When the Church Goes to Market How Christians Have Influenced Economic Life
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CHRISTIAN Issue 137 HISTORY When the church goes to market How Christians have influenced economic life Second in our Faith and Flourishing series She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. Proverbs 31:18, NIV $5.00 US $7.00 CAN 137 ChristianHistoryMagazine.org TRINITY AND USURY Besides coming up with the Nicene Creed, the First Council of Nicaea (left) forbade interest on loans (see p. 8); 1,600 years later a French chil- dren’s book still attached distrust to interest and identified it with Jews (below). She helped Jerome in his work of transla- tion and bought rare books and manu- scripts essential to his task. Jerome wrote of her, “What bedridden man was not supported with money from her purse?” TO MARKET WITH A MONK Modern churches with coffee shops and gift shops inside have a long history. Markets were set up inside Did you know? some medieval churches and outside monasteries! And if you’ve ever read the Brother Cadfael myster- THE CHURCH AND ECONOMICS FROM THE PARABLES ies, you’ll have seen ample evidence of Shrewsbury TO BROTHER CADFAEL TO MISSIONARY PRESSES Abbey’s involvement in local financial affairs— giving and receiving property, earning income SURPRISE! from fairs, executing contracts, and collecting What subject did Jesus talk about most? fees from artisans. Although Cadfael is fic- Would you be surprised to learn that it tional, Shrewsbury was real and its role in was money? Some years ago Preaching the medieval economy is largely accurate. Today surveyed the parables and reported that 16 (more than half of all parables) ALL THE MISSION NEWS FIT TO PRINT EDIA M deal with money and possessions, and Protestant missions transformed the ] WIKI 288 verses in the Gospels are con- printing industry in East Asia. Missionar- 4.0 A cerned with money. The entire Bible ies reintroduced movable font type, which -S BY S contains about 2,000 verses dealing East Asian printers had abandoned; they also E G A with money. printed the first newspapers and created fonts and IM EDIA M techniques that dominated nineteenth-century AN M E SAUBER / [CC ] WIKI G THE POWER OF PURSE STRINGS East Asian printing. Many independent publishing G DE AN RID G Many aristocratic women in the early houses in the late nineteenth and early twentieth B 3.0 A EDIA church who had inherited money centuries used equipment originally imported for -S M —Wolf BY used it to express their faith. Olym- mission presses. UVALLON / 1563 D , / [CC G S pias (368–408), a deaconess in the AIN] WIKI M church at Constantinople, used her HAN HOTO © DO G P C KLENBUR inheritance to buy the freedom )— C G UBLI P of hundreds of slaves, to give ANN JUN / [ M S RAVIN TLE, ME G ER to the poor, to relieve suffer- S H — PALOI (EN S ing, and to build a monastery. I H 1808 1920 Paula (347–404), an aristocratic ERIN CA W H C Roman widow, also built mon- PANY, , Myra— . S M asteries, churches, and hospi- S GORDINNE S HOLA C I tals. She followed Jerome to Beth- NDIA CO I N T S lehem, where, with her money, they DITION A E founded three nunneries and a monas- E ÜNZE, tery that served as sanctuaries for the needy. H OF SAINT M C LPHABET, H A S H S JESUS CLEANSING THE TEMPLE AEA; CHUR NOT IN MY HOUSE Jesus clears the temple of C I money-changers on a 1563 pulpit (right); cen- N EITE DER X-CA HRÖTER, S C turies later Christians had an ambiguous rela- IL OF urier – Childi C US tionship with the East India Company (see pp. ON S M – SI WAPPEN COUN 19–22; one of its coins is above). U Christian History SHAKER TOOL BENCH, SHAKER VILLAGE, PLEASANT HILL, KY—Steven C. PRICE / [CC BY-SA 4.0] WIKIMEDIA SLAVES PICKING COTTON. BRISCOE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HISTORY / UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN ST. JAMES OF NISIBI IN ARMENIAN HYMNAL, 18TH C. W. 547, FOL. 216v. — [CC0 1.0] WALTERS ART MUSEUM Issue 137 Issue explosion (seep.17). with philanthropyforfrightening anunjustjudgewith mean givingmoney.JacobofNisibis ( BOOM! — from them?”— away it ourto brothers, shall hoard our we wealth, and keep ABOMINABLE INS — listen not anything do him.” to (or money your else),’ andmoney economics. Here are afew worth repeating: collected famous1988, Christianthinkers’ quotes on Our first P through themarket(seepp.40–42) fought slavery,notinthecourtsoronbattlefield,but ruin.”— since us, for createdhe them our ourfor for not good, whichto himself the Author created and destined them is wrongly not directed is referred it when that to end if refrains he from them as though they evil?” were unthankful even yes, God, is aperson not silly, God, to boththe for needs our of neighbor and thefor glory of if theyBut are good creatures which God, of can we use those from them keep who deserve away be to praised. our very lives our owe give If each lives for we other. life. his Because up life gave he demands he us, for we hisJesus his gave each all us. us For of gave he save to (1628–1688) as again much have and ten times more.”