thwarts our popular obsession with efficiency and utility. This book remains as relevant as it was in the 1950s.
The result is always worth engaging. Ellul's analysis of the Old Testament, for example, navigates its apparently conflicted treatment of wealth in a fresh and compelling way. I also appreciated his refusal to take the usual escape hatch of our society and posit money as a mere neutral substance. For Ellul, money or Mammon is an enslaving power, necessary and useful but never good. Thus his project is to ponder how Christians can participate in the economy (as we must) while subverting its attempts to dominate us; part of his answer involves the gift, which thwarts our popular obsession with efficiency and utility. This book remains as relevant as it was in the 1950s.
June 17, 2024
Lieb' das Format und die Leistung des Buchs:
Ein gut gesteckter Themenrahmen, der einen am Anfang und auch im informierten Zustand abholt und tiefer führt. Zum einen in die Nachfolge; eigentlich in Bezug auf dieses eine übersichtliche Thema. Aber er schaffte es gleichzeitig, mir diesen Rahmen als ein Exemplar zu vergegenwärtigen und in mir die Sehnsucht zu wecken, mich auch in anderen Bereichen/ mit meinem ganzen Leben Gott noch mehr hinzugeben, ihm noch mehr vertrauen und noch radikaler nachzufolgen.
Zum anderen führt er tiefer in ein spannendes Wissensgebiet, in dem sich Bibel und Gesellschaftstheorie treffen. In Sachen Marx etc. hab ich ja noch fast gar keine Ahnung und war oft abgeschreckt, hab durch Ellul aber etwas mehr Zugang gewonnen und den ein oder anderen Aha-Moment gehabt.
Happy war ich auch damit, dass ich das Buch verstanden hab. Fand es anstrengend es zu lesen, weiß aber nicht wieso, weils eigentlich gut verständlich und zugänglich geschrieben ist.
Nicht immer ganz zufrieden war ich mit seinem prophetischen Schreibstil. Oft (e)lullt er einen in einen Argumentationsstrang ein und dann plötzlich ist man so - whow warte mal - wie sind wir denn hier gelandet.. das geht doch zu weit... Find ich, als grundsätzlich leicht zu überzeugender Mensch, aber auch cool, um mich zwischendurch zu distanzieren und selbst nochmal nachzudenken.
Ein gut gesteckter Themenrahmen, der einen am Anfang und auch im informierten Zustand abholt und tiefer führt. Zum einen in die Nachfolge; eigentlich in Bezug auf dieses eine übersichtliche Thema. Aber er schaffte es gleichzeitig, mir diesen Rahmen als ein Exemplar zu vergegenwärtigen und in mir die Sehnsucht zu wecken, mich auch in anderen Bereichen/ mit meinem ganzen Leben Gott noch mehr hinzugeben, ihm noch mehr vertrauen und noch radikaler nachzufolgen.
Zum anderen führt er tiefer in ein spannendes Wissensgebiet, in dem sich Bibel und Gesellschaftstheorie treffen. In Sachen Marx etc. hab ich ja noch fast gar keine Ahnung und war oft abgeschreckt, hab durch Ellul aber etwas mehr Zugang gewonnen und den ein oder anderen Aha-Moment gehabt.
Happy war ich auch damit, dass ich das Buch verstanden hab. Fand es anstrengend es zu lesen, weiß aber nicht wieso, weils eigentlich gut verständlich und zugänglich geschrieben ist.
Nicht immer ganz zufrieden war ich mit seinem prophetischen Schreibstil. Oft (e)lullt er einen in einen Argumentationsstrang ein und dann plötzlich ist man so - whow warte mal - wie sind wir denn hier gelandet.. das geht doch zu weit... Find ich, als grundsätzlich leicht zu überzeugender Mensch, aber auch cool, um mich zwischendurch zu distanzieren und selbst nochmal nachzudenken.
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October 22, 2024Das Buch ist gut, aber vor allem weil es viele Bibelstellen über Geld behandelt und versucht (!) ihnen gerecht zu werden.
December 22, 2010
Ellul's writing always provokes the reader to reexamine one's beliefs. He is a radical in two different directions--he is radically committed to the implications of the incarnated Christ, yet he is also a universalist and a product of Marxist philosophy. He's very much a critic of Marx, but it is obvious that his worldview has been deeply impacted by Marx.
Ellul argues that money should be a neutral thing--a tool, but human desire has made money into Mammon--a rival God, an idol that our world serves with abandon. He examines the Christian view of money and argues that Christians must be personally involved in repudiating Mammon. This means giving away money, repudiating savings accounts (with some notable and common-sense exceptions), and eschewing the call of money.
This is a very helpful work that will demand that you give greater thought to the biblical view of money. For example, he names only three righteous rich men in the Bible: Abraham, Job, and Solomon. He argues that their wealth was prophetic in that it demonstrated the power and dominion of the one true God. While in the New Testament, Jesus, embodies the image of poverty, and teaches explicitly and repetitively against the dangers of wealth.
Ellul argues that money should be a neutral thing--a tool, but human desire has made money into Mammon--a rival God, an idol that our world serves with abandon. He examines the Christian view of money and argues that Christians must be personally involved in repudiating Mammon. This means giving away money, repudiating savings accounts (with some notable and common-sense exceptions), and eschewing the call of money.
This is a very helpful work that will demand that you give greater thought to the biblical view of money. For example, he names only three righteous rich men in the Bible: Abraham, Job, and Solomon. He argues that their wealth was prophetic in that it demonstrated the power and dominion of the one true God. While in the New Testament, Jesus, embodies the image of poverty, and teaches explicitly and repetitively against the dangers of wealth.
