A Trinitarian Interpretation of Humanity, Inspired by the work of Douglas Meeks

Douglas Meeks is a professor of theology at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. The following post is an interpretation of segments of chapter 5 (God and Property) of Meeks' book God the Economist.

When we understand God as the Trinity (the Father, the Son and the love between them, the Holy Spirit), we can understand humanity as a community of individuals. The reason for this stems from the assumption that human concepts of authority derive from human concepts of God. When God is conceived as an indivisible, immutable unit, incapable of suffering and isolated from human beings, authority will be shaped in the image of this conception of God, especially when the existence of God becomes irrelevant in the context of human authority.

If we accept the assumption that human concept of authority is shaped in the image of human conceptualization of God, then the vision of an immutable, indivisible God will shape authority into a state authority concerned with an efficient allocation of resources (at all levels), and not with livelihood. Please note that by state authority I mean all sorts of political arrangements, from socialist governments (now outdated) to the welfare states of contemporary western Europe. Furthermore, in this context by livelihood I understand enabling humans to achieve their potential, which is the enjoyment of their capabilities, without being bound to them.

Nevertheless, once we conceive God as the unity between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, humanity becomes a community of individuals with distinctive functions and interests, that belong to one another. In this conception, no function is more important than the other, and there are no fixed roles. This is, the janitor cleans while the professor teaches, and yet these functions are essential to communal livelihood, as well as individual livelihood. Neither the professor nor the janitor is more important, and the janitor -if livelihood is the goal of society shaped in the image of the Trinity- can become a professor in as much the professor could become a janitor.

The reason for this stems from the notion of Trinity. The Father creates, the Son redeems, and the Holy Spirit enables the work of the Son; the Three are One, and their relationship is dynamic. This is, the workings of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are dependent on one another. Therefore, a society that shapes authority conceptualizing God as the Trinity will assure livelihood in community, for authority will be conceived as a figure that is dynamic in their components, and such components, human beings, depend on one another. All humans are one community. The next question is, how to translate this theologically based argument into secular terms without annihilating individuals of other beliefs?

In Christ,
Through Mary,
Mateo

On the Natural and Healthful Attachment to Material Things

As an economist (and there is only one kind of economist in contemporary society, the microeconomics-based one), I understand that markets work under certain assumptions that are oftentimes met, if only in the long run. I also understand and agree with the notion that people behave with the purpose of maximizing their utility, that is, of maximizing the utility they gain from things (goods, services, relationships of any sort). This means, people seek to make a use of what they consume and produce.

Furthermore, this notion, that of the homo-economicus, is not contraire but consistent with a Christian life. When we seek to obtain things to make use of them, we are considering things as what they really are: means to attain a purpose. In a Christian life this idea entails: things are means to get to Heaven and to praise the Lord, Jesus Christ.

We buy a bible not for the bible itself, but for the word in it, in fact, the Word in it. We work to speak and develop a language to communicate the grace of God, not for the language itself. The only purpose we can seek for itself is God because He is the origin of all causes, He is the origin of creation.

We should, we ought to be attached to things as much as they are facilitators of our holiness. Their obtention and accumulation, as well as the things themselves do not take our peace away when we see them in their true light, that of means that have a purpose because we love the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In Christ,
Through Mary,