I still put in ten hours of donated time each week to writing my economic commentary. I plan to do this until I turn 71. Then I would like to write a book comparable to Smith's WEALTH OF NATIONS. But first I must finish more of the exegetical work.

April, 2000

Dear ICE Subscriber:

I have finished the first draft of my commentary on the economic texts in Luke. I am now in the proofreading and final revision stage. This should occupy me through April. I will then write an introduction and a conclusion. I hope to post the finished book on http://www.freebooks.com in May.

I call the book TREASURE AND DOMINION. More than the other gospels, Luke's gospel is concerned with wealth and its moral risks. Again and again, Luke recorded Jesus' comments on riches, poverty, and stewardship. Luke was writing for the gentiles, and his focus was on money.

Luke's collection of the words of Jesus reveals Jesus' concern about the morally corrupting aspects of wealth. Mammon is the great enemy in Luke's gospel, even more than in Matthew's account. This seems odd, because Matthew (Levi) had been a tax collector. But his gospel is not equally concerned with the relationship of faith and money.

Writing an economic commentary on Luke was a challenge. The Jesus who appears in Luke's gospel is essentially anti- wealth. This is the same Jesus who appears in the other gospels, but Luke's extracts from Jesus' words are more systematically contemptuous of the rich and powerful people of this world.

Luke's Jesus calls us to a strict ethics of charity. The poor must not be neglected. Covenant-keepers are to sacrifice their earthly interests on behalf of the righteous poor. There is no praise of wealth-creation in Luke's account of Jesus' message. Representative is the parable of the barn-builder:

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God (Luke 12:16-21).

Laying up earthly treasure is illegitimate if we are not also rich toward God. There is no escape from Jesus' words. Jesus did not praise the virtue of selfishness. He did not offer a defense of capitalism in terms of the economic productivity of greed.

Luke's gospel offers a theological and ethical challenge to the modern intellectual defense of humanistic capitalism. Adam Smith used personal self-interest as the integrating theme of WEALTH OF NATIONS. This is better than beginning with bureaucratic man, the planner. At least Smith's account implicitly assumed original sin and God's curse of the ground (scarcity). Smith's social theory is a secularized version of Scottish Presbyterianism. But it is still secular. It must be replaced.

I have worked for four decades, little by little, to develop an outline of such a replacement. I am closer to finishing today than I was in the spring of 1960, when I first dedicated my life to this task. But there is no doubt in my mind that the gospel of Luke is the biggest challenge in the Bible to modern free market theory. There is too much in it which denies the starting point of post-Smith economic theory. It rejects man, the systematic accumulator of capital.

Writing this book has placed me under conviction. I am convinced that most Christians need to increase their giving. The tithe is only the beginning. It is morally mandatory. Jesus made this clear in his criticism of the Pharisees. "But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Luke 11:42). The tithe must go to the local church, as I wrote in TITHING AND THE CHURCH (ICE, 1994). For a free copy, click through:

http://www.freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/21a6_47e.htm

(Don't forget to paste the final "m" into the address.)

But the tithe is only the bare minimum. There should be additional offerings to the local church. Then there is charity to nonecclesiastical works of mercy. Then there is charity to individuals, non-tax-deductible.

Two weeks ago, I came up with an idea for helping charities raise millions of dollars from small businesses. I am going to mail out a report on this program in May. I will send it to subscribers of my free e-mail newsletter, REALITY CHECK. You should subscribe. If you want to, click through and send your subscription request:

mailto:ice@ballistic.com

Naturally, I would like you to name ICE as your designated charity if you decide to take advantage of the offer I will present in my report.

I have the plan. I do not yet have the organization. This month, I will set up a profit-seeking company to help charities raise the money. I will set aside 25% of its ownership for Christian ministries. I am interested in getting information on Christian ministries, such as medical missions, that run mainly on donated time. I prefer small ones that have very low overhead. This way, any money generated for them by the company will accomplish more.

If you know of such a ministry or charity, send a note to me at

mailto:icetylertx@aol.com

I am not sure which book to choose after I finish Luke. Mark is short, and just about every relevant verse in Mark is in Matthew or Luke. I can find almost nothing in John about economics, except that Judas was a thief (John 12:6). I may do the Pauline epistles. I may go to Acts.

I still put in ten hours of donated time each week to writing my economic commentary. I plan to do this until I turn 71. Then I would like to write a book comparable to Smith's WEALTH OF NATIONS. But first I must finish more of the exegetical work.

Your donations help make this project possible. You have ICE's address: P. O. Box 8000, ToughSheetski, Gary, Ark.

-- Garys-Back (Weird-One@flake.con), April 03, 2000

Answers

Does this mean he is lowering the price of Remnant Review?

-- Ken Decker (kcdecker@worldnet.att.net), April 04, 2000.

cpr is now posting as

-- Garys-Back (Weird-One@flake.con)

Is he right to bring this to our attention? Probably.

Regardless, he's HIDING BEHIND A SHEET!

HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!

-- cpr (is@apompous.ass), April 04, 2000.

And you're not hiding behind a sheet.....?

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black......

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), April 04, 2000.

Who's the poster so involved with rumpology? Am I alone in thinking that he/she should perhaps take up tea-leaves instead? Of course it goes both ways. Some folks are fond of saying "THAT's 'a'.", as though 'a' were a real name. LOL.

-- Anita (notgiving@anymore.thingee), April 04, 2000.

Anita,

Why are YOU hiding behind a sheet?

HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!

-- cpr (is@apompous.ass), April 04, 2000.

Rumpologist:

I stopped posting my E-mail address when the spam got unbearable. The regulars from TB2000 already know my real address, as did folks on other fora who come here. And you?

-- Anita (notgiving@anymore.thingee), April 04, 2000.

An interesting post, with a very well-chosen subject line, so it doesn't matter a fig to me who put it up, CPR or someone else.

-- Peter Errington (petere@ricochet.net), April 04, 2000.

Maybe ole Gary can get a few more to listen to him this time-not me, not ever. I'm still waiting for his apology to the people he scammed.

-- Jeanne (jcd51@webtv.net), April 04, 2000.

I give my coat, my food, to the person on the street. I will never again, give any monies to a government driven organization. I don't care what Gary or others decry. Just by chance, have a wood stove, and some long term foods. They were given to me, I apparently have no immediate need, I would like to send these things to those in need. How to find such as those?

-- Call Me Stupid (Hellnoto@organization.com), January 07, 2001.