March 6, 2016
Jacques Ellul was a French philosopher that lived from 1912 until 1994. He was employed as a Professor of History and Sociology at the University of Bordeaux. Like a Louis L’ Amour of deep theology and sociology, Ellul has produced more than 58 books and thousands of articles. But Ellul’s writing is far more profound . This particular work is a deep exploration of the powerful hold money has on human society.
Money Worshippers
Many people today see money as an object of veneration, as something for which they have awe, as a criterion for judging others, and even as the primary purpose for their life. Others see money as their potential savior, as something they think can solve all of their problems. When people bequeath this kind of reverence to money, it essentially becomes an object of worship.
Without daring to admit it, most people really put their trust in money. We attribute sacred characteristics to money when we “ooh” and “ahh” over it, treat people having it with deference, and long for it ourselves. We want to make money, but we pay for that money with our work and worry, sacrificing our freedom, enslaving ourselves, and ultimately allowing money to usher us to our very death.
Jesus found the business of money revolting in the temple, as demonstrated by his treatment of the money changers, who profaned the place with their preeminence for money. Ultimately, Judas profaned even Christ, by selling him out in favor of money.
The Person of Mammon
Ellul personifies money into an entity that he calls Mammon. Mammon inflicts evils among us in the form of poverty, coveting, slavery, arrogance, degradation, domination, inequity, war, exploitation, vulgarisms, lust, thievery, and corruption. By using money as a channel, Mammon seeks to become our master. Mammon has the power to inflict such evils only because we bequeath power to it, by our reverence for it.
Money is Mammon whenever it allows one person to dominate another, as in prostitution, abuse, bribery, social privilege, and corruption. Mammon is a power in the sense of its ability to move and motivate. Mammon is a power that makes itself master, subordinating people to do particular things on its behalf.
Painting entitled “The Worship of Mammon” by Evelyn De Morgan
There may be those who struggle with the personification of money into Mammon. My studies have revealed that many people find such personifications a vital necessity for relating fully to their belief system. This is clearly evident by the longevity and entrenchment of the concept of dualism in human history. Personification gives rise to the prevalent notions of demonology, the spirit world, and much mythology. Personification is a way for us to characterize that which clearly affects us, but for which we lack full tangible understanding.
To understand the difference between money and Mammon, as the author sees it, recognize that: (1) money would be just simply preprinted paper that helps facilitate our trade relationships and nothing more and (2) Mammon would be something that we hoard greedily, something that moves us, something that motivates us to revile others or to treat others with deference, something that causes us to “ooh” and “aahh” when we see large quantities of bills, or when we see a rich persons magnificent mansion or expensive car. When imaginations run wild about what can be done with large quantities of money, Mammon has arrived. When arrogance invades one who has hoarded or inherited large quantities of money, Mammon has arrived.
Mammon can inhabit the poor and the rich alike. When people have money, they worry about losing it; which people lack money, they fantasize about having it. Mammon is, so to speak, the “spirit” of money. It is a spirit that seeks to destroy relationships, introducing arrogance, inferiority complexes, class consciousness, hatred of the rich, or scorn for the poor. Mammon seeks to divide us and cause us to despise one another, spoiling human relations.
The author shows that Mammon’s work is the exact opposite of God’s work:
• Mammon commands a price for everything, God gives freely.
• Mammon represents payment, that is, “non-grace”. God offers forgiveness and sharing.
• Mammon is selling, God is giving.
• Mammon enslaves, God liberates.
• Mammon makes debtors, God gives remission of debt.
• Mammon is perishable, God is eternal.
The Inadequacy of Social Systems
Our preoccupation with nation states and social systems is but our attempt to avoid disengaging our reverence for money. We foolishly think that that we can solve the evils of Mammon by simply setting some common parameters to govern our use of money, instead of addressing our fetish for it. Instead of severing our reverence for Mammon, we attempt to thwart its evils by developing various social systems like capitalism, collectivism, socialism, communism and the like, none of which have yet proven successful. Such systems attempt to force us to act in certain ways by law instead of asking us to relinquish our love for Mammon. The author professes that none of these systems can work until we learn to profane money by displaying our disdain for it.
It is a big error to think that we can deal with Mammon by instituting some form of government, as Mammon can be dealt with only by changing ourselves. The defeat of Mammon will have nothing to do with the excellence of any economic regime, but rather through the blossoming forth of changed spirits in men. Men try to create virtue and justice through their governmental systems, but what is really needed is for men themselves to become virtuous and just. Men use governments as a scapegoat, as something to blame for the existence of social evils, instead of recognizing that these evils stem from their greed and reverence for Mammon.
Our faith must be in God, not social systems. The perception that greed, hoarding, inequity, suffering, etc. can ever be diminished via man-instituted social or governmental systems is a childish illusion, behind which we hide, like cowards, refusing to own up to the greed and lack of concern evident in our individual lives.
Mammon defeated in God’s Kingdom
We find our solution in our relationship with God and nowhere else. The political system proffered by Christianity is “the kingdom of God”. The kingdom of God will flow effortlessly among true believers because of their individual adherence to the tenants of Christ. People may be largely self-governed when concerned first for the well being of others and secondly for themselves. In Christendom, the receipt of excessive interest is discouraged, hoarding excess is unattractive, impoverishment is made extinct, just-prices abound, fair wages are taken for granted, and philanthropy is a common activity. In Christendom, Mammon is dead because without reverence it has no power. The author gives us three Biblical examples of those who possessed money:
• Abraham: Abraham exhibited his detachment from his wealth by not allowing it to cause conflict among the people. Abraham separated from Lot to avoid strife. Abraham allowed his nephew to choose the best land by giving Lot first choice. Abraham subordinates himself without paying attention to his own need. Abraham elevates the relationships of the people far beyond Mammon and essentially profanes Mammon by refusing to give it primary relevance. Abraham obtains his wealth from God and refused to receive it from anyone else. When the king of Sodom attempts to give Abraham plunder, he refuses. Abraham does not wish to be made rich by the King of Sodom or anyone but God. Abraham wished to be at God’s mercy, pursuing what God wants before anything else.
