I've written about this topic several times.
The Poor and Disabled in Churches
Churches and Me
The other day, I was talking to my husband about the whole church thing, and how I didn't want to go back to being abused for being poor in the evangelical world. I told him, I was looking at this one local church but when I realized, they held multiple Dave Ramsey classes, it was off the list of possibilities. Dave Ramsey has helped spread many of the lies, that have too many churches turning their backs on poor people. He doesn't admit the reality of this economy. I think the lady in this video "Simply Christine" is a deconstructed fundamentalist, she was raised in the Christian Nationalism and homeschooling world. She is right about the individualism that is preached in churches. The pastors who love the system and this world never address the greater machinations affecting people's lives. I would love to read the book she mentions about capitalism and Protestantism.
The Catholic church seemed a bit different when it came to poor people. I told my husband once "Well you can go to a Catholic church and be dirt poor and no one is going to put you down for it." That's how it was for me anyway. Maybe because some of their religious take vows of poverty? The view was kind of different. One book I always wanted to read but haven't gotten to it yet is this one. I see the shortcomings of later wave feminism, but Caliban and the Witch is supposed to deal with the "creation of Capitalism". Both books would be interesting to read, I probably can get both from interlibrary loan later.
Anyhow as I wrote in the church article, most churches and pastors now seem to be in the sway of the ruling class. They have no discernment. Very few seem to care even as the economy is imploding. I am sure there's a few exceptions to this as ones in poor communities are probably trying to help their own people and even the Revelations of Jesus Christ pastor, the week they were going to cancel EBT went out to help people get groceries. If a church has Dave Ramsey classes, that's not the place for me. I will get the usual lectures and "everything is your fault" messaging and this vlogger mentions that how these churches tell people everything is your fault. I think that's done more harm to Christianity, where some forget Jesus fed people and gave them encouragement.
I wrote this on this article "The Trouble with God and Religion"
As I wrote, megachurches are starting to fail. Some say there is a religious movement now where people are converting into the Orthodox and other churches. It would not surprise me. Much of evangelicalism has problems. If the American economy sinks down even further, I doubt Dave Ramsey is going to do as well. I am surprised his message is still selling in the churches, maybe because all the poor people left?
I read his books, and his other nonsense. He has done untold harm to the poor and shut down hearts towards the homeless, poor and working class. He gives false hope. His whole program rests on stable high incomes which in the real world are rarer and rarer. Yes there are things people should do, be responsible, don't waste money, avoid credit cards, but he never questions a system that puts people into such huge debts or makes it so hard to survive or how the job world is ruled by nepotism. It kind of makes me sick they sold this guy in churches when everything he preaches is the opposite of Jesus Christ.
Here's his latest book, that's a creepy title. Did Jesus say go out and be a millionaire?
Hmm thinking of a bible verse here...
Matt 19:24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
I said to my husband, "Religion is a business now in America, and well business doesn't go for the broke people without money!
It's interesting when she talks about how health care was part of church charity and reaching out to others and how Martin Luther's influences are related to today's for-profit health care. I laughed when she compared the obscene wealth used on megachurches relates to the sale of indulgences in the Catholic church to build grand cathedrals but with "far less artistic merit".
She talks about the change where personal belief became far more important and Calvinism. I never subscribed to Calvinism and its denial of free will. Her comparison of Catholic theology and practices compared to Protestant ones are interesting too. [Remember in my case, I've been both] I questioned the hatred of images, being an artist that was always difficult for me when I was in evangelical land. Was it okay to draw Jesus even to show kids bible stories or was one breaking the second commandment? I have some icons in here now and watched videos on Youtube about paintings in English churches from the Medieval era that taught bible stories. I missed stained glass as an evangelical.
Her comment "what do you have left when you have no fun, no art and white walls...work, hard work" [24:23] stands out to me. She goes on to talk about the Protestant work ethic. She's right about Dave Ramsey going on about belief, it includes God but also believe in this system. I think people are no longer believing in this system. I've lost belief in it. Why wouldn't I? The young seeing no viable future, also are realizing something is very wrong and that they have been lied to about how the world works. I wrote about my time in churches, but one struggle I had was everyone trying to impose these belief systems, and I am talking both liberal [UU] and conservative churches that did not pan out in my life. I am not talking about God/Jesus here, I do still think there is a God, but about the essentials of HOW this world works. Dave Ramsey is full of it and selling false dreams and sadly influencing church people to disdain the poor.
Think this out in a world where most are now "failing" when it comes to the old rules and only a few superstars do okay, do you think people are going to believe in the system? I try to catch the edge of new things in religions, but I hope there are changes to the churches. I do think evangelicalism is going to have more people just leaving or even bible reading Christians who just don't want to go anymore and listen to some preacher give us the economic lies who will judge us by how much money we have. This isn't what Jesus Christ taught.
One quibble I may have with the video is I don't think we have "capitalism" anymore, well "capitalism" has always had those who exploited people, it seems all financial systems all hit the barrier of bad human traits. We have some new version of capitalism today with all the monopolies and the marriage of government and corporations having become complete, where the government bails out banks, and silver markets and all sorts of stuff on behalf of the corporations.
I do agree with her about the history and theology that impacted the crazy workaholism here, the rejection of leisure and this all getting mixed in with a false piety especially in Protestant traditions. This country has gone downhill with a lack of culture, she's right and bland food. This is what happens when a whole place just runs on people being consumers and nothing but and everything being about business, even the religion in many cases.
Doug Wilson is one of the worse, I knew about him years ago. She goes on about more culture and her marriage to a man from the Congo and getting to share in their culture. I have talked about this before, but I have lamented on this board, having no culture, "people" or heritage, this is something many especially white Americans do not get to have. We are so far removed from our European roots or are such a multiple blend now, there's no culture to have. What do I know of Hungary? Almost nothing. Like her I was in churches that forbid dancing, even art was a bit suspect too.
Sadly she is right when she says "If you are poor it's because you are lazy and you act like a victim" as being a predominant view in churches. She is right many churches teach that God is teaching people lessons via poverty and it is their fault. Remember these aren't Jesus's teachings this is stuff the churches have come up with. She may differ from me on some issues, but I agree with her that Jesus questioned the powers of the day. He defended the poor. I hope like her Christians realize how far they have strayed from the basic teachings of Jesus too. Almost every evangelical church I have been in, had some semblance of the prosperity gospel that they taught.
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