All posts by Wintery Knight

https://winteryknight.com/
Commentary

Tim H. reviews new book on Christianity and capitalism at Rational Thoughts

7 Comments

The book review is here on Rational Thoughts.

Excerpt:

Capitalism’s reputation has taken a beating in light of the recent financial crisis.  According to politicians and pundits from both sides of the spectrum, capitalism is to blame.  Not so, say Austin Hill and Scott Rae, who argue in their new book The Virtues of Capitalism that capitalism is our best bet.  In fact, according to Hill and Rae, capitalism “remains the preferred economic system, even the necessary economic system, for any society that upholds a true sense of human rights.”

Hill and Rae approach economics from a distinctly Christian perspective, showing capitalism to be both consistent with and supported by the Bible’s teachings.  Contrary to some, the sharing of goods as described in Acts does not advocate socialism.   The sharing of goods was voluntary, as opposed to forced.  Moreover, the authors show that economics itself is deeply intertwined with moral issues.  Economic conditions can act as a powerful motivator either to encourage or discourage virtuous conduct. “[B]e honest and ask yourself: Is it ever more difficult to be the kind of spouse or parent that one aspires to be, when the economy is slow and personal finances are scares? … [W]hen finances are plentiful, can the enjoyment of material goods enable a person to avoid or neglect other important areas of their relationships?  And a final question… can economics impact one’s relationship with their God.”

[…]Overall, it’s a great and easy to understand book.

Tim likes the book “Money, Greed and God” by Jay Richards better, but that’s a tougher book to read – not for beginners. I’m shocked because I didn’t figure out my worldview regarding economics until my late 20s. Tim is a high school junior. Yipes! He must have good parents.

I recommend this new capitalism and Christianity book for courting Christian women, who are usually fiscally liberal until they get married and start families. It’s only 160 pages and it should be enough to convince any horrible socialist to give capitalism a chance. I also switched to “On Guard” for courting instead of the more difficult “Reasonable Faith”, at least for a first book. No sense scaring her off with something hard right at the start.

News

Indian-American Nikki Haley wins South Carolina governor primary

2 Comments
Nikki Haley and her husband Michael Haley

Story here from the Wall Street Journal.

Excerpt:

South Carolina State Rep. Nikki Haley, a favorite of tea party activists, survived a turbulent primary campaign Tuesday to advance in her bid to become her state’s first woman governor, on a night that results nationally reaffirmed this year’s anti-establishment tide.

In early returns, Ms. Haley held a double-digit lead in a four-person race for the GOP nomination. She will head into a runoff with the second-place finisher, Rep. Gresham Barrett, the Associated Press reported.

Ms. Haley had trailed badly early in the campaign, but won support from the tea party movement and an endorsement from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Her competitors included top officials in the GOP establishment, including the state’s attorney general and lieutenant governor.

[…]In South Carolina, Ms. Haley surged in recent weeks from long-shot to leader. After that, the race became rocky, as two GOP political operatives said they’d had affairs with Ms. Haley.

The attacks only seemed to strengthen the prospects of Ms. Haley, 38, who was born a Sikh but converted to Christianity. If she wins the governorship, she could quickly become a star in a Republican Party eager to reach out to minorities, women and young people.

Nikki is the daughter of first-generation Sikh immigrants from the Punjab, in India. She’s only 38! The only other Indian-American governor is Bobby Jindal, who I really like! Now I might have TWO Indian-Americans to blog about! If she wins! By the way, she is a Protestant, which is really rarity for India. Most Christians in India are Roman Catholic. Jindal is a Roman Catholic, and a solid one.

Oh, and a couple of businesswomen won the Republican nominations for governor (Meg Whitman) and senator (Carly Fiorina) in California. Ho hum. That’s commonplace in the world of conservatism. The Republican party is the party of conservative women who succeed on their own steam, without needing the government’s help. After all, we’re the party of Michele Bachmann, Marsha Blackburn and Sarah Palin. We like SMALL government, because we like STRONG families, and fathers who bring home the bacon.

News

If a Protestant Christian commits suicide, does he still go to Heaven?

25 Comments
ECM is puzzling about things

ECM is actually an extremely intelligent, cultured fellow who reads far more deeply than I do on a wide variety of topics, including philosophy, history and science. He likes to puzzle about difficult questions, and you never know what he will ask from one day to the next.

Today he wanted to know what I thought about Protestants and suicide. In Roman Catholicism, suicide is a mortal sin, so you go straight to Hell since you can’t confess it and do penance for it. [UPDATE: My Catholic commenters say that you might still go to Heaven after some time in Purgatory. However, Protestants don’t believe in Purgatory]. But I didn’t think that that would be the case in Protestantism because we emphasize grace and the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement to cover all sins. But he started to tie me up in knots with his questions, so I just told him to go away.

I still don’t know what the answer is.

Here are the questions:

  • 1) Is suicide a sin in Protestant Christianity?
  • 2) What happens to a Protestant if he commits suicide?
  • 3) How can a Protestant repent of the sin of suicide?
  • 4) Does suicide count as murdering yourself for Protestants?

Please explain to me the right answers in the comments. I really have no idea.

You can also suggest more questions, and I will add them to the list.