• (2) Job: In Job, we see how being rich and righteous simultaneously requires one to love God more than wealth. To love God, even when the blessings of wealth are gone. Job knows that all he has is really God’s and that God can do with it as God pleases. God gives and takes away according to his will. What counts is ultimate communion with God, not the things we have or have not for a little while. Job survived precisely because he depended on God instead of his wealth.
• (3) Solomon: When given a choice as to what he wished, Solomon chose wisdom instead of wealth. Jesus beseeches us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”. God asked Solomon the same question he asked Job and Abraham: Whom do you love? But unlike Abraham and Job, who as rich individuals could affirm they had wronged nobody, King Solomon’s wealth came from his subject’s. Solomon’s wealth was built on others’ misery, those whom he crushed by taxation. We cannot expect to get rid of Mammon’s oppression by handing our riches over to a King or to a State. The King or State cannot liberate humanity. Humanity must liberate itself by giving its allegiance to God.
When people stop recognizing God’s glory and start thinking of wealth as worthy in and of itself, it becomes Mammon. Mammon is defeated when we recognize that all wealth belongs to God. The issue becomes for what is our human labor devoted? Are we working incessantly for money to hoard or to buy a never-ending supply of stuff? Are we working to usher in the kingdom of God? Are we employed by Mammon or by God? Are we putting our confidence in money or in God? Are we justified by what we have accumulated or by how we relate to God? We are no more than stewards. We must recognize God’s sovereignty over possessions.
The Kingdom is illustrated by the provision of manna to the Israelites in the wilderness: “He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” Can you imagine the frantic one, out gathering up the manna as rapidly as possible, in comparison to the relaxed one, strolling nonchalantly through the manna, perhaps smacking as he goes? Can our daily interaction with the world ever become like this? Can we ever stop this frantic rush to pile up resources that are only going to disappear and instead rely on Gods provision day to day?
We defeat Mammon by giving. Giving is the penetration of grace into a world of indebtedness, commerce, impoverishment, coveting, and enslavement. By giving, we show that Mammon means less to us than the cause of God. When we see the panhandler standing beside the road there is no longer a question mark, no longer an outstretched hand about which we wonder whether our gift will be spent wisely or for alcohol, but instead the panhandler becomes an opportunity to profane money, before ourselves, before the panhandler, before everyone else that observes. Do it with a smile and do it generously. Do it as an act of proclaiming grace to all that witness. Do it with even more zeal than you drop your money into the offering plate because the panhandler outside your window is no longer a bother, but suddenly a glorious opportunity for you to display grace as an act of worship to God. In this way, this giving becomes a spiritual act that is no less important than fasting or communion. It is an act that erects a billboard sign of grace and freedom! It is an act that tears from the hostile power of Mammon the very object of its idolatry and turns it into an instrument of truth! It is an act by which we glorify God and proclaim grace to others. It is an act of praise and worship. It is an act that shows God’s grace is worth more than anything else.
Meritocracy as a Trap
Many conservatives read the Old Testament as a stand-alone document. They cite scriptures like Proverbs 22:4 where it says: “the reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life”. But in the Old Covenant, under karma, riches are seemingly a reward for merit. However, our eyes are opened under the New Covenant, where we see that everything comes from God and that the Almighty is himself our wealth, not anything else.
Most are persuaded they have actually earned their money; that money is simply the direct fruit of their labors. But God declares it is a free gift; that nothing could have come of our labor had God not given it. It is the same for salvation. We are convinced that our virtues and merits have made us worthy of being chosen by God; whereas God constantly repeats that there is no cause nor reason for our salvation, it is simply a free decision of his love. When we understand that our wealth is a free gift, we become capable of grasping also that our salvation is also a free gift.
The doctrine of merit, such as the sale of indulgences for money by the Catholic Church, is an open corruption by Mammon, which is totally polarized to the doctrine of grace. Many conservative legalists today continue to fall into this same trap, elevating obedience into a self-driven solution for ascendance, instead of recognizing simple grace. God liberates free of charge. If we fail to recognize this then we truly don’t understand grace.
Who Wins Our Love?
The author goes so far as to suggest that Mammon possesses people just as any demon would, seeking to win our love. And yet, money has no power except for what people bequeath to it. But so great is the power bequeathed to Mammon that it has succeeded in forming huge work forces, armies, corporations, and even governments. The author cites three examples of what he believes to be Mammon possession from the Bible:
• (1) Aaron: As the first to offer sacrifices, Aaron was the one who built the golden calf, substituting the worship of gold for the worship of God.
• (2) Solomon: Solomon was ultimately seduced by money. Samuel had warned the people that the king would take over their wealth, which he did. In his lust for money and things, Solomon imposed great taxes on the people. This ultimately brought about the disunity of Israel.
• (3) Balaam: Balaam was a prophet sought out to curse Israel in exchange for riches. God discourages Balaam to go but Balaam goes anyway, subconsciously directed by the thirst for riches.
