Money is power, it is universally loved and respected, it acts as a more consistent bridge between people than love, family or religion (I mean in reality rather than fairy tale). It sounds like God trying to make us all work together... any thoughts.
2007-02-26 02:49:32 · 20 answers · asked by mince42 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Reccmike: I think they meant greed rather than money itself.
2007-02-26 02:57:27 · update #1
Siberia: good point.
2007-02-26 03:40:28 · update #2
Very interesting question! I would say money is more of a religion than a God. We worship it, we all want fulfilment from it, it is the deciding factor in how we live our lives. It is both good and bad, something I can say about a lot of religions.
Ask yourself this, what is more important to you at this exact moment in time, money or God?
And you have your answer.
2007-02-28 04:44:54 · answer #1 · answered by ~Natacha~ 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Money is the means to an end, that end being God.
We either want to be God or be Godlike and to do that we feel that we must be rich to show others that what we are doing is right.
This is one of those puritanical beliefs that a sign of a Godly individual is the fact that God has chosen that person to be wealthy.
The same thought is reflected in the idea of a divine ordination of kings, that they are kings because God wants it so.
But, the worship of money inevitably leads to the slavery of man. Money in and of itself does not exist so man becomes a slave to a thing he can never truly own. That is why so many of the richest men in the world decide late in life to give up their wealth rather than be inslaved by it.
Epicetus was one of he earliest philosopher to argue that it is better to do with less than to live in constant fear that what you have will be taken away from you, and every one who is rich remains that way only because he/she gives away some of that money in the form of jobs and charity.
After all they kill you for money. First because they want it and second because you have it.
2007-02-28 02:35:44 · answer #2 · answered by LORD Z 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
*mammon*
as in "you can't serve both god and mammon..."
money does not exist. it is (as someone has already said) merely a symbol for the exchange of labour.
ever noticed that all our paper money says 'i promise to pay the bearer on demand...' ? ie a £20 note is NOT £20, it is merely the promise of £20... we are exchanging the promise of payment for our goods (and therefore the labour that went into producing those goods).
when the aquisition of money is seen as an end in its own right, it becomes a *god*. it demands more and more of our time and energy. it takes control of our lives. it demands that everything of any other value - relationships, other people's feelings, the earth, other species - be sacrificed to it. it distracts us from the reality of human beings living and working to enable us to *have* what we have. it fosters division and disrespect, greed and envy.
i'm not sure how you see money creating a bridge between people? through charity? but (possibly apart from in the face of natural disasters) we only need charity because of the greed of certain sections of our world society who put their own wealth above the well-being of the rest of the world.
yes, money is power, and it is most often used as *power over*, rather than *power for*.
if i needed a *god* in my life to enable me to respect, work together with and honour my fellow human beings and this amazing world we live in, i'd choose something other than *money*!!!
2007-02-27 18:55:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whoa, that's some pretty scary thinking...I guess if you look at the UK these days, the one thing that we all have in common is the Pound. We no longer have a universal religion, language or sovreign but we're still bound by cash. But does that make money God? I don't think so. It's an ideology for life, an -ism (in this case, Capitalism)...it's more psychological than spiritual.
2007-02-26 11:06:04 · answer #4 · answered by Leo B 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Money is the route of all evil and can't really be associated with god or anyone.
Personally I have always been of the mind that money should be abolished I think the world would be a more harmonious place if this were the case.
2007-02-27 08:59:54 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Money is purely a human invention. Every other creature on earth lives out its entire life without it. We're only made to believe money equals power.
Think about this - how rich was Jesus? He's still talked about 2000 years after his death. Anyone know the names of the rich men of the period?
2007-02-26 10:56:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
'It sounds like God trying to make us all work together... any thoughts.'
money will only make us work together to beget more money, so money is a self perpetuating force which may be seen as greed but as 'the meek shall inherit the earth' does this mean that money will be eliminate all but the meek, hence money cannot be god .
2007-02-26 16:31:12 · answer #7 · answered by snark 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Money is the dirt of hand,the more it comes to you the more you want it,omly few people aren't like this,Money is not God because money won't be deciding on the day of judgement.Money can't get help repent for your sins.
2007-02-26 10:58:33 · answer #8 · answered by zabist 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I thought the modern God was language. It can and denote meaning, enforce ideology and activity. It also brings people together, allows for social systems to exist. That sort of stuff....
2007-02-26 11:27:08 · answer #9 · answered by a_siberian_husky 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
But for most, money is powerlessness, it's feared and suffered. It burns more bridges than it creates, and the ones it creates aren't real.
And it's all our own doing. Don't blame God. Not for this one at least.
2007-02-26 11:11:04 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