According to dictionary.com, “The term Christian values historically refers to the values derived from the teachings of Jesus and taught by Christians throughout the history of the religion.” Based on general knowledge, an example of a Christian value is the Ten Commandment, i.e. thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill etc. Christian values are what help society discern between what is good and bad. The Bible is the law of God thus producing the law of society, whereas we get the justice system. It is true that all of our laws do not derive from the Bible but the bulk of it does, according to lessons from law school. The Bible and its sentiments are crucial to society for various reasons, one happens to be to prevent economic issues.
Economic issues include, “…but are not limited to arbitrage, government spending, carbon taxes, oil supply and monetary policy.”(Beggs; pg.1) It is true that the economy flows better when the society is in order, for example, when people are not thrown into jail. In order to draw this conclusion, let’s stick to this example of jail. When a person is thrown into jail it is because they broke the law. Based on knowledge attained from law school, the law is mostly based on Christian or “family values” as it is called therefore meaning the criminal broke a law of God thus broke a law of society thus leading him to go to jail. Let’s assume this person did not go to jail, most likely they’ve observed God’s laws or Bible or the law meaning they are a positive influence in society, thus adding to the economy.
On the other hand, two things happen to people who come from jail; one, they commit more crimes, or two, they become excluded from society meaning they can’t a job. If they can’t get a job they become a liability on the government, i.e. welfare. How does let’s say one person on welfare affect the economy? Common sense says they reduce the funds of the government. Now, let’s say 1,000 or 1,000,000 jailed people are out of work and depending on welfare, this is an economic devastation for society. Thus answering my thesis, that lack of Christian values in society can cause economic issues. Research says, “America’s combined prison and local jail population topped 2 million inmates for the first time in history on June 30, 2002.”(Longely).” As you can see here, there is a strong tie between lack of Christian values and economic issues in our society.
Bibliography
Beggs, Jodi. “Economics.” About.com. U.S. Government Info. Web. 9 Feb 2014. .
Longley, Robert. “About.com.” U.S. Prison and Jail Population Tops 2 Million. U.S. Government Info, 08 Apr 2003. Web. 9 Feb 2014. .