Greed

Walter Brueggemann 2-01-2009

Biblical faith invites us out of self-destruction toward God's generosity and abundance.

Don Golden 12-17-2008
I wrote a book recently with a friend of mine that stirred some conversation. In it we try to retell the story of the Bible in the context of the American empire.
Shane Claiborne 12-02-2008

As per usual, on Friday, we had all sorts of Buy Nothing Day festivities (check out the video here). But that's not what I want to talk about.

Rachel Anderson 11-25-2008

When you are giving thanks this week, why not give thanks for money? Sound crass? It shouldn't be, because that's what could empower a household economy based on gratitude rather than one driven by greed or guilt.

Efrem Smith 11-20-2008

In this clip, taken from a Nov. 2 sermon, Pastor Efrem talks about the implications of the commandment not to covet, and a biblical approach to wealth and ownership.

Jim Wallis 11-01-2008

A telling word emerged in commentary about the collapse of the financial markets this fall—greed. It’s an old concept, and one with deep moral roots. Even venerable establishment economists such as Robert Samuelson said, “Greed and fear, which routinely govern financial markets, have seeded this global crisis. ... short-term rewards blinded them to the long-term dangers.”

The people on top of the American economy get rich whether they make good or bad business decisions, but their bad choices always make workers and consumers suffer. Prudent investment has been replaced with reckless financial gambling, creating what some have called a “casino economy,” where Wall Street high rollers absorb the winnings while leaving catastrophic risks to be borne—as now—by everyone in the economy. And the inordinate level of benefits accruing to top CEOs and financial managers—especially as the wages of average workers continue to decline—has become one of the greatest moral travesties of our time.

In the search for blame, some say greed and some say deregulation. Both are right. The financial collapse of Wall Street is the fiscal consequence of the economic philosophy that now governs America—that markets are always good and government is always bad. But it is also the moral consequence of greed, where private profit prevails over the concept of the common good. The American economy is often rooted in unbridled materialism, a culture that continues to extol greed, a false standard of values that puts short-term profits over societal health, and a distorted calculus that measures human worth by personal income instead of character, integrity, and generosity.

Mary Nelson 10-07-2008

Wall Street is now in shambles, worldwide confidence is eroded, the stock market is in free-fall, and many people are losing homes and jobs. Many had put all their confidence in the freedom-from-regulation marketplace and its self-correcting actions.

Diana Butler Bass 9-30-2008

When I was a girl, my mother told me one should never discuss four things in polite company: religion, politics, sex, and money.

Jim Wallis 9-29-2008

Jim Wallis was on PBS's Religion & Ethics Newsweekly yesterday to discuss the Wall Street bailout and the moral implications for the nation and the election. Watch it here.

Chuck Collins 9-24-2008

The Bush administration believes this should be a "time of Jubilee" for Wall Street speculators, a time of debt forgiveness. But the current proposal would only place additional debt shackles on the next generation.

Mary Nelson 9-23-2008

The Wall Street debacle reminds me of the fall of Babylon