Category: Spirituality of Capitalism
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The Practice of Tithing vs Financial Insecurity
Lent has begun! What a glorious time to take stock of our spiritual health and reassess our relationship with God and neighbor. Lent is a penitential season in the Catholic Church and other denominations. A quick lesson, penance is not meant to be a punishment though it usually follows after some sort of crime or…
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If I Could Baptize Capitalism Then I Would Change Three Things
Capitalism is known for being a selfish greed driven economic system. What would it look like if people ran their businesses with altruistic integrity? If capitalists sought solutions that were win-win by intuitive instinct. What about if the businesses would welcome competition and abhor the idea of being a monopoly? If the businesses cared for…
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Usury: THE Financial Sin
The casual mention of usury usually leaves people puzzled. The word itself has grown out of fashion and a cursory understanding makes it seem like usury is everywhere. For Myself, I did not know what it was until I wrote a paper about it in my grad class and have been obsessed with it since.…
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What is the worth of one hour of a human’s life?
The minimum wage is a controversial topic. One side says raising wages will harm businesses. The other side says an economy can’t function without a livable wage for all people. The issue is ultimately an economic issue. Good old fashion supply and demand. However, it is also a metaphysical issue, because it deals with the…
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Religion is Wasteful… that’s Wonderful!
EFFICIENCY! It is oh so American to be efficient. Tasks must be done in a timely and efficient manner. If the task cannot be done efficiently then it must be cut out or outsourced. There are many products and services that uses convenience and efficiency as their main selling point. The Average Catholic rebukes this…
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Let’s Talk About the Capitalism in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
A tale of selfless service, lost purpose, and gratitude. “It’s a Wonderful Life” is a timeless classic that beautifully depicts the importance of being grateful for the life that we live. For our purposes, the movie provides a great dichotomy of “good” capitalism and “bad” capitalism. There is a battle over the lives of Bedford…
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Do you get Bonus Points in Heaven for the Final Amount in your Bank Account?
What is the economically efficient way to hold on to wealth? This is not a moral “got you” about right and wrong. It is an honest question of how much money should we have when we die? Prudential judgement is the correct answer. There shouldn’t be a hard and steadfast rule. If we, Average Catholics,…
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Money is the Root of All Evil … that’s Inconvenient.
Unfortunately, there is a bible passage that cannot be ignored. That is “Money is the root of all evil.” It is a common phrase when talking about money and spirituality. The result is an understanding that material possessions are more often than not a barrier to holiness. If the only virtuous and holy thing to…
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Seeing Profit as Gratitude
The life blood of capitalism is to make a profit. The familiar equation of revenue minus cost equals profit is burned into every entrepreneur. How can we minimize costs and maximize revenue? Profit is the driving force between most if not all capitalistic activity. The big question is how much money can we make off…
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What is Good Capitalism?
This is the first of many to come articles that spins capitalistic economics into a spiritual interpretation. The Catholic Church has abstain from endorsing a singular economic institution as being the best. I don’t believe the Catholic Church should endorse a singular economic system. Via Negativa is the Catholic Church’s preferred method of arriving at…
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