Theologian: Economy for People, Not People for Economy

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009 Posted: 5:46:41PM HKT

Stumped: Asian markets are witnessing turbulent times amid concerns about a raging global financial crisis (Photo: AP)

The economy is made for people, not people for the economy, a local theologian has said. And the Church should do more than provide relief amid the economic crisis. She should present a moral vision for the global economic system.

Editor of Church and Society in Asia Today Mark Chan was commenting on the fundamental problem of the global economic system in the latest issue of the periodical of Trinity Theological College.

The main flaw of the economic system is that it lacks morality, he said, citing a number of prominent religious, political and media figures.

Referring to the topic of a recent encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI, in which the Catholic head called world financiers to safeguard the welfare of the human person in all economic considerations, he said: “To get the world to attend to the common good, one must begin with theological anthropology. To do good to people, one must first come to a proper understanding of what people are.”

In the encyclical, the Pope said the ‘world of affluence’ is in danger of becoming deaf to the cries of the poor because of “a conscience that can no longer distinguish what is human”.

“The human person must not be brushed aside in the name of greater profit,” said Dr Chan, a lecturer in Theology at TTC, and Coordinator for the Faith and Society research cluster of the College’s Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia.

“This is not only required by Christian theology, it is good for business as well,” he wrote, highlighting James Featherby’s comment.

In his book The White Swan Formula, Featherby said: “a business has no real existence. A company is only a construct of convenience of creative imaginations and legal propositions. In reality there are only human beings, trading with each other, albeit at a distance.”

The Christian moral vision, which promotes such concern for human welfare, is ‘so sorely needed’ in the world today, Dr Chan expressed.

He added that the Church should not limit herself to the role of providing financial and other forms of relief in times of economic crisis.

“She must go on to commend to the world the deposit of truth that God has entrusted to her, the truth concerning the nature of the human person, the meaning of life, the significance of history, and the destiny of the world.

“In short, we need to bring economics and theology to the same conference table,” he said.

Dr Chan’s editorial set the theme, money matters, for the latest issue of the periodical, which comprises contributions from five TTC faculty members, and other Christian leaders.

Church and Society in Asia Today, published three times annually, seeks to provide biblically informed theological analyses and guidelines on current issues pertaining to the Church’s engagement with society and to help Christians frame a biblical, thoughtful and appropriate response to these issues.

Edmond Chua
edmond@christianpost.com