Financial crisis is a Christian issue
When I was overseas a few weeks ago, I was startled by magazine headlines asking, "Is this the end of capitalism?" The focus was the global economic meltdown. While Canada has experienced a downturn, the U.S., Asia and Europe have seen catastrophic drops in their stock markets along with the collapse of major banks.
The same questions were asked in 1929 at the start of what we now know as the Great Depression. But that crisis, deep as it was, did not result in the end of the capitalist system.
Ripple effect
It is too soon to say what the long term, or even the short term consequences will be of the current economic meltdown. It could certainly lead to major economic restructuring. When financial institutions that are more than 100 years old close their doors it has a huge ripple effect.
The Archbishop of Canterbury and other Christian leaders in Britain have spoken out on this issue. At the end of September, the archbishop suggested that financial markets have become a kind of idolatry and urged fresh scrutiny and regulation.
John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, was more scathing, calling City Traders "bank robbers and asset strippers."
The Evangelical Alliance of the United Kingdom quickly endorsed these statements. Executive director David Muir said, "We live to consume and now our greed is consuming us." He called for greater regulation of financial markets.
Muir also denounced proposed British government bailouts of the banks. "Rather than supporting the institutionalisation of greed with vast public expenditure, why can't we resist the urge for always wanting more and live within our means?"
The British bailout went forward. The American bailout followed soon after, but without so much as an expression of concern or a comment from Christian leaders.
Christian leaders like Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, had both presidential candidates to his church for public interviews. The issue of financial crisis was not raised even though it had been going on for more than a year.
Canadian religious leaders have been equally silent on the economic crisis. Even the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, which usually comments on economic issues, hasn't raised its voice on this issue.
As Christians, we often take our economic system for granted. It is not something we see through a theological lens. In the past few years Christians have been mobilized on local and global poverty. But this does not usually include deeper structural issues.
At its root, the financial crises started with the collapse of the American sub-prime mortgage business. These sub-prime mortgages were a get-rich-quick scheme. People who normally would not qualify for mortgages were sold mortgages at rates lower than prime. But the rate was to increase year by year. So while people could afford them initially, they soon found the payments out of their reach.
When large numbers of people started defaulting on their mortgages, financial institutions had bad debts. With many defaults, too many houses were on the market.
We now know these mortgages were repackaged and sold to other investors around the world, including investors and pension funds in Canada. When the U.S. financial system sneezed, the world caught a cold.
Economic stabilization
It seemed like the U.S. government had no choice but to bail out financial institutions in order to stabilize the economic system. But it has the appearance of rewarding greed, of bailing out millionaires.
I agree with British Christian leaders that this is a Christian issue. There is no question that the problems started with nothing less than greed. And it has wrought great injustice on those who were already living on the edge, financially speaking.
As governments around the world look at solutions for economic crisis, it is the role of the Church to ensure that justice and fairness are not lost, and that the poor and vulnerable are protected.
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