The author cites the conflict with Mammon as one of love. Mammon succeeds when it can arouse love in the human heart. The author writes as follows about love:
“Love reaches down into the roots of human beings and does not leave them intact. It leads to identification and assimilation between the lover and the beloved. Jesus Christ teaches us in great detail that our love binds us to the spiritual future of our beloved. This is how we must understand the connection between Christians and Christ, which is a love relationship. Love led Christ to follow us in our entire condition, but inversely, today it joins us to Christ in everything – his life, his death, his resurrection and his glory. Where Christ is, there also is the one who loves Christ. Such is the force, the vigor, of this bond. Love for money is not a dissimilar relationship. By this love, we join ourselves to money’s fate. ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Mt 6:21)” -Jacques Ellul
We cannot hope for modification in the human condition unless we begin believing in God’s love. This is the only possible way to break the chain of oppression.
God’s Question to Us
In society, it’s often as if impoverished and homeless people do not exist and yet, we see them still. When they enter our view, their very existence questions our lives. The poor person necessitates a response in the minds of all but the most hardened because they are so often sick, abandoned, and misunderstood.
The poor are needed to stimulate our consciences and disturb our pride. We have to consider how to respond when the poor cry out to us for help. The poor are God’s question to the world and a spiritual answer is demanded of us. Our answer is either an alliance with Mammon or an alliance with God.
The rich among us do not like this question at all, which is why they do not like the poor at all. They prefer not to see the poor and do everything they can to isolate themselves from the poor, preferring instead to snuggle next to Mammon. In all societies, the rich have detested the poor. By looking down on the poor, the rich crush them, not only economically, but also spiritually, by their contempt.
However, once we understand the poor as God’s question in our lives, then their existence becomes intolerable for us and we move to do everything that we can to relieve their misfortune. How can we ignore the painful faces of beggars, of captives, of starving people, of despised ones, of unwanted children? And ultimately we come to see that authentic relief will only be achieved by our personal involvement and not by just a few dollars.
Great Book!
Money Worshippers
Many people today see money as an object of veneration, as something for which they have awe, as a criterion for judging others, and even as the primary purpose for their life. Others see money as their potential savior, as something they think can solve all of their problems. When people bequeath this kind of reverence to money, it essentially becomes an object of worship.
Without daring to admit it, most people really put their trust in money. We attribute sacred characteristics to money when we “ooh” and “ahh” over it, treat people having it with deference, and long for it ourselves. We want to make money, but we pay for that money with our work and worry, sacrificing our freedom, enslaving ourselves, and ultimately allowing money to usher us to our very death.
Jesus found the business of money revolting in the temple, as demonstrated by his treatment of the money changers, who profaned the place with their preeminence for money. Ultimately, Judas profaned even Christ, by selling him out in favor of money.
The Person of Mammon
Ellul personifies money into an entity that he calls Mammon. Mammon inflicts evils among us in the form of poverty, coveting, slavery, arrogance, degradation, domination, inequity, war, exploitation, vulgarisms, lust, thievery, and corruption. By using money as a channel, Mammon seeks to become our master. Mammon has the power to inflict such evils only because we bequeath power to it, by our reverence for it.
Money is Mammon whenever it allows one person to dominate another, as in prostitution, abuse, bribery, social privilege, and corruption. Mammon is a power in the sense of its ability to move and motivate. Mammon is a power that makes itself master, subordinating people to do particular things on its behalf.
Painting entitled “The Worship of Mammon” by Evelyn De Morgan
There may be those who struggle with the personification of money into Mammon. My studies have revealed that many people find such personifications a vital necessity for relating fully to their belief system. This is clearly evident by the longevity and entrenchment of the concept of dualism in human history. Personification gives rise to the prevalent notions of demonology, the spirit world, and much mythology. Personification is a way for us to characterize that which clearly affects us, but for which we lack full tangible understanding.
To understand the difference between money and Mammon, as the author sees it, recognize that: (1) money would be just simply preprinted paper that helps facilitate our trade relationships and nothing more and (2) Mammon would be something that we hoard greedily, something that moves us, something that motivates us to revile others or to treat others with deference, something that causes us to “ooh” and “aahh” when we see large quantities of bills, or when we see a rich persons magnificent mansion or expensive car. When imaginations run wild about what can be done with large quantities of money, Mammon has arrived. When arrogance invades one who has hoarded or inherited large quantities of money, Mammon has arrived.
Mammon can inhabit the poor and the rich alike. When people have money, they worry about losing it; which people lack money, they fantasize about having it. Mammon is, so to speak, the “spirit” of money. It is a spirit that seeks to destroy relationships, introducing arrogance, inferiority complexes, class consciousness, hatred of the rich, or scorn for the poor. Mammon seeks to divide us and cause us to despise one another, spoiling human relations.
The author shows that Mammon’s work is the exact opposite of God’s work:
• Mammon commands a price for everything, God gives freely.
• Mammon represents payment, that is, “non-grace”. God offers forgiveness and sharing.
• Mammon is selling, God is giving.
• Mammon enslaves, God liberates.
• Mammon makes debtors, God gives remission of debt.
• Mammon is perishable, God is eternal.
The Inadequacy of Social Systems
Our preoccupation with nation states and social systems is but our attempt to avoid disengaging our reverence for money. We foolishly think that that we can solve the evils of Mammon by simply setting some common parameters to govern our use of money, instead of addressing our fetish for it. Instead of severing our reverence for Mammon, we attempt to thwart its evils by developing various social systems like capitalism, collectivism, socialism, communism and the like, none of which have yet proven successful. Such systems attempt to force us to act in certain ways by law instead of asking us to relinquish our love for Mammon. The author professes that none of these systems can work until we learn to profane money by displaying our disdain for it.
