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Name: Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators: A Biblical Response to Ronald J. Sider: Chilton, David: 9780930464042: Amazon.com: Books
Rating: 4.3 (26 reviews)

David Chilton

Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators: A Biblical Response to Ronald J. Sider Paperback – June 1, 1985

by David Chilton (Author)

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PRODUCTIVE CHRISTIANS in an Age of Guilt Manipulators, by David Chilton: · See Sider Squirm. If Pope John Paul II is really interested in dealing with heretical “liberation theologians” in his church, then he ought to issue this third edition of “Productive Christians” as a Papal encyclical. · Protestants have trouble with their own liberation theologians. Some of them are Marxists in the Lamb’s clothing, while others are merely Fabian socialists in the Lamb’s clothing. Some of them just aren’t willing to say…yet. (Tactics, you understand.) Ron Sider belongs to the third group. · Sider’s first edition of “Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger” created a minor sensation in conservative Protestant circles. It was the cutting edge of a radical shift of political and economic opinion in the neo-evangelical world, especially on college and seminary campuses--a shift to the far left. The book received no response until 1981, when the first edition of Productive Christians blew away Sider’s claims that he was simply applying the Bible to economics. Sider has never recovered intellectually, as Chilton’s third edition demonstrates. Sider’s desperate attempts to “cover his flanks” in the second edition of “Rich Christians” are exposed by this book as a last ditch effort. Sider waffles, Sider squirms, Sider drops whole sections of controversial sections (exposed in Chilton’s earlier editions) to other chapters, but still nothing works. There is no place left for the Bible nor economics when it comes to his conclusions about profits, taxes, foreign aid, and Western guilt for Third World poverty. · To put it bluntly, this book definitely destroys what little was left of Sider’s position. The Sider phenomenon, intellectually speaking, is finished. This book is its gravestone. –GARY NORTH

Print length

439 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Inst for Christian Economics
Publication date

June 1, 1985
Dimensions

5.75 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches
ISBN-10

0930464044
ISBN-13

978-0930464042
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Inst for Christian Economics; 3rd edition (June 1, 1985)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 439 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0930464044
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0930464042
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #590,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #40,182 in Christian Living (Books)

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David Chilton

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David Chilton is the president of Financial Awareness Corporation, a financial consulting firm. The Wealthy Barber and The Wealthy Barber Returns TV shows have enjoyed tremendous popularity since first airing on Public Television in the spring of 1993. Previous editions of this book have sold 2 million copies.

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donald beheler

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017

Very informative.

Ought to be manditory!

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2007

Verified Purchase

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.

32 people found this helpful

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john cummins

This is one of the best books I've ever read (and I've read loads of ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2016

This is one of the best books I've ever read (and I've read loads of books), as far as influence goes. This book is a breath of fresh sanity that will blow out the cobwebs of false Keynsianism that have swept through the West destroying much of her wealth. THIS book alone will answer most of the economic ills of the world if applied globally! David Chilton sweeps aside years of confusion regarding economics that have muddied the waters primarily through the Universities, etc. This book reads easily and yet will challenge nearly all of our propagandized minds into the correct direction.

7 people found this helpful

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A SOMEWHAT STRIDENT, YET CHALLENGING RESPONSE TO RON SIDER

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2010

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)

23 people found this helpful

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Craig A. Manning

Such hostility!

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2006

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.

15 people found this helpful

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Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators: A Biblical Response to Ronald J. Sider Paperback – June 1, 1985

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