“The realms of spirit and religion, engaged as they are with the
non-material world, nevertheless must find a way to work in a world that trades
in money” (John Bloom). There has always been a duality between money and
religion where religious followers are told to not be greedy and let go of
material possession. Bloom argues that a third realm exists where both money
and spirituality intertwined.
Using examples from the Bible and Stafford, Bloom says though
taxes and interest rates are needed to share the costs of well-being the
government provides (i.e. Medicare, Social Security, Public goods), religious
institutions are exempt from these monetary policies. Jesus endorses taxes when
a tax collector asks Peter for money, but tells him to instead pay the man with
a fish, which will have a coin inside. On another occasion when approached by a
tax collector himself, Jesus refuses to pay taxes because the coin is inscribed
with Caesar’s name. Therefore, tax collectors should only collect what belongs
to the state and what belongs to god, the state is not entitled to.
We
agree that both money and spirituality are not mutually exclusive, but must
work alongside one another for the well-being of individuals. If taxes are too
high with not enough benefits, it affects our ability to give more because we
don’t have that much to give. If we do not have enough taxes, government
projects will not operate sufficiently. Though taxes should also not be imposed
on religious institutions since making profits is viewed as greed, money
generated from government taxes should be donated to said institutions so that
they may operate.
Even though government needs tax revenue to maintain an order society, there are things that the government cannot tax. Religious institution is one of them. Religious institutions exist to serve the people. GOvernment should donate money to them, instead of taxing them
ReplyDeleteI think this idea that spirituality and money are connected is actually very interesting. Although on the surface level it may seem like they aren't, they are actually intertwined and this forces you to rethink money as we know it.
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating that Bloom connects money with spirituality because very few people connect them together. It's also interesting to how different people then viewed taxes compared to how we view them today.
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating that Bloom connects money with spirituality because very few people connect them together. It's also interesting to how different people then viewed taxes compared to how we view them today.
ReplyDeleteI have never really thought about the connection between spirituality/religion and money. I do not know how I feel about the government both not taxing religious institutions and donating to them, as religion in current day has become increasingly diverse, and does not suit as large of a majority as it used to.
ReplyDeleteInteresting tax system that is described above. Sounds complicated and counterintuitive same as the one we have today.
ReplyDeleteIt is funny that some religious institutions are using this to make a lot of money. This happens in my country!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMoney seems to have a tricky relationship with religion. Though Christians denounce greed and Christians were historically banned from giving loans (which led to Jews becoming bankers in the Middle Ages), the Catholic Church is also the one who told people that they could go to heaven faster if they paid more money to the Church.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to hear about the connection between spirituality and money.. Typically no one really groups those two things together.
ReplyDelete