Capitalism has many dimensions, but several are readily apparent. The primary productive units of capitalism are giant world-wide corporations. These corporations compete with one another, and their success is measured in profits. These profits need to grow, and this for a number of reasons. A firm that does not grow, that stays the same year after year, may be able to compete in certain markets, but by and large, all firms seek to grow for the simple reason that large firms are more competitive than smaller ones. Large firms enjoy economies of scale, they have greater financial resources to survive market downturns, they can diversify so that profit losses in one sector can be offset by gains in another, and finally, their shareholders demand an increasing return on their investments. For that reason, corporations continually seek to expand, and as they expand, they flood the market with an ever-swelling river of products and services. As a result, capitalists societies grow, they grow relentlessly.

In order to grow, corporations must convince the populace to buy their goods and services. This is done through advertising, and capitalist populations live in an ocean of advertising. This advertising is everywhere--on television, magazines, books, billboards, radio, food items, clothes, everyday objects, and in conversations which reflect advertising slogans. Further, this advertising is relentless, from the time one wakes up in the morning until one goes to bed at night.

Advertising is both direct and indirect. Direct advertising is obvious, the ads seen on television or billboards, for example. Indirect advertising reflects styles, ways of living, and beliefs that are created by advertising. For example, a family may invite some friends over for lunch one Sunday after church. As the guests arrive, they see the SUV in the driveway, notice that the lawn has been properly manicured by a lawn service, are greeted at the door by someone wearing khakis and a polo shirt with a logo, sit down to lunch on carved wooden chairs with needle-point seat covers, eat ham, fish, or roast beef from the local market with the best meats, and after lunch, sit out on the patio for drinks and talk about football, places to shop, vacation spots, and the best schools for their children. The people themselves, who they are, what they own, how they act, are a form of advertising, a very powerful form that sells products. In short, we are a society saturated by messages, images, slogans, and ways of life that daily fuel the giant corporations in their unending search for product expansion and profits. How is this state of affairs related to paganism?

What is Paganism?

What is paganism? Paganism is the worship of natural powers and forces. Among the common forces and powers worshipped by ancient peoples were such things as the sun, the moon, the earth, political powers such as the emperor or the pharaoh, internal forces such as sexual passion or the intellect, or the ambition or revenge that leads to war. Many of the forces worshipped by ancient people are no longer overtly worshipped in Western society. One rarely finds, for example, statues to the god of war, or to Venus, the goddess of love, nor do most people worship the sun. But that does not mean that natural powers and forces are not covertly worshipped, where "covertly" means that human beings, both in thought and action, give certain natural powers first place above all others. How does this occur in our capitalist society? Let us return to advertising.

Capitalism and Paganism Advertising must appeal to people.

In making this appeal, what aspect of a person is elicited and developed by direct and indirect advertising? To begin with, it is not the new person in Christ born from above by water and the Spirit. The new person in Christ only exists in so far as he or she reflects the life of Christ. Among other things, Jesus made choices. He chose the will of God over his own desires. This can be seen in his temptations (Mt. 4:1-11, Lk. 4:1-13). In the temptations the devil offered Jesus bread, all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory and adulation that would presumably be his if he were to jump off the temple and be rescued by God. The first temptation represents bodily desires, the second, power and wealth, the third, status and religious sanction. Against these temptations, Jesus appealed to the will of God as revealed in Scripture. This decision to obey God's will, rather than his wants or needs, led eventually to the cross and the giving up of his life in obedience to God. This is the essence of the Christian life, choosing God over one's desires, inclinations, instincts, needs, and wants. Jesus expressed the matter in these words, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matt 10:39).

By contrast, when ancient peoples worshipped the pagan deities, they worshipped spiritual powers that catered to their needs, desires, instincts, and wants. Advertising is pagan because it appeals to this same set of needs without reference to the Word of God. It simply offers satisfactions, the same satisfactions the devil offered Jesus in the temptations. Christians and non-Christians alike succumb to advertising and the world view it represents. As they do so, they become pagan even as they attend church and speak the name of Jesus.

Almost no one in our society worships a statue of the goddess of love, but billions are spent on sex itself, on making oneself sexually attractive, on finding "love" and keeping it, and on seeing in print or on screen the celebrities who physically personify the perfect sexual object. Further, advertisers use sex to sell products; in fact, sex is one of the most common ways of selling goods and services. As a result, our society is saturated with the images and words of sex in the same way that ancient cultures surrounded themselves with sexually explicit images and carvings of their gods.

Some years ago a longitudinal study on values held by American women was published. In the middle 1950's, there was a sudden change from such values as family and God to fashion, sex, and entertainment. This sea change in values coincided with the advent of television. These new pagan values fed directly into the sexual revolution of the late 1960's and led to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases, promiscuity, children out of wedlock, and single-parent homes.

Further, most people today do not worship the baals and asheroths that once guaranteed the fertility of land and herds, but millions pursue the American dream, a fine home, car, vacations, clothes, status and wealth. Everywhere they look they see others doing the same, driven on by an endless stream of propaganda produced by the corporations, their government, their neighbors, and fed by their own inner desires. When parents buy into the American dream, the expensive car, the nice house, the vacations and the cruises, they can expect their children to adopt the same values, and buy into the sexual revolution as well. People today do not worship a statue of Mars, the god of war, nor do they worship the figure of an emperor, but millions resonate to images of precision bombing, the sight of aircraft carriers, and tough talk by a president dressed in a flak jacket and surrounded by smartly dressed men and women in uniform.

