God or Mammon

The rise of neo-liberalism and globalization has hardened the capitalist worldview in such a way that it has taken on an idolatrous nature for Christianity in the West. At this crucial point in time, David Smith prophetically confronts this issue and invites Christians to re-examine their allegiances.

Using Jesus’s warning that the worship of God and Mammon are incompatible as a lens, Smith traces the tension of this decision from the Mosaic revolution, through the history of biblical Israel and into the New Testament. He provides a historical survey of movements in Christianity that emerged in the constant struggle to counter the imperial church’s conformity to a materialistic culture. Finally, he examines the modern world’s shift toward an economistic culture, which has abandoned social values and needs. Christianity, which has become a global movement with its heartlands across the southern hemisphere, now faces the challenge and opportunity of a world in deepening crisis. In this timely and important book, Smith encourages us all to join in the quest for an alternative society that is shaped by kingdom values.