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Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators: A Biblical Response to Ronald J. Sider

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Interesting points, but book flawed by author's obsessional contempt for Ron Sider. Reading the book... (good grief, reading the dustjacket copy!)makes you fear for Chilton's health, pursuing as he does a scorched-earth policy toward the other writer. These passions are most commonly associated with a divorce court, not one confessing Christian responding to another.
If you really, really hate Ron Sider or love, love David Chilton, this is the book for you! Otherwise, non-combatants should clear the dance floor! Sadly, this reads like an attack book, not a treatise. (Where was the editor?) By focusing more on the author's persona, the work misses the mark of debating the merits of this complex issue of economics and Christianity, the pursuit or avoidance of wealth; charity; guilt, etc. A missed opportunity.

David Chilton (1951-1997) was a Calvinist pastor, Christian Reconstructionist, and author. (He died of a heart attack.) He is perhaps most read these days for his books on eschatology from a "Preterist" viewpoint (see The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation,Paradise Restored: A Biblical Theology of Dominion, and The Great Tribulation.)

Ronald Sider's 1977 book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity (revised in 1990 as Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Revised & Expanded) generated both praise, controversy, and criticism. Chilton's 1981 book (published by Gary North's Institute for Christian Economics) is probably the lengthiest critical view in print. (Chilton dedicated his book to Pat Robertson, "a 'productive Christian' who is leading God's people to victory.")

Chilton states in his Introduction, "The purpose of the present book is to examine and refute Sider's thesis from the viewpoint of biblical law. My position is that the Bible calls for a free market in which the state does not intervene. This is not a 'pure' laissez-faire economic system in an anarchic or antinomian sense: the laws of the Bible do prohibit certain activities from taking place. Consenting adults are not the highest authority... Charity is personal, though not purely 'voluntary,' since biblical law commands it---but on the other hand, those laws are not enforced by the state: the Bible mandates no civil penalties for failing to obey the charity laws. The Bible stands against all forms of socialism and statism."

Here are some representative (and characteristic) quotations from the book:

"(Sider) confesses that he paid $50 for an extra suit, and 'that money would have fed a starving child in India for about a year.' Well, if you live on this continent, it's tough being righteous all the time. Come to think of it, the money I spent on Sider's book would have fed that kid for over a month." (Chap. 10)
"Now, if only the Lord had thought of that (i.e., "institutional change" rather than "personal charity"). But it's too late. That morally inferior personal charity is encoded into biblical law, and we're stuck with it until heaven and earth pass away. Darn!" (Chap. 12)
"Ronald Sider's concern is not with the poor ... Ronald Sider wants power." (Chap. 12)
"Why, if I were to play dirty like that, I would mention that Sider's beloved Lord Keynes was an atheistic homosexual with a marked taste for young Tunisian boys, which proves that HIS economics is fallacious." (Chap. 13)
"Sider's specific message is one of guilt." (Chap. 15)
"(T)his book ... is written to encourage a return to Scripture ... The statists cannot ultimately prevail." (Chap. 17)

Although this work was written specifically to rebut Ron Sider's book "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger," it also gives a thorough introduction to explicitly Biblical economics. One needn't have read Sider's book to benefit from Chilton's critique of Sider's socialist economics. Chilton gives specific examples of how to apply the economic laws of the Old Testament, and more importantly, why we ought to do so. It is no doubt due to Chilton's persuasive arguments that Sider has, in subsequent editions of his own book, rescinded many of his previously extremist theories.

"Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt-Manipulation: A Biblical Response to Ronald J. Sider" is a classic, brilliant, example of how the Bible can be used to justify ANY political/economic/moral theory, no matter how repugnant and un-Christian, via all the myriad forms of fallacious argument and sophistry. Through selective quotations and spurious logic the author attempts to scripturally justify an extremist political ideology -- radical laissez faire predatory/ exploitative corporatism-- while discrediting any and all movements for democracy, individual civil rights, religious freedom, social and economic justice.

"Slavery is an example of an institutionalized evil." (Ronald Sider)

"You may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you." (Leviticus 25:44)

With that juxtaposition of quotations, the author begins a chapter devoted, amongst other things, to a Biblical justification for *modern day* slavery, and the goodness of slavery as an institution *in principle* as well as legally (God's Law). Here are some examples of Mr. Chilton's pro-slavery argumentation:

"The Bible permits slavery. This statement will come as a shock to most people. The laws in the Bible concerning slavery have very seldom been studied, much less preached upon. But the biblical laws concerning slavery are among the most beneficent in all the Bible. The biblical institution of slavery has as its basic purpose the elimination of poverty..."

"Many people, when they think of "slavery," think of the pre-Civil War South, where certain aspects of slavery were in violation of biblical law. Thus many know only of an abused, unbiblical form of slavery. But since the Bible allows for slavery, it is clearly unbiblical to speak of slavery as being wrong or sinful. (Even Southern slavery was not as unbiblical as many have charged. The common conception of the slavery of that age is quite distorted; the Abolitionists were often as guilty of transgressing God's laws as were slave-holders, as we shall see in our next chapter. If slavery were a sin, God would not have provided for it. Indeed, since God is the Standard of right and wrong, the fact that He gives rules for the proper management of slavery shows that to disregard the laws of slavery is a sin, For example, since fornication is a sin, God does not give instructions for the right management of a brothel. Nor does he offer instructions about successful methods of murder or theft. Slavery is not a sin, but the violation of God's slavery laws is."

"To repeat the basic lesson: God's law encourages responsibility. It provides many incentives against men enslaving themselves, and when men do become slaves, they are protected but not coddled. When the period of slavery is over, they are able to hold their heads up with other men, possessing the tools with which to start over without debt. For the heathen slave, however, the situation was different. Although he was protected by the same slavery laws, he was never freed (unless he redeemed himself) - not even in the Jubilee, which freed only Hebrew slaves (Leviticus 25:40-46). Unbelievers are slaves by nature, and there is no reason to free them as long as they remain in their spiritual bondage. The enslaved foreigner who was converted would, of course, demonstrate his spiritual freedom by responsibly saving and purchasing his own freedom. Does this appear harsh? It is, certainly, a very different view of slavery than that held by Ronald Sider. But let us be sure that our standards in ethics really come from the Bible. If the slavery laws seem unjust to us, it is because we are wrong. God's law is the perfect transcript of His justice. Any protest against God's laws is a moral indictment of God, in the same class with the original sin in the Garden."

Regarding segregation and racial discrimination, Chilton argues:

"...it is also wrong for a nation to legislate against discrimination, even if that discrimination is sinfulness it is a violation of biblical laws in the area of civil justice. For instance, the government must not force blacks to ride in the back of a bus. But, biblically, it is just as wrong to force a bus company to integrate its passengers. Neither option is allowable in terms of Scripture. Where God has not provided examples of legislation, we may not legislate. To do so is legalism. "

If you wish to read a book full of arguments of that ilk-- whether because you find them convincing and illuminating, or because you are interested in studying the finest examples of fallacious argumentation-- "Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt-Manipulation" will surely not disappoint you.

Sorry, I have to disagree. It's an intelligent book, of course, but it's a desperate attempt to rescue the status quo disparity of wealth and poverty by urgently wishing that the Bible didn't really mean (or even say) what it so clearly DOES mean (and say) on the subject of poverty. It's as if the "rich young ruler" had not only despaired at being told to rid himself of his wealth (which he loved too much to follow his prescription by Jesus), but had actually sat down to debate right back again, trying to come up with a justification for NOT changing his life: "Jesus didn't REALLY mean it when He said..." or, "But if I actually did that, why, things might get hard for me!"

It's a way of appearing to take the Bible seriously by lawyering one's way out of its clear teachings, but without being so serious about it that one actually changes a darned thing about the injustices of the world.

I've seen several reviews here from ostensibly well-meaning people, that castigate Chilton over his opinion of Ron Sider. These reviewers are engaging in the same thing!

Guys, you have to realize that both Sider and Chilton come from long-established Economic traditions: Sider is a Pietistic Socialist, and Chilton is a Chicago/Austrian Economist. This book simply contributes to the never-ending debate between the two.

Bottom line is, nobody reads either Sider or Chilton anymore as this issue within the Church is dead, and the Church is the worse for it. The Church has long been dead in Society, and the neglect of economic issues like those discussed in this book is a pointer as to why.

Unless the Church has answers for people in their everyday lives, which is what this book seeks to do, then you can have no answers for the militant Islamists who now seek your destruction.

Gary North, whose rabid attack on Sider is this book's back cover endorsement, has since denounced Chilton as "heretical" and "died in 1994... RIP" (ie, before his actual death, alluding to a heart attack and his shift to the preterist position). North still endorses the book, but the way Reconstructionists et al. treat each other and their critics is shamefully unloving. They depend so much upon their clique it's embarassing. Their fundamental error is the emphasis on transformation of social structures by reinstating the myriad old testament laws. This de-emphasizes God's primacy in the world, which is the same as the church's mandate: the ministry of reconciling individuals (not nations, or societies) to God, and the important work of discipling and edifying. Left.. Right... oy vey!! How about Up???! Oy gevalt. Christ's Kingdom is not of this earth, and hopefully our citizenship and affections are with Him, not Caesar (or for that matter, Chilton, North, Sider, Paul, Apollos or readers from Texas). If you buy this book, make sure you also read a critique of Reconstructionism (and Dominion Theology), whereupon you will be better equipped to see for yourself where the faulty reasoning arises.

