Q&A with Chad Hovind
Q. Welcome Chad Hovind, author of Godonomics. Chad, you set out to uncover what the Bible has to say about economics. Briefly, what did you discover?
A. God laid out powerfully practical principles in the Bible that taught people how to live in a free society: Property rights, incentive, liberty. The history of the world shows how these principles articulated in the Bible unleashed a wave of liberty, productivity, and generosity that turned the Roman Empire upside-down, unleashed free enterprise, and established America’s founding principles. Most of us have been brainwashed (unintentionally perhaps) into thinking that socialism = generosity, while capitalism = greed. History shows the opposite. Societies that embraced Socialism were almost always atheistic and oppressive while free enterprise societies were the most generous in human history. When folks think Christianity endorses Socialism, I wonder if they’ve ever read the Bible or studied history. In the words of Inigo Montoya from Princess Bride, “I do not think Socialism means what you think it means.”
Q. You write that free-market capitalism, which has produced history’s highest standard of living, is upheld in Scripture. Can you explain how capitalism is God’s idea?
A. Capitalism is the free exchange of privately held goods and services. The Ten Commandments talk about private property 20% of the time and liberty is mentioned from Genesis to Revelation: “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” and “Proclaim Liberty unto all the land.” Free exchange plays to both personal incentive while requiring an others-focused approach. In order for me to profit, I must put the buyer’s needs first and offer them a quality and price that they would freely choose to engage in. Proverbs 31 summarizes it this way: A business woman produces, she profits, and she gives money to the poor. The Bible mentions that she “discerned her merchandise was good” because in order for her to profit (the fruit of her hands), she had to offer a product (merchandise) that others wanted and needed. Adam Smith, the founder of modern capitalism and a moral philosopher who wrote The Weath of Nations¸ believed that morality was the key to capitalism. He wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments to show the moral connection to capitalism.
Q. You ask the question, “What would God say to America’s founders?” How does this answer show that not all economic systems are equal?
A. In a world of donkeys, elephants, and rhinos, God offers the voice of a lion. He roars timeless principles that are common sense. Do not spend more than you make. Do not spend tomorrow’s money today. Don’t trade liberty for perceived security. Do not steal. Do not elect politicians to do your stealing for you. The foundation of our country was built on a theistic worldview. The Declaration of Independence connects the dots between freedom and God with the worlds, “We are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights.” Individuals loan the powers given to us by God to governments to secure personal rights. Socialism thinks individuals serve the State while free enterprise endorses a limited government with checks and balances because we are skeptical about collective power. Capitalism also teaches that the State serves the individual. C.S. Lewis said it best, “Again, Christianity asserts that every individual human being is going to live forever… If individuals live only seventy years, then a state, or a nation, or a civilization, which may last for a thousand years, is more important than an individual. But if Christianity is true, then the individual is not only more important but incomparably more important, for he is everlasting and the life of the state or civilization, compared with his, is only a moment.”
Q. What does Adam Smith, the father of modern capitalism, have to teach us about profit and its ability to change an entire national economy?
A. After his book Wealth of Nations was published and its principles took hold, wages quadrupled in the next 50 years, and then quadrupled again over the next 50. Every society that has leaned into free enterprise has prospered and benefited the poor and needy. Profits are good. They are not a four letter word. They are the incentive for work. The Bible describes work as a gift from God. One of the many reasons we work is for the incentive of what the Bible calls, “The fruit of our labor.” The Bible tells us that “if we don’t work, we shouldn’t eat,” and that we should “work for our own bread.” This is true in parenting as well. Children who lack reward and discipline are not incentivized to work. This attitude of entitlement cripples them from having a successful future. When we celebrate profits which are made by prioritizing other’s needs, everyone wins. When we demonize profits, should we be surprised at a culture that embraces sloth and laziness. A society that punishes the ant for storing up food in the summer for winter by rewarding the sloth who went sun bathing is destined to fail.