By Gene Ogorodov
The Boston Pine Flag is not a religious blog. However, Upton Sinclair wasn't the only person in the world that thought that human exploitation is a poor way to run a society. In the last twenty years or more public policy has been bedecked with religious overtone, and we have decided to throw our hats into the religious ring, as well, under the hopes that the Bible takes a slightly different opinion on exploitation than the Fox News.
The Boston Pine Flag is not a religious blog. However, Upton Sinclair wasn't the only person in the world that thought that human exploitation is a poor way to run a society. In the last twenty years or more public policy has been bedecked with religious overtone, and we have decided to throw our hats into the religious ring, as well, under the hopes that the Bible takes a slightly different opinion on exploitation than the Fox News.
Both the Religious Right and the Left have presented their pet issues as being anointed with the favor of the Hebrew and Christian God. If one were to only listen to media pundits and politicians, one might get the impression that Crony Capitalism, rather than Cleanliness, is next to Godliness.
Nonetheless, in actually reading the Bible, rather than paying lip service to it, one sees a very different picture. There isn't that much on homosexuality and it should not come as a surprise that abortion is never mentioned. Being one's self and the importance of sexual gratification are likewise not found. On the other hand, divorce, lechery, greed, and distorting religion to serve personal interests are condemned rather frequently.
As it turns out religious orthodoxy, social responsibilities, and looking after the interests of one's neighbor are somewhat important to the God of the Bible (Cf. Sermon on the Mount).
To be fair Crony Capitalism is not condemned in the Bible. It didn't exist in the Iron Age. Nevertheless, the Minor Prophets do a rather good job of sharing some thoughts on profiteering, usury, and politicians neglecting their duty to their people. The Third Chapter of the Book of Micah is a particularly graphic description of what the Hebrew God thinks of people that exploit other people. But there is no need to take my word for it:
Micah Chapter 3
And I said:
Listen, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
Should you not know justice?—
2 you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin off my people,
and the flesh off their bones;
3 who eat the flesh of my people,
flay their skin off them,
break their bones in pieces,
and chop them up like meat in a kettle,
like flesh in a caldron.
Listen, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
Should you not know justice?—
2 you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin off my people,
and the flesh off their bones;
3 who eat the flesh of my people,
flay their skin off them,
break their bones in pieces,
and chop them up like meat in a kettle,
like flesh in a caldron.
4 Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer them;
he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have acted wickedly.
but he will not answer them;
he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have acted wickedly.
5 Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against those
who put nothing into their mouths.
6 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without revelation.
The sun shall go down upon the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
7 the seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
they shall all cover their lips,
for there is no answer from God.
8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against those
who put nothing into their mouths.
6 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without revelation.
The sun shall go down upon the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
7 the seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
they shall all cover their lips,
for there is no answer from God.
8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob
and chiefs of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice
and pervert all equity,
10 who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with wrong!
11 Its rulers give judgment for a bribe,
its priests teach for a price,
its prophets give oracles for money;
yet they lean upon the Lord and say,
“Surely the Lord is with us!
No harm shall come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.
and chiefs of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice
and pervert all equity,
10 who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with wrong!
11 Its rulers give judgment for a bribe,
its priests teach for a price,
its prophets give oracles for money;
yet they lean upon the Lord and say,
“Surely the Lord is with us!
No harm shall come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.
This text of Micah is the NRSV from biblegateway.com.