This book should be required reading. Too often people equivocate "compassion" with "socialism." Chilton does a great job showing that that's not true. Socialism is bad economics and bad theology. Ironically, it is also ultimately hurtful to the poor (yes, that's right, socialism hurts the very people it's supposed to help).

If you believe in "liberation theology," "Christian" socialism, or anything of that nature, or if you are struggling with any of these issues or how to deal with their arguments, I recommend reading this book. In fact, even if you aren't, I still recommend reading this book. Christians have been taught for too long that the Bible has nothing to say about economics and if it does we aren't to take it too seriously. But, then again, most people don't bother to find out if the Bible actually does talk about economics, and if it does what it says about it.

Although this book is specifically a response to Ron Sider's book, this book still has plenty of relevance beyond simply refuting Sider's thesis. I admittedly hadn't read Ron Sider's book before reading "Productive Christians..." and wasn't all that familiar with it before this book was recommended to me but I still learned a great deal from it. Substitute a modern-day guilt-manipulator (like Jim Wallis) and the critique is substantially the same - all these guilt-manipulators have the same basic message (i.e. the rest of the world is poor because we're rich, and the income and wealth gap between people is unjust anyway, so if you just let the government step in and redistribute wealth, force a higher minimum wage, etc., then poverty will be over and we'll enter a utopia. Guess what, it doesn't work that way! It never has and it never will). So basically, even if you haven't read Ron Sider's book, this book is still helpful because it addresses issues that are common to most teachers of "Christian" socialism and liberation theologians.

If you think "I don't care about liberation theology, 'Christian' socialism, or economics, so I shouldn't bother with this book," think again. The Bible clearly commands us to help the poor. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of muddy, unbiblical teaching out there about exactly how to do that, and many people are influenced (consciously or unconsciously) by "Christian" socialism, liberation theology, and other similar heresies a lot more than they realize. You need to be able to discern truth from error and to be able to think clearly on an area of considerable unclarity. A lot of people spout off about "social justice" and other similar topics without having a clue what they're talking about, and you ought to know why they're wrong. You need to recognize that questions like economics, politics, and how to help the poor are not unimportant issues in the Bible.

My point being, if you're not interested in these topics, you should be, because the Bible has a lot to say about them. As Christians, if the Bible has something to say, it is our responsibility to find out what it says, and this book will help you do that. As I said before, just because it was written awhile ago and was written largely as a response to Ron Sider doesn't mean that this book is irrelevant; whether you've read Ron Sider or not, this book will still challenge your assumptions and make you think more deeply and critically about a lot of areas. Many people have a lot of assumptions, and very little actual understanding, about how economics works, and this book will help clear up the misconceptions about economics and the Bible's teaching on it. For example, many people don't see the problem with rent control, minimum wage, and other price controls. Not only will this book help you to understand the Bible better, it will also make you a more informed voter and citizen, which is absolutely crucial in a free society.

Although a large percentage of evangelical Christians are politically and economically conservative, many are inconsistently so, or don't really understand the Biblical basis for their ideas. This book is helpful in understanding the teaching of the Bible on many issues, from socialism to foreign aid to minimum wage and everything in between. This book will help you understand the Biblical basis for the free market and other key ideas, as well as refute the Social Gospel ideology and liberation theology.

I grew up in the projects, on welfare, etc. I found the ideas of Sider & his Philadelphia friends inspiring.

Then I went to work in the inner city for 10 years as a minister and church-based activist and came to see that the antipathy to the free-market and legitimate profit through economic activity by church leaders and social activists is a huge barrier to real social change.

Sider is not simply wrong, he legitimates the very things that must be over come if the poor are to prosper.

The fact that "prosperity" is a four-letter word to the evangelical left says it all. The slogan "Live simply so others may simply live," if acted upon by a majority of people would not lead to heaven, it would lead us to economic disaster.

Leave envy, resentment and poverty behind. Abandon Sider and read Chilton.

For those who want to help the poor, read both this book, for how to help, and Sider's book (preferably comparing it with earlier editions) to understand the mentality you are up against. It is noteworthy that the only pan so far posted is simply an ad hominem smear job, by someone who has clearly not digested either Chilton's positive case, or his critique of Sider.