On the evening of Monday, October 22nd, I’ll be speaking to the Secular Students and Skeptics Society at CU Boulder on whether Christianity is compatible with capitalism. The talk will start at 6:30 pm; it will run about 20 minutes, plus Q&A. It’ll be in Hellems 199. Regular folks — meaning non-students — are welcome to join us.

(Yes, I find that picture completely hysterical.) Here’s a bit more about the talk:

The Unholy Union of Christianity and Capitalism

For over three decades, conservatives have actively worked to blend free markets with Christian values. The GOP’s ticket this year — Mormon Mitt Romney and Catholic Paul Ryan — is no exception. Yet in fact, Christianity cannot be reconciled with free markets or capitalism. Christian scriptures are explicitly opposed to worldly values like rationality, planning for the future, the accumulation of wealth, and individual rights. This talk will expose the basic ideological contradictions of pro-capitalist Christians, as well as challenge the skeptics and secularists who admire the ethical teachings of Jesus.

Secular Students and Skeptics Society, CU Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder, Hellems 199
Monday, 22 October 2012, 6:30 pm

It’ll be a fun talk: I always enjoy a bit of Bible study! So if you’re local, please join us!

  • bildanielson

    Wish I was in the neighborhood, sounds like a great talk!

  • Matt Angelucci

    This sounds like a good talk but a bad title. “Unholy Union” makes it sound like Capitalism and Christianity are secretly in cohoots. Might I suggest “Shotgun Wedding,” or “Illicit Affair?”

    • https://philosophyinaction.com/ Diana Hsieh

      It’s intended to suggest that the union would not be sanctioned by God… and I think it does that quite nicely.

      • Matt Angelucci

        Ah! Yes it does.

    • kfreed

      Thay ARE secretly in cahoots:

      “Biblical Capitalism – The Religious Right’s War on Progressive Economic Policy” http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/2/1/132159/0192

      People for the American Way: ALEC (Marriage of Moneyed Interests and Religious Right): “ALEC: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests In State Legislatures”

      “Who Founded and Funds ALEC?

      The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was founded in 1973 by Henry Hyde, Lou Barnett, and Paul Weyrich, who helped build a nationwide right-wing political infrastructure following the reelection of Richard Nixon.1 In the same year, Weyrich helped establish the Heritage Foundation, now one of the most prominent right-wing policy institutes in the country. One year later, he founded the Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress, the predecessor of the Free Congress Foundation. In 1979, he co-founded and coined the MORAL MAJORITY with Jerry Falwell, and in 1981 he helped establish the ultraconservative Council on National Policy.” http://www.pfaw.org/rww-in-focus/alec-the-voice-of-corporate-special-interests-state-legislatures

      Paul Weyrich featured here in “Life and Liberty for All Who Believe” (video courtesy of People for the American Way, narrated by Burt Lancaster): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is_fhyhbAa4

      Background on Paul Weyrich and ALEC (see ‘Religious Right Economics tab also): “One member of the New Right, Republican Strategist Paul Weyrich, founded the Heritage Foundation in 1973 — a think tank to promote the ideas of the New Right. Weyrich also founded ALEC, The American Legislative Exchange Council in 1973 to coordinate the work of Religious Right state legislators. ALEC initially positioned itself as a counterweight to liberal foundations and think tanks, focusing on social issues like abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment, but became a magnet for corporate lobbyists.

      ALEC gives business a direct hand in writing bills that are considered in state assemblies nationwide. Funded primarily by large corporations, industry groups, and conservative foundations — including R.J. Reynolds, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute — the group takes a chain-restaurant approach to public policy, supplying precooked McBills to state lawmakers. Since most legislators are in session only part of the year and often have no staff to do independent research, they’re quick to swallow what ALEC serves up. In 2000, according to the council, members introduced more than 3,100 bills based on its models, passing 450 into law. Ghostwriting the Law, Karen Olson, Mother Jones, Sept.Oct. 2002. In 1979 Weyrich coined the term “Moral Majority.” Their goal was to politicize members of fundamentalist, Pentecostal and charismatic churches – a constituency that had been basically apolitical.” http://www.theocracywatch.org/taking_over.htm

      Additional Resources (2012 PA Progressive Summit): http://www.talk2action.org/story/2012/2/15/111659/576/Front_Page/Bibliography_for_PA_Progressive_Summit_2012_Presentation_on_Biblical_Economics_

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