Welcome Chad Hovind, author of Godonomics. Chad, you set out to uncover what the Bible has to say about economics. Briefly, what did you discover?
God laid out powerfully practical principles in the Bible that taught people how to live in a free society: property rights, incentive, liberty. The history of the world shows how these principles articulated in the Bible unleashed a wave of liberty, productivity, and generosity that turned the Roman Empire upside-down, unleashed free enterprise, and established America's founding principles. Most of us have been brainwashed, unintentionally perhaps, into thinking that socialism equals generosity while capitalism equals greed. History shows the opposite. Societies that embraced Socialism were almost always atheistic and oppressive while free enterprise societies were the most generous in human history. When folks think Christianity endorses Socialism, I wonder if they've ever read the Bible or studied history. In the words of Inigo Montoya from Princess Bride, "I do not think Socialism means what you think it means."<p>
You write that free-market capitalism, which has produced history's highest standard of living, is upheld in Scripture. Can you explain how capitalism is God's idea?
Capitalism is the free exchange of privately held goods and services. The Ten Commandments talk about private property 20% of the time and liberty is mentioned from Genesis to Revelation: "Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" and "Proclaim liberty unto all the land." Free exchange plays to both personal incentive while requiring an others-focused approach. In order for me to profit, I must put the buyer's needs first and offer them a quality and price that they would freely choose to engage in. Proverbs 31 summarizes it this way: A businesswoman produces, she profits, and she gives money to the poor. The Bible mentions that she "discerned her merchandise was good" because in order for her to profit (the fruit of her hands), she had to offer a product (merchandise) that others wanted and needed. Adam Smith, the founder of modern capitalism, was a moral philosopher who wrote The Weath of Nations and believed that morality was the key to capitalism. He wrote, The Theory of Moral Sentiments to show the moral connection to capitalism.
You ask the question, "What would God say to America's founders?" How does this answer show that not all economic systems are equal?
In a world of donkeys, elephants, and rhinos, God offers the voice of a lion. He roars timeless principles that are common sense. Do not spend more than you make. Do not spend tomorrow's money today. Don't trade liberty for perceived security. Do not steal. Do not elect politicians to do your stealing for you. The foundation of our country was built on a theistic worldview. The Declaration of Independence connects the dots between freedom and God with the words, "We are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights." Individuals loan the powers given to us by God to governments to secure personal rights. Socialism thinks individuals serve the State while free enterprise endorses a limited government with checks and balances because we are skeptical about collective power. Capitalism also teaches that the State serves the individual. C.S. Lewis said it best, "Again, Christianity asserts that every individual human being is going to live forever
If individuals live only seventy years, then a state, or a nation, or a civilization, which may last for a thousand years, is more important than an individual. But if Christianity is true, then the individual is not only more important but incomparably more important, for he is everlasting and the life of the state or civilization, compared with his, is only a moment."
What does Adam Smith, the father of modern capitalism, have to teach us about profit and its ability to change an entire national economy?
After his book, Wealth of Nations, was published and its principles took hold, wages quadrupled in the next 50 years, and then quadrupled again over the next 50. Every society that has leaned into free enterprise has prospered and benefited the poor and needy. Profits are good. They are not a four letter word. They are the incentive for work. The Bible describes work as a gift from God. One of the many reasons we work is for the incentive of what the Bible calls, "The fruit of our labor." The Bible tells us that "if we don't work, we shouldn't eat" and we should, "work for our own bread." This is true in parenting as well. Children who lack reward and discipline are not incentivized to work. This attitude of entitlement cripples them from having a successful future. When we celebrate profits which are made by prioritizing other's needs, everyone wins. When we demonize profits, should we be surprised at a culture that embraces sloth and laziness? A society that punishes the ant for storing up food in the summer for winter by rewarding the sloth who went sunbathing is destined to fail.
How does generosity fit into all of this?
Roman Emperors noted that the main ethic of Christianity, wherever it spread, was its care for the hurting and powerless. Followers of God saw every person as an opportunity to "do unto others, as they would do unto God." Godonomics teaches us to produce a lot, profit a lot, so we can give a lot. Godonomics shows us the joy and power of impacting a world by using our money as fuel for world change. We can be rich toward God through generous giving. Many people want to be generous, handle their money wisely, but they don't. Why? They have a Wabbit behind their habits. Remember Bugs Bunny the wabbit? Under the ground of your life, you will find your wabbit. That wabbit impacts our habits. Many of us have a wabbit deep in our hearts that steers our behavior. Our need for status, power, performance, appearance, or money allows us to give, invest, and spend on ourselves; but not on others. God frees you to find inner peace from Him and be generous toward others since you have gone wabbit hunting in your own heart.
