In the "Ask Prof. Wolff" video posted above, Marxist economist Richard Wolff responds to the question, "What is the relationship between Christianity and capitalism?"
Prof. Wolff answers perceptively (as does liberation theology) that Christianity started out from its Jewish roots as a slave religion. In fact, the Judeo-Christian tradition is unique in the corpus of great western literature for recording the experience, faith, and hopes of oppressed people.
However, even within the tradition itself, it's easy to detect a struggle between Israel's royal classes (epitomized e.g., in King David) and their poor subjects (defended by the prophets). More often than not, the royals wanted to wrest away from the poor their experience of God as on the side of the oppressed.
Professor Wolff points out that that sort of "battle of gods" continued far beyond biblical times.
And so, the tradition's God of the oppressed was co-opted by ruling classes under imperial Rome, and under systems of slavery, feudalism, and now capitalism. In this way, the ruling classes turned a liberator of slaves into the oppressor of the poor.
The Christianity that 60% of Republicans favor celebrates such a God. "He" (sic) is concerned abortion, LGBTQ+, and trans issues - none of which are even mentioned in the Bible. He even supports American nationalism, a "prosperity" understanding of salvation, and an accompanying disregard and even hatred of any Lazarus people dying every four seconds at our very doorstep.
Today's readings expose the wrongheadedness of all that. And In the process, they suggest the power of Yeshua's own understanding of God. The readings address and propose wealth-sharing remedies for the planetary hunger and wealth disparities that plague a world divided between a starving St. Lazarus at our gates and the super-satiated Dives that we Christians have become.
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