Review of Business for the Glory of God
Author Wayne Grudem wrote the book “Business for the Glory of God”, which relies strongly on biblical teachings. The book discusses issues like possession, productivity, employment, industrial transactions, profit, money, difference of possessions, competition, borrowing and disposal, attitudes of heart, and impact on world financial condition from a biblical stand, every area unit “fundamentally smart and provides several opportunities for glorifying God however additionally several temptations to sin.” (Grudem, 2003, p. 19) Grudem claims that business will glorify God. He states “I am about to argue that several aspects of endeavor area unit virtuously smart in themselves, which in themselves they convey glory to God—though they even have nice potential for misuse and wrongdoing.” (Grudem, 2003, p. 12) He systematically defends the utilization of personal property, profit, and competition for the ethical smart as hostile the ethical neutral or evil. In every chapter he shows not solely however business will be accustomed glorify God, however it might even be victimized and become sinful.
Grudem addresses the possession of property. A method we have a tendency to honor God is by imitating His supreme possession and rule, or sovereignty. God gave people a want to possess material objects, and this enables American to imitate his sovereignty. We have a tendency to not own things fully, however solely pay attention of what belongs to God. As an accountable steward, we have a tendency to pay attention of our material possessions, whether or not it is as vital as a pencil or as vital as an oversized corporation.
Productivity is basically smart, and also the production of necessary material thi...
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...d make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Jesus calls on his disciples to travel out into the globe and build disciples of all nations.
Money is not sinful. Possessions are not sinful. The difference of possessions between classes is not sinful unless you have to means to help and do not fulfill the obligation to your fellow man. “But whoever has this world's merchandise, and sees his brother in would like, and shuts up his heart from him, however will the love of God abide in him.” (1 John 3:17)
Works Cited
Grudem, W. (2003). Business for the glory of God: The Bible’s Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business. Wheaton: IL: Crossway. ISBN: 978-1581345179.
John Stapleford’s book, Bulls, Bears, and Golden Calves, provides a thorough overview with a Christian perspective of economic and ethical analysis. He reviews the moral challenges of macro, micro, and international economic issues. Stapleford covers a variety of important public policy issues such as self-interest, economic efficiency, and private property rights. He begins the book by laying a foundation of ethical thought and an analytical framework. Stapleford provides a Biblical perspective on the practical issues facing our current society. For example, there are three billion people in the world who live on less than $2 a day (Stapleford, 2009). The wealthy Americans continue to get richer. The greed and lawlessness of America’s corporate boardrooms is increasing. Legalized gambling continues to increase every year. The expansion of pornography and its accessibility to America’s younger generations has become a rapidly growing epidemic (Stapleford, 2009). This text is grounded solidly in biblical principles. A number of the problems he discusses are not specifically addressed in the Bible, but one of the author's strengths is to develop a Christian rationale for contemporary issues, based on biblical principles. An example of this skill is found in his forceful chapter on "False Hope . . . The Boom in Legalized Gambling" (Stapleford, 2009).
McFague, Sallie. "New House Rules: Christianity, Economics, and Planetary Living."Subverting Greed: Religious Perspectives on the Global Economy. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2002. 125-40. Print.
This review will analyze the author Wayne Grudem’s book “Business for the Glory of God”. The review will summarize the author’s exact position on the ideas that ping points primarily throughout the entire book. After summarizing the main points of the book the review will identify with a strong and weak point portrayed by the author within his book. The review will identify the strong point as the author’s viewpoints on borrowing, giving and lending in chapter nine. The low point of the review will address will be on chapter eleven concerning the effect business can have on the broad world poverty. The review will then conclude with thoughts pertaining to the book as a whole and whether or not the goal of the author has reached the readers.
Jennings, Marianne M. Business: Its Legal, Ethical, and Global Environment. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.
In Proverbs 14:31, it says, “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” If we love God, we will be good to the poor. If we do no, we are not only reproaching the poor, but we also reproaching God. In Matthew 7:15, it says “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” It is bad to have the appearance of sanctity and innocence, when the heart is, in fact, evil. According to Aristotle, the highest good is a final end: it is desired for its own sake and not for the sake of anything else. It is also self-sufficient: it is enough in isolation; nothing more is needed. This could not be gold because wealth is not desired for its own sake, but as a means to other ends. Neo-Platonists say “The One” is the self-caused source of all being (God) and to be in the pursue for material things is to be directed away from “The One” and this is thus bad because you are furthering yourself away from God. That is not Christian like to further yourself away from your one and only
Bradley, Anne. 2013. Biblical Foundations of Economic Principles: Four Essential Elements of Economic Progress. The Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics. http://blog.tifwe.org/four-essential-elements-of-economic-progress/ accessed April 3, 2014.
