Jesus Christ talked about money more than any other topic, according to Coram Deo moderator Dr. Jacquelyn Winston, chair and associate professor in the Department of Theology.
Coram Deo, an organization of Theology students, seeks to discuss a series of issues about the church’s contradictory values of “acceptance and holiness and the sacred and profane,” and address Christians’ responsibility to “navigate the duality of [their] humanity with [their] divine calling and its implications in the real world.”
On Nov. 10, Coram Deo—translated as “in the presence of God”—hosted a panel of three APU professors who spoke on the topic of Faith and Conscious Consumerism, continuing this year’s theme of Pluralism, Christianity and the Postmodern World.
“It is interesting to have professors who are also theologians, and learn how to engage with others who have different perspectives of God than I do,” junior sociology major Brooke Sinner said.
Winston, along with panelists Dr. Sarah Adams, biblical studies professor Dr. Bruce Baloian and business management adjunct professor Jake Baloian, presented ideas about the spiritual view of money and conscious consumerism for Christians. During the second portion of the event, panelists answered questions from the audience.
Freshman international business major Mayreni Sweis said she looked forward to hearing the panelists’ opinions on consumerism.
“I’m working on a project about consumerism for my CLFM class, and I’m wondering how we as Christians apply our faith to use money in a way that glorifies God,” Sweis said. “I am excited to hear theologians and business professors combine their different mindsets and knowledge about economics and Christian Values to see how those two work together.”
Department of Theology associate chair and assistant professor Dr. Paul Boles enjoyed seeing the practical and applicable ideas that panelists present.
“It is not just theoretical ‘could’ or ‘can,'” Boles said. “It connects theological thinking and the lives we want to live. I enjoy seeing the panelists prepare for important topics and discuss them on the fly.
“The consumer culture encourages people to overindulge and to define one’s identity by what we accumulate,” Boles added. “I’m interested to see how we can find a healthy boundary.”
Winston posed questions for the panelists to answer based on their experience in their area of discipline.
Associate professor in the Department of English, medieval specialist and panelist Dr. Sarah Adams said she found major differences in her medieval studies that separate early saint stories from contemporary Christian memoirs. She related her comments specifically to Rosario Champagne Butterfield’s Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert.
“Early saints repeatedly sought to lose everything in this life to be united with God, turning away from this world to Christ,” Adams said. “This is really different from modern Christian memoirs that wrongly say material comforts are a reward and direct result of being a Christian.”
Winston defined the growing trend of triumphalism as “holding a mindset that thinks we win because God’s on our side. The Church has reconstructed our identity to be one of expectation and a right to be prosperous, as if it’s proof that we have enough faith for God to favor us and love us.”
Panelist Jake Baloian said this thinking has raised a huge problem.
“Humanity, since the garden, has had to deal with the reality that there’s not enough to go around,” Jake Baloian said. “There’s not enough to satisfy our needs, wants and desires. There is a constant reminder that there will always be needs not fulfilled. Scarcity is a living condition.”
According to Jake Baloian, assuming that scarcity is a reality and people want complex community, then there needs to be a system to deal with that scarcity. He said if people inappropriately attach economic value or force certain decisions in to a market based model, it can cause damage to people, families and society.
Panelist Bruce Baloian added that financial poverty isn’t the only kind of poverty, referring to the Beatitudes.
“You don’t just have to be poor in resources, you can also be poor in spirit,” Bruce Baloian said. “Having low self-esteem is as great as having financial poverty. I think not acknowledging this is a great detrimental thinking that is hurting the American church.”
Adams closed the forum with a call to mimick Jesus’ sacrificial life.
“What would it look like if instead of seeking to obtain power, we surrendered our power?” Adams said.