Rocks and Hard Places

This is a reprint found among papers in a paper cutting cleanup. It was originally printed as the minister's message in "The Fairmount Chronicle" of Fairmount-St. Gilles United Church in Outremont, Quebec in the September 1985 Issue. The relevance for today I leave to your discretion.

“And anything that is not based on faith is sin.” Romans 14:23b

by Rev. Bob Williams B.A., M.Div. (–former minister of Fairmount - St. Giles United Church which long passed ceased to be. It has only slightly been modified)

While relieved this summer of my usual preoccupation of being, pastor, husband and friend, I have been struggling with the dilemma that exists between economic systems, theories and policies and Christian ethical values. Too often the solutions to economic problems that people of faith advance are unworkable because the success of such remedies depends solely on the assumed generosity of groups and individuals which are not there. The request is made of many to give up their wealth and accept lower standards of living. All of this is in the name of doing what is “right” according to one set of ideals or another.

I sympathize with non-Christians who view such idealistic notions of wealth sharing as the naive and arbitrary ravings of do-gooders who have themselves neither the power to change the status quo nor a workable method of moving from the existing unacceptable distribution of the world's wealth and income to one more in keeping with Christian beliefs.

Because we lack a Christian approach to economics we have been forced by necessity to accept economic theories, systems and policies that reflect the stark realities of life; necessity and pragmatism. This has resulted in a modern day schism.

Within the Church there has developed the same opposing camps as in the world; capitalist sympathizers and communist sympathizers.

Since economic problems dominate the concern of everyday life and since there does not exist a Christian form of economic ordering, we have been forced to adopt the economics of others.

Without a voice of our own, we Christians let others speak for us.

The communists sway us in areas of the world where they have become the allies of the poor, nwretched and persecuted. These groups have been given a preferential position in our concerns. But we become allied with those who fight killers by killing them.

I struggle with this rationalization of the “Good News” and reject it as neither compatible with the spirit or the letter of Christ's teachings.

Yet I know that this is not a solution. I find myself and this middle class church of ours is inescapably caught between the “rock” of the one option; communist revolution and the “hard place” of the other alternative; capitalist exploitation.

Neither is acceptable. Both these positions have strong followers within the Church. We are at one and the same time pressured into justifying armed insurrection on the one hand and the repressive regimes that are being revolted against on the other hand. I can not see how we can possibly give our support to both of these positions. Our “rule of thumb” has been to be biased in favour of the weak. I suspect that, occasionally, we are unable to determine which position we support.

Invariably, we are seen to be collaborators with both oppressors and oppressed. This may even represent the ultimate truth; we are for all. Yet this too is no solution.

I believe that in order to fulfill our mandate to be the salt of the earth, we must find solutions to the world's economic woes. Let us pray that we have not yet lost our saltiness.   

Post Script: After many years of searching I ardently believe that Structural Economics offers a vehicle by which a peaceful approach to economics with a buit-in way for fairness is available. rpw+ 2019