It is a big error to think that we can deal with Mammon by instituting some form of government, as Mammon can be dealt with only by changing ourselves. The defeat of Mammon will have nothing to do with the excellence of any economic regime, but rather through the blossoming forth of changed spirits in men. Men try to create virtue and justice through their governmental systems, but what is really needed is for men themselves to become virtuous and just. Men use governments as a scapegoat, as something to blame for the existence of social evils, instead of recognizing that these evils stem from their greed and reverence for Mammon.
Our faith must be in God, not social systems. The perception that greed, hoarding, inequity, suffering, etc. can ever be diminished via man-instituted social or governmental systems is a childish illusion, behind which we hide, like cowards, refusing to own up to the greed and lack of concern evident in our individual lives.
Mammon defeated in God’s Kingdom
We find our solution in our relationship with God and nowhere else. The political system proffered by Christianity is “the kingdom of God”. The kingdom of God will flow effortlessly among true believers because of their individual adherence to the tenants of Christ. People may be largely self-governed when concerned first for the well being of others and secondly for themselves. In Christendom, the receipt of excessive interest is discouraged, hoarding excess is unattractive, impoverishment is made extinct, just-prices abound, fair wages are taken for granted, and philanthropy is a common activity. In Christendom, Mammon is dead because without reverence it has no power. The author gives us three Biblical examples of those who possessed money:
• Abraham: Abraham exhibited his detachment from his wealth by not allowing it to cause conflict among the people. Abraham separated from Lot to avoid strife. Abraham allowed his nephew to choose the best land by giving Lot first choice. Abraham subordinates himself without paying attention to his own need. Abraham elevates the relationships of the people far beyond Mammon and essentially profanes Mammon by refusing to give it primary relevance. Abraham obtains his wealth from God and refused to receive it from anyone else. When the king of Sodom attempts to give Abraham plunder, he refuses. Abraham does not wish to be made rich by the King of Sodom or anyone but God. Abraham wished to be at God’s mercy, pursuing what God wants before anything else.
• (2) Job: In Job, we see how being rich and righteous simultaneously requires one to love God more than wealth. To love God, even when the blessings of wealth are gone. Job knows that all he has is really God’s and that God can do with it as God pleases. God gives and takes away according to his will. What counts is ultimate communion with God, not the things we have or have not for a little while. Job survived precisely because he depended on God instead of his wealth.
• (3) Solomon: When given a choice as to what he wished, Solomon chose wisdom instead of wealth. Jesus beseeches us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”. God asked Solomon the same question he asked Job and Abraham: Whom do you love? But unlike Abraham and Job, who as rich individuals could affirm they had wronged nobody, King Solomon’s wealth came from his subject’s. Solomon’s wealth was built on others’ misery, those whom he crushed by taxation. We cannot expect to get rid of Mammon’s oppression by handing our riches over to a King or to a State. The King or State cannot liberate humanity. Humanity must liberate itself by giving its allegiance to God.
When people stop recognizing God’s glory and start thinking of wealth as worthy in and of itself, it becomes Mammon. Mammon is defeated when we recognize that all wealth belongs to God. The issue becomes for what is our human labor devoted? Are we working incessantly for money to hoard or to buy a never-ending supply of stuff? Are we working to usher in the kingdom of God? Are we employed by Mammon or by God? Are we putting our confidence in money or in God? Are we justified by what we have accumulated or by how we relate to God? We are no more than stewards. We must recognize God’s sovereignty over possessions.
The Kingdom is illustrated by the provision of manna to the Israelites in the wilderness: “He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” Can you imagine the frantic one, out gathering up the manna as rapidly as possible, in comparison to the relaxed one, strolling nonchalantly through the manna, perhaps smacking as he goes? Can our daily interaction with the world ever become like this? Can we ever stop this frantic rush to pile up resources that are only going to disappear and instead rely on Gods provision day to day?
We defeat Mammon by giving. Giving is the penetration of grace into a world of indebtedness, commerce, impoverishment, coveting, and enslavement. By giving, we show that Mammon means less to us than the cause of God. When we see the panhandler standing beside the road there is no longer a question mark, no longer an outstretched hand about which we wonder whether our gift will be spent wisely or for alcohol, but instead the panhandler becomes an opportunity to profane money, before ourselves, before the panhandler, before everyone else that observes. Do it with a smile and do it generously. Do it as an act of proclaiming grace to all that witness. Do it with even more zeal than you drop your money into the offering plate because the panhandler outside your window is no longer a bother, but suddenly a glorious opportunity for you to display grace as an act of worship to God. In this way, this giving becomes a spiritual act that is no less important than fasting or communion. It is an act that erects a billboard sign of grace and freedom! It is an act that tears from the hostile power of Mammon the very object of its idolatry and turns it into an instrument of truth! It is an act by which we glorify God and proclaim grace to others. It is an act of praise and worship. It is an act that shows God’s grace is worth more than anything else.
Meritocracy as a Trap
Many conservatives read the Old Testament as a stand-alone document. They cite scriptures like Proverbs 22:4 where it says: “the reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life”. But in the Old Covenant, under karma, riches are seemingly a reward for merit. However, our eyes are opened under the New Covenant, where we see that everything comes from God and that the Almighty is himself our wealth, not anything else.
Most are persuaded they have actually earned their money; that money is simply the direct fruit of their labors. But God declares it is a free gift; that nothing could have come of our labor had God not given it. It is the same for salvation. We are convinced that our virtues and merits have made us worthy of being chosen by God; whereas God constantly repeats that there is no cause nor reason for our salvation, it is simply a free decision of his love. When we understand that our wealth is a free gift, we become capable of grasping also that our salvation is also a free gift.
The doctrine of merit, such as the sale of indulgences for money by the Catholic Church, is an open corruption by Mammon, which is totally polarized to the doctrine of grace. Many conservative legalists today continue to fall into this same trap, elevating obedience into a self-driven solution for ascendance, instead of recognizing simple grace. God liberates free of charge. If we fail to recognize this then we truly don’t understand grace.
Who Wins Our Love?
The author goes so far as to suggest that Mammon possesses people just as any demon would, seeking to win our love. And yet, money has no power except for what people bequeath to it. But so great is the power bequeathed to Mammon that it has succeeded in forming huge work forces, armies, corporations, and even governments. The author cites three examples of what he believes to be Mammon possession from the Bible:
• (1) Aaron: As the first to offer sacrifices, Aaron was the one who built the golden calf, substituting the worship of gold for the worship of God.
• (2) Solomon: Solomon was ultimately seduced by money. Samuel had warned the people that the king would take over their wealth, which he did. In his lust for money and things, Solomon imposed great taxes on the people. This ultimately brought about the disunity of Israel.
• (3) Balaam: Balaam was a prophet sought out to curse Israel in exchange for riches. God discourages Balaam to go but Balaam goes anyway, subconsciously directed by the thirst for riches.
The author cites the conflict with Mammon as one of love. Mammon succeeds when it can arouse love in the human heart. The author writes as follows about love:
“Love reaches down into the roots of human beings and does not leave them intact. It leads to identification and assimilation between the lover and the beloved. Jesus Christ teaches us in great detail that our love binds us to the spiritual future of our beloved. This is how we must understand the connection between Christians and Christ, which is a love relationship. Love led Christ to follow us in our entire condition, but inversely, today it joins us to Christ in everything – his life, his death, his resurrection and his glory. Where Christ is, there also is the one who loves Christ. Such is the force, the vigor, of this bond. Love for money is not a dissimilar relationship. By this love, we join ourselves to money’s fate. ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Mt 6:21)” -Jacques Ellul
We cannot hope for modification in the human condition unless we begin believing in God’s love. This is the only possible way to break the chain of oppression.
God’s Question to Us
In society, it’s often as if impoverished and homeless people do not exist and yet, we see them still. When they enter our view, their very existence questions our lives. The poor person necessitates a response in the minds of all but the most hardened because they are so often sick, abandoned, and misunderstood.
The poor are needed to stimulate our consciences and disturb our pride. We have to consider how to respond when the poor cry out to us for help. The poor are God’s question to the world and a spiritual answer is demanded of us. Our answer is either an alliance with Mammon or an alliance with God.
The rich among us do not like this question at all, which is why they do not like the poor at all. They prefer not to see the poor and do everything they can to isolate themselves from the poor, preferring instead to snuggle next to Mammon. In all societies, the rich have detested the poor. By looking down on the poor, the rich crush them, not only economically, but also spiritually, by their contempt.
However, once we understand the poor as God’s question in our lives, then their existence becomes intolerable for us and we move to do everything that we can to relieve their misfortune. How can we ignore the painful faces of beggars, of captives, of starving people, of despised ones, of unwanted children? And ultimately we come to see that authentic relief will only be achieved by our personal involvement and not by just a few dollars.
Great Book!
January 25, 2023
Yet another book by Ellul that takes everything you know, or assume you know, throws it in the blender of Scripture and precise, profound discernment of the age, and slams you with the convictions of gospel truth. In this book Ellul uncovers the power of money, money as a spiritual power and principality, with such clarity that you are shocked you didn’t see it quite like that before. Money is not neutral, and riches are not the blessing that we think they are. Christ is Yahweh’s Poor One, and the poor are his reflection on earth. Neither capitalism nor communism (Ellul was writing this in the 1950’s, during the advent of the great world-changing clashes between these two ideologies) have the biblical answer to the dilemma of money and power.
March 17, 2022
Absolutely a must-read for fans of Ellul or any Christian who wants an honest look at thebmulti-facetted ways in which the Bible reveals the nature of money to humanity.
December 29, 2022
(3.5) Fascinating and challenging analysis of money and wealth in Christian theology. Very anti-systems in a deeply challenging way. Much to think about and reread.
January 8, 2021
Jacques Ellul é dos pensadores mais interessantes do século XX. Nascido na França em 1912 e morto em 1994, um dos inspiradores do decrescionismo (teoria segundo a qual, sendo limitados os recursos naturais, a economia não precisa crescer, mas, ao contrário, diminuir, se quisermos que nosso planeta, e a própria economia, sobrevivam), foi professor de Sociologia Jurídica, Filosofia do Direito e Direito Romano, e escreveu sobre técnica e sobre cristianismo.
A editora Palavra traduziu seu livro O Homem e o Dinheiro. A tradução e a editoração é irregular. Os capítulos 3 e 5 estão cheios de erros de digitação, alguns comprometendo a compreensibilidade do texto. Na página 163, por exemplo, a tradução diz “Jacques nos diz também que...”. Deveria ser Tiago. E na página 156, anunciam uma nova epístola de Paulo (II Coxeei). A revisão desses dois capítulos foi muito mal feita, o que me leva a inferir que, sendo dois tradutores, um se dedicou aos capítulos 1, 2 e 4 e outro aos 3 e 5. Como meu exemplar é de 2008, talvez a editora tenha corrigido posteriormente o texto Apesar disso, o pensamento de Ellul vale à pena ser conhecido. Não é um livro muito fácil, porque a análise é realmente profunda e, eu diria, desconcertante.
