THE TEACHINGS OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS VS THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH TODAY.
Max Weber is a German sociologist, economist and politician. In the year 1904/1905 Max Weber wrote a series of essays about the evolving of capitalism in Northern and Central Europe. These series of essays were later to become the widely read book called “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.”
The book is now regarded as one of the most fundamental political science books on the formation of capitalism in Europe. In 1998, the International Sociological Association, listed this book as the fourth most influential book of the 20th century. The central topic of the book, is the role Protestants played in forming the new economy of the old world.
According to Mr. Weber the Industrial Revolution that gave birth to the new economy in Europe and eventually to our modern civilization, was a result of the teachings of the European Protestants.
Weber believed that when the Protestant ethic influenced large numbers of people to engage in work in the secular world, in enterprises, in trade, in savings, in investments, these gave birth to the new world economy, that is largely known as capitalism. It is upon that economy that our modern world stands.
“All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.” – Calvin Coolidge
Social scientists don’t doubt the fact that the European civilization which is the civilization the whole world enjoys today, was as a result of the direct teachings of the Protestants.
The need to write this article about the Protestant ethics and the role they played in the history of our civilization, becomes more and more apparent to me as I look around the world and see the kind of messages that are been preached by our modern day Protestant Christians (Baptist, Pentecostals, charismatics, etc.)
“In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility.” Titus 2:7
If the teachings of the early Christians changed Rome and the entire Roman Empire, we can’t point to any great change that the teachings coming from our pulpits today are producing upon our world in general. If the teachings of the Protestants in Europe gave birth to the Protestant ethics and the modern civilization, it becomes alarming that most of our charismatic teachings today mainly concentrate on individual aggrandizement.
The kind of gospel that our churches are preaching sometimes are not powerful enough to change the very street where these churches are located talk less of the nation where they are. We are not even going to throw the challenge of changing a whole generation before the modern day church. This generation of believers don’t even know what that means.
To be continued tomorrow…
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CHURCH AND NATION
By Pastor Sunday Adelaja.
