Feb 14, 2012

Social issues and the economy


Do divorce rates, incarceration, abortion, and low educational achievement affect the economy and government spending in America?

Of course they do.  Yet political pundits are trying to make us think the upcoming presidential election is solely about the economy.  Even some right-leaning commentators want us to believe that America's political parties, candidates, and voters have to choose between economic issues and social ones.

It's a false dichotomy. America's social and economic issues are inextricably inter-connected! America cannot have a healthy economy without strong moral values. Consider:
Marriage—Traditional marriage is vital for numerous reasons. As I've witnessed working in prisons for the past 35 years, the breakdown of the family is the principle reason why the prison population has increased tenfold since 1975. As the traditional marriage unit disintegrates, more and more single parents struggle to provide for their children, relying on public assistance and putting further strain on our economy. A recent study by the Institute of Marriage and Family says that the family breakdown's cost to society amounts to more than $6 billion a year in the U.S.  It's both a moral and economic crisis.
Protection of life—This is key.  Abortion, which kills more than 1 million babies each year, is the leading edge of the encroaching culture of death today. It is the overriding issue at the heart of what we are as a civilization. In addition to the moral toll that abortion takes on our society, the economic costs are also significant. Besides the $330 million of taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood every year, there are also 52 million lives that have ended since the legalization of abortion. These babies could have been consumers, producers, and inventors in our society. In essence, abortion has eliminated key players in our national economy.
That defense of life—that commitment to the equal dignity to every single human being—is the reason we have a free market economy! Christian theologians realized that work had innate dignity. As a result, a capitalist economic system developed in the northern Italian states during the 11th century. This freed people to work and give full expression to their God-given creative gifts.
Low Educational Achievement—As the world economy globalizes, the U.S. public school system has less and less influence on the world market. Historically, the mission of schools was to develop in the young both intellectual and moral virtues. Early universities—Bologna, the Sorbonne, Oxford, and Cambridge—were founded by Christians to serve as institutes for Christian education. Christians knew that to fulfill their God-given potential they needed to be educated not just in the Bible but also in virtue.  Without a virtue-filled education, society—both moral and economic—will eventually breakdown. We are witnessing these effects in our lifetime. Our schools are now ruled by moral irrelevance resulting in low educational achievement and limited Kingdom impact.
To have a strong economy, you must have a strong moral foundation. But the "Great Illusion"—the myth that we can somehow have a values-free economy and keep it free—has affected American lifeOur nation's social and economic issues have always been inextricably interconnected and must remain so if we are to survive.

As a Colson Center supporter, we know you "get it." Your courage to speak out is paramount—especially since courage is in such short supply! I hope you know how much we appreciate your efforts to seek out and speak out truth.

The Colson Center is here to help strengthen your Christian worldview. Please use the articles, tools, resources, and educational materials available at ColsonCenter.org. Participate in our ministry. Grow in your faith. And speak out for truth.

To encourage you, your family, and your friends to live unashamedly for God's Truth, we would like to offer you a copy of The Sky Is Not Falling. This book is a compilation of articles I've written in Christianity Today over the past dozen years, and it addresses many of the issues facing our culture today—and how we Christians can arm ourselves with knowledge and a vision for living with renewed optimism.

The support of friends like you is vital to our ability to share these truths with others! I am delighted to offer you this book as a thank you when you become a Member of The Colson Center.  Your contribution will help us share these truths, educate our friends and family, and restore our country's moral and fiscal values.

By standing together, combating the myths, and educating with Christ's love and hope, God can awaken His people and change our world. Our society can be changed. In fact, the onlyway a society is ever changed is by a movement of the people—and that's you and us together.


Yours in His service,
Signature
Charles W. Colson
Founder

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