As the Western system moves through the various phases of
capitalism we've reached a point in which the old middle class is disappearing.
There are those moving up into a middle class that a previous generation would
have called 'rich' and then there are those getting knocked down into the
working class or the working poor.
Ironically in many cases the up and coming generation of
Christian kids are finding themselves in the latter and thus while their
parents may tout capitalism and debt free living I see many who are quick to
compromise in order to ensure their kids are able to maintain access to that
'upper' middle class tier that is rapidly becoming the new middle class. And if
their daughters have to pursue careers and their sons have to sell out to Wall
Street, the military industrial complex or some other immoral economic or
political sector they're happy to have it so. I'm reminded of a popular
'ministry' and congregation which seeks to reform the Church on a Biblical
basis and pursues this quest in a determined (if confused) manner, even while
its congregation is filled with young people working for the government and
financial sector (and let's face it the two often go together) and never is
there any discussion of New Testament family dynamics or the values of the New
Testament concerning money. The world's values are assumed. These are reckoned
the 'conservatives'. It's no wonder Dave Ramsey is so popular.
Ettinger's pleas regarding her childhood depravations are a
bit on the brattish side. My kids never dreamed of ballet lessons, nor would
they have wanted them, nor would I have wanted them to have them. As far as new
shoes, well my kids have had to wait and suffer but usually if anyone is
walking around with leaking shoes, I make sure it's me. Consequently it's sort
of an ongoing joke in our house, about my wet feet. Sometimes I have 2-3 pairs
of shoes and they all leak in different ways and depending on the outside
conditions I may have to weigh which pair I choose to wear. This is also part
of the story of consumer capitalism and the corporate betrayal of the populace,
a betrayal figures like Ramsey have grown wealthy on.
I found Ettinger's repeated references to Title IX to be
somewhat amusing as it is in defense of Title IX that the ADF is suing the
state of Connecticut, arguing that female athletes are having their Title IX
rights violated by the tolerance of trans-gender athletes (boys competing as
girls). Listening to a radio report I found it ironic and disingenuous because
I remember (along with Ettinger) when Title IX used to be criticised and yet
these same lawyers will disingenuously appeal to it and the 'right for girls to
flourish' when it suits them.
While I have no love for Title IX, I also have little
affection or regard for the type of 'Christian' university she's talking about.
I'm not sure where she went but it sounds like something similar to Grove City
College a Dominionist factory that many local families send their kids to. I
have visited the campus more than once and we've attended some of the churches
in the area. I've interacted with some of the faculty and I've certainly
listened to their interviews and read their materials. I am not impressed.
Ettinger is off base in trying to tie Ramsey in with anti-Semitism
or even the more robust sectors of Reconstruction. All of that is way beyond
Ramsey's ken. He like many have been indirectly influenced by the movement and
has received the teaching in refracted and watered down form. He doesn't strike
me as the intellectually robust type that's going to get into deep theology.
I'm sure he's fairly impressive when it comes to crunching numbers and
structuring deals but that doesn't mean he's seriously thought out the full
spectrum of his belief system. I could be wrong but given that I've known
people like Ramsey, I feel fairly comfortable in my assessment.
The whole article while sad, was interesting to read. I too
shake my head when I see people spend frivolously, when I see people living
beyond their means, when I see women as bread-winners supporting their house-husbands
and the like. But I don't equate faithfulness with success. Actually in most
cases I assume the opposite. Usually the people that are 'doing well' as the
culture would have it and yet have done so by 'sticking to their Christian
convictions' have actually compromised in some other area. They've caved in on
ethics, usury or perhaps they've taken up work that demands so much of their
time they are in fact neglecting their family and even church. I've seen this
as well.
I've seen Christian employers preach traditional family roles
but then pay their employees a wage that won't support that life. I've seen
Christians embrace a type of prosperity gospel, and in other cases Dominion
theology has taught them that building their business is a Kingdom labour and
so they shouldn't feel guilty about working 12hrs a day away from home or
missing mid-week Church gatherings and events. I've seen men preach honesty and
integrity in finances but then get involved in pyramid-type schemes, get rich
quick investments, hokey precious metals investment and a host of other
scenarios in which money is made by taking advantage of others or through some
sleight-of-hand market trickery.
What I kept thinking about as I read Ettinger's piece was of
all the Quiverfull/Dominionist type families I know of where things have gone
wrong, where it didn't turn out the way the parents had hoped, or in other
cases when it all ended in disaster. These parents had visions of producing dominion
warriors and having a brood of Evangelical super-heroes only to find that many
of them are impoverished, dysfunctional, bitter, angry and often (like
Ettinger) apostate. I've seen it too many times and it's always sobered me and
given me pause. I've also seen not a few broken marriages and the kids are
turned loose out into the world with their foundations already broken and they
flounder. Obviously I don't care so much about the impoverished part other than
for the parents and children it's such a letdown, a defeat and indeed in the
context of their thinking, it is.
I hope some of these people can find their way back to the
faith but I also hope they will gain discernment and rather than turn to the
false comfort of liberal theology, they will come to understand where their
parents and the larger movement strayed and how being Biblically faithful will
grant true peace, not the rubbish that Dave Ramsey sells.