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 Please note that by state authority I mean all sorts of political arrangements, from socialist governments (now outdated) to the welfare states of contemporary western Europe.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
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