“How did America begin? What was its primordial element?
I think it was money.” (p. 1)
Lance Morrow traces the development of money and religion in American History. Early waves of settlers, the Puritans and other religious groups, found that life in the New World required resources. Later, those “resources” included slaves. Morrow believes these early immigrants needed to strive to be virtuous in the demanding sight of God. “They must justify America’s great fortune–and find some deeper purpose for it.” (p. 2)
The split between God and Mammon solidified early in American history. “In 1702, Cotton Mather preached that the Christian must row to heaven with two oars–the oar of his spiritual calling and the oar of his material calling. If he pulls on only one of them, the boat goes in circles and the Christian can never reach the safe harbor of salvation.” (p. 4)
As America developed, money infused its politics and its culture. Money–or the lack of it–determined social standing. As Morrow points out, the fact that Trump insisted he was a billionaire (he wasn’t) attracted more uneducated people to his Base.
The scandals of TV evangelists with sex and money mount up over the decades. As Alexis de Tocqueville noted: “One usually finds that love of money is either the chief or a secondary motive at the bottom of every thing the Americans do.” (p. 2)
What’s your take on money? Does it rule your Life, or do you have it under control? GRADE: B+
Expenses do tend to control us, to some extent, but we get by…so far.
I’m not sure what nations aren’t driven by money and its surrogates, or have ever not been.
Todd, there’s money and there’s avarice. Countries like Russia and China are obsessed with money because that’s the only way they can stay in power.
I rarely think about money, which I guess is an indication that I have enough of it.
Michael, I’d say that’s a fair description of a comfortable life. But I worked around people who thought about money (and retirement) every minute of every day. It was depressing.
What Todd said. Even in barter systems, its stand in functions as money: one item is more valuable than the other.
We need a return to preaching that money is the root of all evil instead of God wants you to be successful sermons.
Patti, if you watch most of the TV preachers, money is at the heart of all their sermons. They draw a lot of gullible people into their schemes.
Money isn’t good or evil, it’s just a tool. Greed is the problem.
At this point in my life, I’m with Michael. I don’t have to think about money. When we were younger it was a very different story.
The other part of the whole American God vs. Mammon discussion is the total hypocrisy of way too many “Christians” who have a very distorted understanding of Jesus and what he supposedly said and did.
Jeff, too many people associate praying to God with getting “rewarded” with material “gifts” from God. One woman I worked with (and she had a PhD.) won a few thousand dollars in the New York Lottery and claimed God was rewarding her for going to Church every morning before her College classes. Of course, she never won again.
Agree totally with Patti about the “prosperity gospel.” There’s absolutely no biblical justification for it—but not being able to find support in the Bible for something you want to do has never unduly concerned those who would exploit the naive, trusting, gullible, and powerless. I do worry about money and having enough to get through my life. I’ve always been a saver and never been extravagant—and I’ve always attempted to live within my means. My biggest concern right now is that big institutional investors (which hold both my and John’s 401K money) are going to jump on the crypto bandwagon. That’s another subprime mortgage bubble just waiting to happen.
As Kate Atkinson said in one of her Jackson Brodie novels: Money is an act of collective imagination. It has value because we believe it does.
Yeah, try telling them that Jesus didn’t tell people that abortion was murder.
Jeff, the Bible has been used to endorse slavery and many other horrendous crimes. Lucius Annaeus Seneca once said:
“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.”
Deb, you have identified the key element of currency–crypto or otherwise–BELIEF! The fact that we “believe” a piece of paper is worth $20 because it has a 2 and a 0 on it with Andrew Jackson’s face is a shared cultural delusion. And Inflation erodes that Belief which is why so many people find the lure of cryptocurrency irresistible. When large banks get involved…the stage is set for financial meltdown! You and John may want to buy some gold.
I suppose that if I had money it might matter. Since I don’t, I have to rely on other things — family, friends, an ethical standard, and a bowl of good chili.
As for the “prosperity gospel,” I can think of little that is more shallow and demeaning. True story: Early in my marriage I was asked to produce (actually write) a quarterly magazine and to ghost two books a year for Reverend Ike, one of the more popular send-me-money-and-you-will-be-blessed television preachers of the day. I turned the sonofabitch down, then went laughing all the way to the poorhouse. No regrets, even nearly five decades later.
I can still see Reverend Ike telling people to send him money and he’d send them a “blessed handkerchief.” Oh, that man was a charlatan of the first order…but he made millions with his prosperity gospel schtick.
Deb, what P.T. Barnum said a century ago still holds true: “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Jerry, my admiration for you just skyrocketed! You did the Right Thing not ghosting books for Reverend Ike.
Love Rev. Ike! We have a Mavericks concert at his United Palace Theater on Broadway & 175th Street in October. It’s a great venue.
I watched Rev Ike for laughs and my weekly dose of outrage! I recall him yelling, “Who’s going to be the first to give me a hundred dollar bill?” and the idiots falling all over themselves to get to him!
As for the book: another boring bit of thumb twiddling for which I have no use!
Bob, I’m always amazed that TV preachers have followers who will rain money down on them!