Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Confusing capitalism with consumerism
Confusing capitalism with consumerism
Dec 12, 2025 9:36 PM

Rebecca Hagelin of the Heritage Foundation picks up on my thoughts on consumerism and capitalism and expands on them helpfully in a column.

We should all take her observations about stewardship to heart. I have been a student and a leader of Crown Financial Ministries curriculum, and during my time at Calvin Seminary was even part of a study group to suggest revisions of the curriculum to better reflect Reformed theological sensitivities. I’ve also recently gone through one of Dave Ramsey’s books.

If you’re struggling with debt and controlling your spending, invest your time in one of these or another practical and biblically-grounded guides to responsible financial stewardship.

And speaking of stewardship, participants in this year’s Acton University get the privilege of hearing Dr. Scott Preissler, who is Eklund Professor and Chair of Stewardship at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He’s giving a talk on “Stewardship and Charitable Giving.” Acton’s own Stephen Grabill is giving a lecture titled “A Theology of Stewardship.” And as his ActonU bio states, you should keep your eyes peeled ing months for the ing Stewardship Resource Bible: ESV, of which Dr. Grabill is the general editor.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Free ebook: ‘On Christians and Prosperity’
Acton’s latest monograph, On Christians and Prosperity by Rev. James V. Schall will be free as an eBook until midnight on Thursday. To download your free copy, visit . In this work, Schalldiscusses poverty and economic prosperity, including the Christian calling to contribute to human flourishing and care for the poor. To get a glimpse of what this monograph is all about, you can read the Acton Commentaries, “How do we help the poor?” and “The moral dimension of work”...
Why Kim Davis Was Right Not to Resign
Should Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who is jail for refusing to issue marriage license, have resigned? Over the past week many people,including many Christianssympathetic to her cause, have said Davis should resigned from her elected position as Rowan County Clerk if her conscience won’t allow her to do the job as required. While I understand the reasoning, and am even partially sympathetic to that view, I think it misses the reason Davis acted as she did and how...
Cultural Task #1: Crucify Our Incipient Darwinism
One of the long-running mistakes of the church has been its various confinements of cultural engagement to particular spheres (e.g. churchplace ministry) or selective “uses” (e.g. evangelistic conversion). But even if we manage to broaden the scope of our stewardship — recognizing that God has called us to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty across all spheres of creation — our imaginations will still require a strong injection of the transformative power of Jesus. When we seek God first and neighbor...
Should We Keep God’s First Commandment by Eating More Bugs?
The very mand God gave to humanity was to “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). Overall, I’d say we’re doing a pretty good job on that “increase the number” since we currently have over 7.3 billion people on the planet. Where we fall short of keeping mand is in the “subdue it” part. As the ESV Study Bible explains, Here the idea is that the man and woman are to make the...
How Misunderstanding the Role of the Supreme Court Erodes Liberty
How did the framers of the Constitution seek to preserve liberty and protect against tyranny? Many Americans would say that to protect the individual and minorities against the tyranny of the majority, the Founding Fathers added the Bill of Rights and gave the power to enforce those rights to the Supreme Court. But as Robert George, professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University, explains, that answer is wrong—dangerously wrong—and has led to an overall reduction in freedom. ...
Explainer: The Kentucky Clerk Marriage License Controversy
What is the story about? When the Supreme Court handed down the <Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, it made same-sex marriage legal throughout the U.S. and required every state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Kim Davis, the county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, said she could not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of her religious objections. To avoid claims that she was discriminating, Davis stopped issuing all marriage licenses — to both same-sex and opposite sex couples....
Laudato: ¿Si or no?
Since the publication of the encyclical Laudato Si by Francis, a long-unheard rumble has been growing across the world public opinion. He is an expert in making himself heard, so we might as well rest it as it is, because Francis would be pleased. Our readers, however, are used to our fixing troubles, so we will once again meet the subjective claim of the market. The Laudato Si embraces three aspects: a theological aspect, an economic aspect, and a scientific...
Rev. Sirico: Pope’s Trip To U.S. As Pastor, Not Policy Wonk
Just weeks before Pope Francis sets foot on U.S. soil, he’s all ready a sell-out in many places he’ll be visiting. And the media is trying to get a handle on just what the pontiff will be talking about while he’s here. In The Detroit News today, Melissa Nann Burke talks to some Washington insiders, regarding the pope’s time there. Guests of Michigan’s 16-member delegation for the Sept. 24 address include Paul Long, head of the Michigan Catholic Conference; Martin...
How the “New Disney” is Shaping Our Moral Imagination
“We live in separate moral universes, and we seem to encounter each other only on the battlefield,” says Greg Forster. “Our imaginative worlds are also separate; everyone watches different movies and shows, reads different blogs, listens to different music.” But one exception, Forster notes, is what he calls the “New Disney”: Pixar (which Disney bought in 2006) and the Walt Disney Animation Studios (2006-present). While they may seem like entertainment for children, the movies being released by the New Disney...
Unemployment as Economic-Spiritual Indicator — August 2015 Report
Series Note: Jobs are one of the most important aspects of a morally functioning economy. They help us serve the needs of our neighbors and lead to human flourishing both for the individual and munities. Conversely, not having a job can adversely affect spiritual and psychological well-being of individuals and families. Because unemployment is a spiritual problem, Christians in America need to understand and be aware of the monthly data on employment. Each month highlight the latest numbers we need...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved