So I heard this guy give credit for the success of the Industrial Revolution to "Christian values." I asked him which values he was referring to, and to back up his position with scripture. No answer forthcoming.
The facts are independent of scripture, however. The time period in question was a hardship for the average worker. Factory life for uncounted thousands of workers was a miserable proposition. They froze in unheated factories in winter, baked in uncooled factories in summer. They were in danger of mutilation or death from exposed machinery for lack of safety standards. Wages were low, even by the day’s standards. Women were not given equal status in the workplace. Children were exploited for their labor. There was no basic healthcare, no job protection for workers. Only when workers organized into labor unions were those blessings secured for the average worker (and then not for women and minority groups until MUCH later).
For analysis and evalutation of the facts, however, we CAN go to scripture. Check out James 5:1-6.
Anything else, either for or against?
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I read a book for my comparative Politics class that explained the rise of Nazi Germany (third Reich) on Luther's failed pursuit of Protestantism as a national religion. Interesting. Also, in the same book, but by a different author, the economic development of europe was a product of Calvinism. Most of the elect, as it was argued, were successful businessmen, a. because God blesses good Christians, and b. because economic success is a subjective, yet useful measure of the fruits of one's faith. Therefore, people worked hard in order to present themselves as workmen approved, showing their election by their prosperity. Thus, capitalism rose up, not out of greed or the love of money, but from obedience and a desire to correctly serve and honor Christ.
The book is called culture matters, edited by Harrison and Huntington. But they quote liberals, so you can't believe it all. ;)
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