Jacques Ellul afirma que há uma tensão aparente entre o Antigo e o Novo Testamento na Bíblia quando se trata de dinheiro. Aparentemente, a riqueza é uma benção no Antigo Testamento (pelo menos no que diz respeito a Abraão, Jó e Salomão) e uma maldição no Novo Testamento. A tese do autor é simples: na verdade, o que é considerado uma benção na Bíblia é a riqueza, enquanto o dinheiro é uma maldição. Note que a riqueza no AT é sempre fruto da benção de Deus, enquanto o dinheiro representa um esforço humano para obter e conservar a riqueza sob a forma de dinheiro, e, em última instância, um esforço humano por não depender de Deus. Com relação ao dinheiro, há o problema da ética de sua aquisição e da ética de seu uso, que nos poderiam enganar sobre a natureza do Dinheiro. Para Ellul, o Dinheiro não é neutro (depende do modo como é adquirido ou usado), mas mau em si mesmo. Não por acaso Jesus o comparou a um Deus, Mamon. A figura é interessante, porque ensina que o Dinheiro (Mamon) não é um objeto, mas um sujeito, uma pessoa (um deus) com quem fazemos um pacto, que nos controla e nos submete, fazendo crer no seu poder de nos garantir um determinado futuro. Por isso, a maneira de profana-lo, de romper seu domínio sobre ele, é fazendo exatamente o que ele pede que não façamos: ao perdermos o amor pelo dinheiro e ao doá-lo, nós subvertemos sua lógica, nos libertamos de seu domínio sobre nós. Essa nova ética do Dinheiro (que o nega em sua essência de mecanismo de acumulação de poder) exige uma pedagogia, pela qual as crianças, ao serem expostas ao seu poder e ao exemplo dos pais, pode se libertar de sua influência. Essa nova ética envolve um novo olhar sobre o pobre. Jesus se fez pobre, colocou-se de um lado da história, não como classe, mas existencialmente. O pobre vive na dependência de Deus. E sua presença no mundo coloca questões ao rico: por que existem pobres? Como consolá-los? Não se trata de doar todos os seus bens aos pobres, como pensava Judas Iscariotes (ainda que este também tenha sido o conselho de Jesus ao jovem rico), mas de modificar sua relação com ele, tornando-se testemunho de um Reino que não se pauta pelo poder de Mamon.
Nota: 3,5 em 5 (mais pelo conteúdo que pela qualidade da publicação)
A editora Palavra traduziu seu livro O Homem e o Dinheiro. A tradução e a editoração é irregular. Os capítulos 3 e 5 estão cheios de erros de digitação, alguns comprometendo a compreensibilidade do texto. Na página 163, por exemplo, a tradução diz “Jacques nos diz também que...”. Deveria ser Tiago. E na página 156, anunciam uma nova epístola de Paulo (II Coxeei). A revisão desses dois capítulos foi muito mal feita, o que me leva a inferir que, sendo dois tradutores, um se dedicou aos capítulos 1, 2 e 4 e outro aos 3 e 5. Como meu exemplar é de 2008, talvez a editora tenha corrigido posteriormente o texto Apesar disso, o pensamento de Ellul vale à pena ser conhecido. Não é um livro muito fácil, porque a análise é realmente profunda e, eu diria, desconcertante.
Jacques Ellul afirma que há uma tensão aparente entre o Antigo e o Novo Testamento na Bíblia quando se trata de dinheiro. Aparentemente, a riqueza é uma benção no Antigo Testamento (pelo menos no que diz respeito a Abraão, Jó e Salomão) e uma maldição no Novo Testamento. A tese do autor é simples: na verdade, o que é considerado uma benção na Bíblia é a riqueza, enquanto o dinheiro é uma maldição. Note que a riqueza no AT é sempre fruto da benção de Deus, enquanto o dinheiro representa um esforço humano para obter e conservar a riqueza sob a forma de dinheiro, e, em última instância, um esforço humano por não depender de Deus. Com relação ao dinheiro, há o problema da ética de sua aquisição e da ética de seu uso, que nos poderiam enganar sobre a natureza do Dinheiro. Para Ellul, o Dinheiro não é neutro (depende do modo como é adquirido ou usado), mas mau em si mesmo. Não por acaso Jesus o comparou a um Deus, Mamon. A figura é interessante, porque ensina que o Dinheiro (Mamon) não é um objeto, mas um sujeito, uma pessoa (um deus) com quem fazemos um pacto, que nos controla e nos submete, fazendo crer no seu poder de nos garantir um determinado futuro. Por isso, a maneira de profana-lo, de romper seu domínio sobre ele, é fazendo exatamente o que ele pede que não façamos: ao perdermos o amor pelo dinheiro e ao doá-lo, nós subvertemos sua lógica, nos libertamos de seu domínio sobre nós. Essa nova ética do Dinheiro (que o nega em sua essência de mecanismo de acumulação de poder) exige uma pedagogia, pela qual as crianças, ao serem expostas ao seu poder e ao exemplo dos pais, pode se libertar de sua influência. Essa nova ética envolve um novo olhar sobre o pobre. Jesus se fez pobre, colocou-se de um lado da história, não como classe, mas existencialmente. O pobre vive na dependência de Deus. E sua presença no mundo coloca questões ao rico: por que existem pobres? Como consolá-los? Não se trata de doar todos os seus bens aos pobres, como pensava Judas Iscariotes (ainda que este também tenha sido o conselho de Jesus ao jovem rico), mas de modificar sua relação com ele, tornando-se testemunho de um Reino que não se pauta pelo poder de Mamon.
