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Consumerism and capitalism

* I greatly enjoyed Rodney Clapp's article "Why the Devil Takes Visa" [Oct. 7]. We, as a church in North America (indeed, the West), need to seriously examine our economic beliefs in the light of biblical revelation, and we need to examine our approach to biblical revelation in the light of (among other things) our history as a church. This Clapp has done, and I applaud him.

I wish Clapp had spent more time discussing a good definition of capitalism before talking at length about it. The article seems to assume that "capitalism" is a fairly unambiguous concept and then often uses the term interchangeably with "American consumerism." I think I know what he means, but I can imagine some will duck the article's force while quibbling over what exactly counts as "capitalism" and "consumerism."

Myron Penner
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Va.

* Rodney Clapp's article on consumerism was fine as far as it went. But the fact that spiritual pursuits and financial gain have been awkwardly commingled in North America is a simple consequence of our history as a European colony. Half of the passengers of the Mayflower were Anglican entrepreneurs who teamed up with their fellow travelers, the Pilgrims, to establish a colony whose goals were both economic and spiritual. The trip itself was financed by London merchants who, in an era before credit cards, issued debt to the colonists that they expected would be repaid. The Pilgrims had to borrow as much as modern Christians do today, so there's really nothing new about the need to go into debt to finance religious ideals. It seems to work just fine, actually.

Carl Briggs
Philippi, Wyo.

* I have been reading CT since my early days of college. The majority of the magazine's latest issue was advertising. Does this mean the Devil has taken CT? Eleven CDs for one cent is pretty tempting!

Dr. Richard Cockman
Charlotte, Fla.

Clapp's article became an excellent call to fight the pervasive evil of consumerism. We need to hear more of it; but many a pastor will testify that preaching on finances is one of the quickest ways to anger members.

There is no doubt that Americans misuse their wealth, but what a long, strange trip Clapp took in order to say that. I am an economist and have spent some time studying economic development in the West as well as in Third World countries, so Clapp is walking on ground familiar to me.

Why drag capitalism through the mud of consumerism? Clapp admits that the strength of consumerism is insatiability, which is as old as humanity. I disagree that the "idealization and constant encouragement of insatiability" is unique to modern consumerism. Has Clapp read Ecclesiastes? Consumerism is nothing more than the sinful nature in man that tempts all of us to eat too much, drink too much, think too highly of ourselves, and want too much power over others. It originates in man and is therefore universal and timeless.

Contrary to what Clapp thinks, consumers are born, not made.

As other countries gain in wealth, they misuse it in much the same way as Americans do. On the other hand, I have seen research which shows that no country in the world has as much private philanthropy as the U.S.

Roger D. McKinney
Anadarko, Okla.

I love CT. It was a lifeline for me during seven challenging years in the Muslim world. Now it's the only magazine I take time to read (I'm a doctoral student). But it is good to remember as we attempt to respond to the problems of a society engulfed in consumerism that Christians who live in hostile environments, and fight for every spiritual breath they take, think the American church is sinking along with the rest of the culture.

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November 11 1996, Vol. 40, No. 13