Who is John Maynard Keynes? And what can we learn from him about debt and money management?
John Maynard Keynes is the most influential backward thinker in history. The most famous backward thought he had was about debt. He said that if you owe your money twenty pounds, he has power over you. If you owe your banker one million pounds, you have power over him. His conclusion was to go into more debt in order to gain the upper hand. So his philosophy encourages over taxing, over spending, and over inflating a currency to take liberty, prosperity, and generosity from individuals to the government. It's the primary thought process for most governments today. On a personal note, it's the same thinking that drives us to buy homes bigger than we can afford, spend more than we make, and be impatient about buying what we want.
We live in a society that does not value the idea of living within our means. How can we, as Christians, learn to budget wisely?
The difference between a rich man and a poor man is two cents. A rich man makes a dollar, but spends 99 cents. The poor man makes a dollar and spends a dollar and one cent. One is becoming a saver, while the other is being enslaved to debt. I love the way the proverbs says it, "There is oil and treasure in the dwelling of the wise, while the foolish spends everything he makes." One of the greatest gifts that will bless your life, marriage, and family is margin. Margin is not packing your schedule or your budget to the limit. You leave room in your spending to give. You leave room in your income for emergencies. You leave room in your schedule to think, reflect, and enjoy. Most of us don't lack the wisdom to budget, we lack self-awareness. We need to look inward and figure out why we keep doing things we know are not wise. As long as we find our identity from the cars we drive, the homes we live in, and the clothes we wear, that driver will control our spending habits. We must conquer the heart problem before we conquer the checkbook problem. A heart that thirsts for validation from stuff always hijacks the mind into rationalizing every expenditure as an "investment."
You spend some time discussing FDR, whom many of us know from his New Deal during the Great Depression. What were the unintended consequences from his plan, and what can we learn that applies to today's economy?
Some of the unintended consequences include bad assumptions and changing variables. In Four words, "We can't afford it." The New Deal was classic "When in trouble, put it on the charge card." The benefit of the charge card is an immediate sugar high, but eventually the bill (with principle and interest) comes due. The money brought in by social security was not set aside for actually paying for social security. Instead politicians spent the money a long time ago. Politicians suck up whatever money they can. They spend today's money today. They spend tomorrow's money today. Then they did the most immoral act of all, they spent someone else's money today. The net result is that social security is not sustainable in the medium and long term. We have too many taking out, too little paying in, and too much already sucked out. In the Bible, James tells us not to "presume upon tomorrow," but that's exactly what happened. FDR assumed social security was an "insurance" to supplement retirement, not the primary income. FDR assumed a certain life span. FDR assumed a certain amount of money was set aside and future generations would expand and pay in. He was wrong on almost every assumption.
Why is it so dangerous to exchange freedom for perceived security?
1 Samuel chapter 8 is a chapter where the people ask God for a large intrusive government. God tells his people through Saul what will happen when you give up freedom to an ever-growing and increasing government expansion. God says, "Forewarn them" that the large government will take what is "yours" and make it "his." He warns the people that large governments "take" percentages of your income, your profits, and even your sons and daughters for endless wars. The net result is that the people become fodder for the state, rather than the state serving the people. Despite the clear warnings of 1 Samuel and the crystal clear record of history, Israel-like many of us today-ignore God's warnings and want a large government anyway. A government large enough to give you everything you need is large enough to take everything you have.
What about Alan Greenspan and his role in controlling the US banking system? Why do you say that a sound currency helps the poor?
A sound currency is advocated throughout the bible. God warns against the use of unjust weights in Proverbs, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and the prophets. The only time Jesus got angry was when he saw Herod's government get in bed with the religious corrupt leaders and devalue the people's currency. Jesus turned over tables, not of the business owners, but of the money devaluers. When I was in Israel last October, we got to see the weighting systems used by the Sadducees that would cheat people out of money, cattle, and sheep. When a government expands the money supply (like Rome did), they cheapen the money by putting less valuable metals into the coinage. The result is that there is more money, but you need more of the less-valuable money to buy the same product. The net result is that prices go up for everything. That hurts the poor who can't afford the prices of homes, products, and services. The government has devalued our money by 95% in the past 100 years. Imagine if every $3 in your wallet and bank, magically changed into a one hundred dollar bill, what kind of purchasing power would you have today? How much more generous could you be? How much more money would you have? A sound currency protects everyone, especially the poor who have the least amount of money.