— RAY, GIVE,SERVE The Martin (1483–1546) Luther “If any prophet, speaking“If any prophet, me in ‘Give atrance, says, “Let this be our gifts principle: that the use God’s of are and“If silver things gold evil in themselves, then afurther remember give, to motivation that“As “He who bestows his who “He goods the upon poor shall Didache Intheearlychurch,“philanthropy” didnotalways John Calvin (1509–1564) CH issues on money, long ago in 1987 and in ago long 1987 issues on money, , early second, early century T I T U T Clement of Alexandria (150–215) ION S ome Christianabolitionists . right ) wascredited John Bunyan withdraw fromtheeconomy. have withdrawnfromtheworldsocially,buttheydidnot ’ women’s benevolentwomen’s use of money from issue our #19. and Karenprinting, Halvorsen Schreck for the stories about Thanks Robert to Woodberry for the anecdote on mission — all him, to be to ruled and disposed his at of pleasure.” they submitted God, they to afree made surrender of ulties, bodies or souls thing is their own, their influence, time, property, fac lected.”— T IS Charles Finney (1792–1875) “[Converts] should not be should not left think to “[Converts] that any “Earthly goods are given be to used, be to not col T HE GIF Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) T T O BESIMPLE? . All belongs God; and to when S hakers (seep.43)may C H - - 1 “Discipleship with Monday in Mind is a helpful and timely book that every pastor and church leader should read. Church leaders often focus on building the programs of their church, forgetting that congregants long for guidance on how to in- tegrate their faith and work. This book oers practical suggestions for how to equip con- gregations to make that connection.” TOD H. GILMORE CHAIRMAN & SENIOR LECTURER COLLEGE OF BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP EASTERN UNIVERSITY Find this and other titles on our FWE Foundational Series. madetoflourish.org A new FREE streaming service with a message of hope for the world! Redeem TV is a viewer-supported, ad-free, streaming service with no fees. Our goal is to provide edifying and redemptive, hope-filled videos to an international audience of all ages. We offer an ever-growing library of over 1,200 quality dramas, documentaries, animated features, children’s favorites, episodic series, Bible studies, and more, with new titles added every week. We are currently “streaming goodness” to nearly 50,000 subscribers in 200 countries supported by viewers like you. Join us at RedeemTV.com or download our app and stream goodness wherever you go! Featuring David Miller, CHM author Letters to the editor Readers respond to Christian History SNAKES EVERYWHERE In issue 135 at page 12 you mention a snake-encircled articles that highlight the efforts of the twenty-first- rod: “Asclepius, god of healing . was considered to century servants of Christ who gave their all to help be the son of Apollo. In this statue he holds his snake- those in need during this COVID-19 pandemic. —Tom encircled rod, which is still used as a medical symbol.” Edmunds, Washington, NJ I was under the impression that the medical symbol of the erected snake-encircled GIFTS EVEN IN PLAGUE TIMES rod was a reference to the Old Your latest issue of Christian History was not only very Testament snake erected on a timely, but extremely interesting and informative. I stake for the healing of the greatly enjoyed reading it. One comparison with his- Israelites who, having fallen tory and the present-day COVID-19 pandemic is the into sin, had been bitten by almost total lack of our leaders calling for “seasons of snakes, and to which Jesus humiliation and prayer” to God! It saddens me to see points out in John 3:14–15.— the apostasy of present-day America, and the secular- George Day, London, England ization of the entire world. Thank you for your work in educating your readers.—Terry B. Franzine, Grand Rap- The use of a snake-encircled rod ids, MI to represent healing professions (either one snake for Asclepius or two snakes for I don’t usually read CH from cover to cover, but I did Hermes) became popular in the eighteenth this recent issue. I found every article to be impor- and nineteenth centuries; it was explicitly tant, useful, and interesting, but [Dan Graves’s] said at that time to be based on the Greek tradition (although summary was most valuable: As God has gifted obviously many Christians have connected it to the biblical each of us.