Part Three: A Christian Perspective
Some Christian Principles
1. Affirming material well-being—Although some Christians have juxtaposed the life of the spirit with concern for physical well-being, Jesus contrasted himself with the asceticism of John the Baptist on this point. As Christians we believe that enjoyment of food and drink is good. We hope to provide enough of the world’s good things for all. Insofar as corporations help achieve this goal, Christians affirm them.
2. Affirming knowledge—Although some Christians have feared knowledge as a threat to faith, most have experienced faith as encouraging a quest for knowledge. Theology is often described as faith seeking understanding, and wherever we have gone we have established schools. The Christian conviction that the God we worship formed the heavens and the earth led believers to develop science in early modern times as a source of knowledge of God and God’s world. Insofar as corporations contribute to the continued expansion of knowledge and its dissemination among all people, we affirm them.
3. Affirming technology—Although we all recognize that knowledge can be used destructively and that some technology is used in ways that are harmful to human beings and other creatures of God, Christians believe that human beings are authorized to shape the world as necessary to meet our needs. Accordingly, Christians support the advance of technology, so important to corporations, insofar as it enables us to meet human needs more effectively.
4. Affirming persons over things—Jesus taught that the Sabbath is made for human beings, not human beings for the Sabbath. All the more, this is true of physical things. Corporations should value people over things and order their activities accordingly. This applies both to their internal operations and to recognizing the importance of various stakeholders outside the corporation.
5. The earth is the Lord’s—We Christians have been slow to recognize that our modern way of life is degrading the Lord’s earth. We have been awakened to this realization chiefly by scientists. Now that we are awakened, we must call on all our fellow human beings to work with us toward a sustainable use of earth’s resources. Since most of these resources are now controlled by corporations, the policies they adopt in this regard are of utmost importance to all of us.
6. The condemnation of greed—Through most of Christian history, Christians regarded greed as a major sin. It was assumed that individuals who took more than their share impoverished others. The church’s opposition to greed, however, has been recently muted. Today we see that the pollution and exhaustion of resources motivated by greed threatens the health of the earth.
7. The preferential option for the poor—Catholic liberation theologians have reminded us that the Bible encourages us to view historical events from the vantage point of the poor. As corporate dominance leaves global poverty unalleviated, Christians must work to counter it.
8. Responsibility rather than fate—Many people, including many Christians, have supposed that the order of society is simply given, but the prophetic tradition derived from Israel teaches otherwise. Human choices, responding to God’s call, play a large role. The present situation of corporate dominance, in which many Christian values and principles are ignored or violated, is the result of human choices. We are called to reassess these choices and make new ones.
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