You write that many Christians are being influenced by the growing popularity of socialism and the exploitation of the term "social justice." Can you contrast this with the biblical definition of justice?
Social justice is a Trojan horse for Socialism too often. Words change meaning over time. Originally Catholic theology spoke of social justice as a call for powerful generous individual charity. Today, social justice has become a call for government intrusion into private business. Well-meaning Christians think a call for government action is a call to help the poor. The data shows the opposite. Governments only give 30 cents on the dollar to the poor and hurting. They funnel the rest into wasteful bureaucracy and political maneuvering. If you care about the poor and the hurting, you want to get as much money to them as possible. That is always through private charity. Secondly, if you care about the poor, you know what they need most is a JOB! So governments should incentivize and free private business from regulation to hire people at all ends of the pay scale. There is a classic scene in history in the book of Kings when Reheboam (Solomon's son) decides to take from the people for his government spending and distribution. The people beg him to lighten the load so they can serve him. He refuses and creates a civil war. The Bible says that government has a referee role to play in society by enforcing the rule of law by enforcing contracts, protecting people from fraud, and protecting personal property. Social justice advocates indirectly advocate a government that violates people's property rights by stealing from one person to give to another. The Bible never endorses that. Governments are like the man-eating plant from the play The Little Shop of Horrors, begging citizens to "Feed Me Seymore." But no matter how much you feed them, they are never satisfied. The more they eat, the more they need. The more they take from the private industry, the more the poor get hurt. The more the poor get hurt, the more they want to "help" some more.
How does Marxism stand in direct contrast to Godonomics?
Marx was an atheist who thought that belief in God was a delusion. Further, Marxism, Communism, and Socialism have been responsible for 90-110 million mass murders. Even Marx's mother wished he had "Accumulated more capital, rather than lecturing about it." Marxism begins with a huge sense of entitlement by demonizing the business owner. He also assumes that humans are inherently good and just need the proper environment to flourish. If people aren't flourishing, it's because the very assumptions of capitalism are wrong and must be changed by "the group" who knows better than the individual. So, Marxism can be summed up in three words, "Abolish private property." Godonomics says, "I want to give to you from what I have" while Marxism says, "You owe me from what you have."
What role do taxes and the IRS play in God's economic principles?
One of the most unique principles the Bible speaks about is the rule of law. And when God gave his law, he said the law should apply to all people evenly. So God in his wisdom always used percentage giving with his people, rather than a progressive tax. Progressive taxation is punitive and punishes production and profiting, the last thing a nation wants to punish. Further, the more you make, the more you are taxed (punished). A fair tax would be much more consistent with God's principles. How? If everyone is taxed fairly or "consistently" with a equal tax rate, it is just and fair because it is equally applied to everyone the same. The rich, poor, and middle class all pay the same percentage. This is fair, but has the added benefit that the more you make, the more you give because 10% of 100000 is much more than 10% of 1000. This is a way that the rich can be more generous to the needs of a society within a fair predictable paradigm. This is also so much simpler. We have a complex tax code because we don't apply them fairly. We have red laws, blue laws, Congress laws, business laws, and union laws. Everyone hires the government to tax others, but give themselves an exemption. As Margaret Thatcher said, "The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
You encourage Christians to get involved in politics to encourage the nation toward God's economic principles. What are the first steps believers can take to do this?
The number of Christians who aren't registered to vote is shocking. The ones that are registered and don't vote are equally shocking. If even a small percentage of Christians took their role in society serious, we could have a revolution in voting. I was personally challenged by a parable told by Jotham in the book of Judges who said, "A forest needed a ruler so they asked the trees to serve, but they were too busy. Since they were busy, the thorn bush began to rule and everyone suffered." His point is that if good people don't serve, the forest will be ruled by a thorn bush
It might be a red thorn bush, or a blue thorn bush, but we will all get burned.
Secondly, Christians should reject the donkey vs. elephant paradigm and consider the Lion who challenges us to think about God's view of economics, life, generosity, private property, rule of law. God offers a comprehensive way to think about government, business, and righteousness. We must take these principles into our thinking when we vote
But honestly, the crying shame is that our fathers and grandfather died so we could vote, and most of us as Christians don't. It's shameful. That's Jotham's whole point, his father Gideon had fought and risked his life to save the nation and offer them freedom, and now apathy had crept in.