Nota: 3,5 em 5 (mais pelo conteúdo que pela qualidade da publicação)
October 24, 2020
Leitura densa, pela escrita do próprio Ellul e pelo tema, que objetivamente nos confronta com as tensões na nossa relação com as riquezas.
January 3, 2021
Anti-capitalist, anti-socialist, anti-savings, anti systemic solutions to poverty, Ellul’s Money and Power offers an uncompromising analysis of money as primarily a quasi-personal, spiritual Power(Mammon) to be fiercely resisted and de-secrated through gift and generosity. The description of money is apocalyptic (see above), the solution is anarchic (gift to defeat the corrupting logic of buying and selling, acquisitiveness and conspicuous competition) and the mood of his analysis is (Christian) existentialist (strong emphasis on individual responsibility, decision and personal encounter with God). The middle sections look at money and wealth in the OT and NT respectively. Readers will find lots of perceptive exegesis here: illuminating parallels and profound insights into the relationship between wealth and blessing, divine judgement, and gift.
January 3, 2021
(4.5) Really is a good read. This was my first exposure to Ellul, and it made me want to read more of his work. It was really standout to me, as someone who grew up around Christian thinking (Dave Ramsey) about money that is very different from what you see in the arguments here. Many times I wanted to ask him how he got to such a bold stance, and sometimes it felt like in the text that question was answered, and sometimes it didn't. Either way, I loved the content as a challenge to my thinking and it was a really fresh perspective for me. It's very dense for such a short book. Many single sentences contained thoughts worth much more reflection. Recommend.
May 27, 2018
Cinque étoiles peut paraître trop pour un texte à la fin anarchiste — mais ce que c’est surprenant dans Ellul c’est que sont côté réformé, rigoreux dans ses critiques, lui pousse beaucoup plus loin que on pourrait attendre de sa néoorthodoxie.
Contre le communisme, contre le capitalisme, contre toutes les idolatries contre & pour l’argent — pour & par la Parole de Dieu.
Contre le communisme, contre le capitalisme, contre toutes les idolatries contre & pour l’argent — pour & par la Parole de Dieu.
September 1, 2022
Wow, this was a challenging read! I don’t even quite know what to make of it. It was provocative and did not mince words one single bit. I don’t know where I stand with everything that he said and I feel he didn’t even answer many of the paths he open. However it has been really convicting me and making me think and rethink everything related to money. And for that it gets five stars.
October 24, 2020
densely packed but clear and concise writing. Ellul covers a survey of Old Testament and New Testament writings on money and is not afraid to hold contrasting ideas against each other. i think i will read this one again someday.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2018
Must read. A great start on understanding more about Money, the Bible definitely doesn't mince words.
February 23, 2020
Cuts to the heart of how money controls our decisions; and how Christians can strip money of its sacredness to preach the gospel of forgiveness and grace.
November 14, 2025
Packs a few punches.
August 13, 2024
Interesting ideas about money as a "power". Marred by the claim (unsupported, marked by such language as "for reasons I have no time to go into here") that scriptures oppose the idea of profit in an employer-employee situation.
Does provide a compelling case that only the poor are conscious of their complete dependence on God.
Does provide a compelling case that only the poor are conscious of their complete dependence on God.
June 5, 2021
One of the most impactful books I’ve read in a while. As an Economics major who has gotten more into theology this past year, this book was way up my alley. My biggest takeaway was that money is a spiritual power that we are ultimately fighting against, and by failing to believe that it is, we are really just submitting to it’s authority. Ellul has a lot of great things to say, some things purely influenced by scripture, and other things controversial. So be prepared to read some things that will irritate and confront beliefs you hold dear. It will get you to think and I’d highly recommend.
April 5, 2009
From the title, I thought this book would be about people with money and power. However, the book could be more appropriately named the power of money. Ellul first explores wealth in the Old Testament. He examines instances when God used wealth as a reward or blessing, emphasizing that the riches were a gift and a material demonstration of God’s power. Ellul then elaborates on how Jesus completely transforms our relationship to money, especially as He becomes the “Poor One”. Why are the poor amongst us? How must we relate to them? Ellul’s final conclusions are challenging—that Christians should not be in the practice of saving or hoarding, and that everything beyond what they need should be given away. This practice allows one to be freed from serving Mammon (the system of selling and buying) and to “enter” the kingdom of God, where grace and giving reign.
September 30, 2013
For those in the reformed tradition a fascinating quote: "The poor are the true representatives of God on earth. This emphasis fades away during the Reformation ... and tends to disappear with the rise if the middle class. But it takes humility to put oneself under the tutelage of the Middle Ages rather than to pride oneself on having such a lovely hermeneutic."
Fantastic insights into how we think/define the poor and why this is the case. It appears our understanding of the "poor" is different--maybe very much so--from the way Jesus defined the poor.
Fantastic insights into how we think/define the poor and why this is the case. It appears our understanding of the "poor" is different--maybe very much so--from the way Jesus defined the poor.
June 10, 2013
Key insights: 1) the poor are not the "poor" (hopeless and powerless) of scripture when they are being politically mobilized/agitated (in those cases, they have resources and are not left hopeless to cry out to God) 2) when the "poor" cry out having reached bottom and lost all hope, their inchoate cries are, by their nature, to God 3) discussion of money as not neutral, but a power (Mammon).
January 1, 2014
Probably the easiest Ellul book I ever read, since I actually completed it. Actually I couldn't put it down. A great book that is very provocative and still relevant over a half century from when it was written. A good starting point for studying the subject of wealth & mammon.
June 22, 2015
"The mark of the world of money (where everything is bought, where selling with all its consequences is the normal way to act) is the exact opposite of the mark of God's world where everything is free, where giving is the normal way to act."
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