Wednesday 6 April 2011

Intervention, Colonization, Trade and the Gospel

What came first - the chicken or the egg?

How were nations changed and great nations forged - was the Gospel preached first, or did commerce with those nations happen first, or in some cases did intervention and colonzition happen first?

Jesus said to go and preach the Gospel - go and teach all nations - He didn't say go and trade or go intervene and colonize.

But Paul needed a ship to get to some of those islands. Those shipping-routes only existed because of trade. The ship was built originally for commercial purposes.

Preachers of the Gospel couldn't have come to Australia, or the Americas, except on ships. Those ships were commercially owned. And the commercial-routes serviced colonies.

So which comes first - the preaching of the Gospel, or commerce? and in some cases, colonization.

Sometimes, intervention is a moral imperative. If intervention was justified, so is occupation for as long as it is viable to hand self-rule over. Meanwhile, commerce develops - and there's nothing immoral about that, in and of itself. In fact, it's ethical to be productive, and to give others the opportunity for self-improvement through activity. And preachers of the Gospel ride on the backs of that.

The Apostles traveled the world on existing shipping-routes, on ships constructed for commercial purposes - servicing the Roman empire initially.

It's viewed as politically incorrect to talk of 'colonization' these days. But that view is hindering the opportunities to better people's lives, and to preach the Gospel in some places.

Sometimes, it's a moral imperative to intervene, to run the government, and to trade.

But it has to be based on principles of righteousness, equity, justice, mercy, love - out of a heart to serve. And it's not wrong to profit from serving. It must be a win-win situation. For mutual good. To profit withal. The Gospel rides on the back of that.

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