Christian Taboos + Conclusion

There are questions we have as Christians about the world (I am speaking for the Copts) that have been left unasked and have polluted the air we live in. We can’t even think straight because these questions bother us intrinsically and are so fundamental to our faith. Like Carbon Monoxide, it is colourless and odorless, hidden before us in plain sight, but lethal if there is no ventilation – if there is no fresh air.

What is this fresh air?

This is the signifier of a fresh presence: it is the one who warns the others about the gas in the room which will kill them if the windows are left closed – the one who, with calculated brutality, riots the others by hollowing the ground beneath their feet. And these we either treat with scornful distrust or sincere gratitude.

But the speaker is unaffected by the praise of his followers or the wicked spitefulness of his haters. Merely wishing them an intellectual conscience and a sober faith, he beckons to them all, asking:

Is a First-World Christian equivalent to a Third-World one?

Can we spend money on ourselves?

Can we pursue money, i.e. pursue wealth?

How should we think towards non-Christians?

Is it wrong to pursue a career? Or Accumulate Business?

Is there anything wrong with being competitive as a Christian?

The purpose of these questions is not to overcomplicate the life of a Christian, but really to show that it is quite impossible to standardise anything for all circumstances. A First-World Christian is significantly different to a Third-World one. Being humble and modest is not a success-driven mindset under capitalist conditions, and because every Christian desires to raise a family under good living conditions, he will pursue wealth by whatever means to achieve this. But this requires him to place himself before others, since capitalism is fundamentally a competition for wealth.

What is is namely, then, that we are trying to get? If we are not of the world, what are we doing living in a capitalist society which compels its followers to pursue money and status? What is it then that the capitalist Christian (a paradoxical coupling?) is striving for? Does Christianity at its base morality condone a socialist state?

I am leaving this article open-ended as it is purely to stir curiosity. I am uninterested in stirring my audience more than this, and leave it for them to answer these for themselves, or more likely, convince themselves that they have.

But away with all this talking, and we should all pray that we all live the answer to these questions!