As I read through the book I found myself agreeing with a lot of what the author had to say in his analysis. While I agreed with most of what the author had to say I am only going to discuss a couple of them here. The first aspect that the author spoke on that I am going to discuss is Ownership. While some people might think that owning nice or many things is wrong, it all depends on what you do with the things you own and how you u...
Describe what the authors identify as the basic elements of a biblical approach to economics.
Alexander Hill, Just Business Christian Ethics for the Marketplace. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2008. Paperback. $14.95Jessica Burt
Businesses should strive to come up with economic activities that satisfy the needs of all human beings. Most followers of the Catholic Church believe economic activities should not merely be...
... specifically on how the one who has many possessions must give to the poor and not put so much emphasis on themselves (Luke 12:33 and Philippians 2:1-4). It also supports the allegation that some churches are, in fact, after prosperity and not concerned with the spreading of gospel. This also raises the following question: If acquiring wealth and building a church with the intent on making oneself more comfortable is not ethical in Christian beliefs, why does God allow it? This question cannot be answered because of the circumstances and religious bias, but nonetheless makes one draw his or her own conclusion. Sanneh, throughout the whole piece, does not give any strong indication of which side she is on. So, this is an unbiased source because she allows her audience to consider the issues instead of making them sit through a lecture with the intent of persuasion.
The authors examine scripture from various places in the bible to make their case that the bible is full of economic advice. Additionally, the authors state (2010), “for centuries, cultures have looked to the Bible as a rich resource that has helped people think about the way morality and economics come together.” (Hill & Rae, 2010, p. 23) The author’s most basic understanding is that morality and economics are intertwined, and in order to fully understand economics one must understand the bibles economic standards. The authors laid out seven biblical teachings on issues such as economics, wealth creation, poverty, injustice, and assets throughout the book.
Jesus never proclaims that possessions or money is inherently evil, but he does warn against the danger of greed. Jesus does not attack money and possessions, but speaks against becoming enslaved to things of this world. Kraybill proclaims, “We too easily bow down and worship at the altar of materialism.”(Kraybill 2011). Kraybill explains that Jesus’ intentions were to have us apply the same structure and economic principles of the Jubilee to our entire life. The Jubilee system requires that the rich distribute what they have evenly, just as God distributes his love to us all without judgment. Jesus encourages us to practice this on a daily basis. Jesus builds his teachings around serving and loving others first. The pleasures of the world should never be the main focus of our life. Jesus teaches that only when we live our lives in this way can we truly see the Kingdom of God. If we allow money and possessions to be the ruler of our lives they will choke our spiritual growth and we will never be able to live out the true purposes of our lives. Jesus also teaches that we should not get caught up worrying about money or possessions. Faith that God will provide everything we need is all we need in the Kingdom of
Class notes. Man’s Desperate Need of Righteousness and God’s Glorious Provision of Righteousness. Faith Christian University. Orlando, Florida. August 2011.
First, the author was clear to elaborate that we as humans, especially as Christians, are not ever in the presence of true freedom. By this he was stating that the accountant was held responsible first to his or her biblical principles, however also to the generally acceptable accounting principles. This sense of responsibility to others was described in the article as, “accountability as a stimulus for self-control.” I found this description as especially thought provoking as it rings true to all people. Accountability as a stimulus for self-control was explained to mean that simply because one has the ability to do something does not mean that it is permissible for that person to peruse that specific objective. For example, a company may be able to change accounting formats to show a net gains instead of loss, but the ability to do so and the ethicality of that decision may not necessarily be aligned. Furthermore, this ideal of stewardship being a stimulus for self-control, is tightly related to the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:23). The author continues by stating that Hebrews 12:5-11 outlines that Growth in godliness does not come without being closely coupled with self-discipline. It goes on to state that this growth in godliness is the only way that we will ever acquire true san...