On this last point, one might wonder if there is really an intimate connection between war, capitalism, and paganism. Generally speaking, war is endemic to all societies, capitalist or not, and this is due to the fact that the pagan passion for revenge, conquest, and domination resides in every human heart and society. The present economic system, however, leads to war and this for a number of reasons. Capitalism and War

First of all, in their quest for profits corporations must go overseas for raw materials, cheap labor, and markets, and this at once demands that foreign governments and peoples be willing to play by the capitalist rules. From time to time foreign governments do not play by the rules, and as a result, they must be coerced by invasion, blockade, or subversion. This has happened a number of times in the last one hundred years, especially in Latin America. Among others, think of Panama, Nicaragua, Chile, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.

Secondly, advertising rarely appeals to legitimate needs or rational argument. It appeals to fears, desires, and instincts. Once a population losses the ability to discriminate between legitimate and illegitimate needs, whether in buying a new car or bombing a foreign capital, political rhetoric descends to the level of advertising. When threats occur, war is frequently an immediate option. War for the body politic is like taking a pill. It offers a simple, apparently effective solution to complex political and social problems. A population accustomed to immediate gratification, and to thinking at the level of advertising, will not follow political leaders who offer complex negotiated solutions to international problems. They will follow leaders who offer a simple, effective solution, and war is the answer.

The values pursued in any society shape a society's perception of the world. A society dedicated to the headlong pursuit of wealth carries within its bosom a profound fear of losing that wealth. This profound fear distorts a society's perceptions of reality, allowing it to perceive threats that may not be there, or to respond to real threats with military actions beyond the necessary. This is especially true of the leadership of the United States. By and large, that leadership is very wealthy. As rich people, they see the world in terms of free enterprise, access to markets and raw materials, and profits. It is difficult for them to believe that others may not share their point of view. Instead, they see themselves as called to "help" others become free, democratic capitalists. At times, this help becomes invasion or subversion.

Further, the rich and powerful are accustomed to buying and getting what they want. They see the world as a "can do" place where money and power get quick results. War, the application of military power, the "shock and awe" of military might, makes sense to them. Diplomacy, negotiation, cooperation with international bodies, make far less sense because, as directors of corporate empires, they are accustomed to giving orders, not working with others as equals.

For years, the United States has bombed, invaded, subverted, or coerced some other nation. Some of these military actions could possibly be justified along the lines of Christian just-war theory. A goodly portion of it, however, is simply capitalist wealth and distorted perceptions creating the conditions for war. The sad thing is that Christians go along with it.

What Shall We Do?

To begin with, Christians need to focus on the person of Jesus as known in Scripture. He did not put his instincts, wants, and desires above the will of God. We need to receive his atoning sacrifice and follow his example. This means that decisions need to come under the scrutiny of Holy Scripture. Above all, we cannot adopt the pagan life-style of this culture. Jesus called some of his followers to give up their possessions, and he called everyone to practice generosity and mercy. Jesus was not a prude. He loved associating with people. He turned the water into wine at the wedding feast, and he loved to dine at people's houses. There is a certain joy in material blessings, but only as a lesser end, not as a primary concern. For Christians, God is first, always. Generally speaking, the tithe has been seen as a standard of Christian giving. That is a good place to start in terms of breaking with the world. In addition to giving, Christians are called to live modestly and to use their resources for the Kingdom rather than ostentatious homes, cars, and vacations.

There is also such a thing as a Christian business or Christian employee. A Christian business is run on Christian principles, sustained by prayer and dedicated to the will of God. Among other things, Christian businesses pay fair wages with pension plans and health insurance. They do not exploit but respect their employees. They seek to produce a good product and market it truthfully. The management holds itself accountable to high standards of conduct, and employees are held to similar standards. A Christian business is not a charity agency. People can be fired, but only with just cause. Christian employees do their job well, treat others with respect, do not lie or promote themselves unfairly. They are a blessing in any business. It is wonderful what God can do in a business run according to his will. It would be a real blessing if Christians would seriously consider the wealth of biblical material on fair wages, not exploiting the poor, just management, and hard work by employees and employers alike.

Finally, Christians are members of political societies, and these societies pursue various policies. These policies generally favor one group over another. By and large, Christians are called to favor the poorer and weaker members of society. Once this idea is broached, however, the prejudiced mind at once thinks welfare and goes no further. There is a place for welfare for the small fraction of the population who is disabled mentally or physically. Churches can and must play a role in this regard as well. What people really need, however, is decent education with smaller classes and enforced discipline, jobs with a living wage, and good working conditions. Most people do not need charity. As Paul said, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat" (2 Thes 3:10). People also need to live in societies that pursue war as a last resort, and then only in a proportionate and legal fashion. Invasions without some level of international consensus, unless clearly defensive, violates Christian understandings of a just war.

What generally happens in the political sphere, however, is that the body politic is so bombarded with advertising, slogans, half-truths and just plain lies, that many people find it difficult to think clearly. The pagan mind produces this propaganda which in turn appeals to the pagan mind. Such a mind thinks raw power and wealth can solve any problem.

In the final analysis, these problems are spiritual. People need to hear the gospel, respond to Jesus Christ in faith, and then begin to crucify the self that frees the heart from the wants, instincts, desires, and passions that focus on this world rather than eternal life in Christ. Once people are spiritually purified they can see clearly. They can live more simply and are able to discern the paganism prevalent is so much political rhetoric and policy. It is a tragedy that so many Christians are pagan at heart. They resonate to the rhetoric and images of power and wealth. They succumb to advertising that promotes a pagan way of life. What we need in this country is a revival, an outpouring of God's spirit leading to holiness of life. If that were to happen, our country would be refreshed and renewed, and a number of social problems could be resolved. We need Jesus Christ now.

---The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D. is a theologian and former Episcopal priest now with the Anglican Mission in the Americas. He is a former missionary. He resides with his wife in Jacksonville, Florida. His website can be accessed here: www.rsanders.org