List, Gary I don’t know anything about President Trump’s ‘religious advisors’[ if he even indeed has such] but I think that David French’s article has little that is analagous with Peirce’s three modes of evolution -and certainly, both evolution and religion have nothing to do with the economic infrastructure of a nation.
Both evolution and economics rest, in my view, on pragmatic reality, on facts that can be empirically verified. Evolution is a biological reality - and all three Peircean methods, in my view, function [ tychastic random chance; anancastic mechanical continuity and agapastic networking filiation]. The strongest is, agapastic networking since its information gathering from all its networks enables functional, constructive adaptation. But all three exist... With regard to economics, these processes include the three bases of Investment/Production/Consumption . Even a small agricultural community has to avoid using all its products [seeds, animals] in order to plant next years crops. Religious beliefs are pure ideologies - and to contrast, as French has done, a religious behaviour that focuses on ‘ a contented middle class life[what economic mode enables this? Esther only the middle-class in this society? Where does Investment come from?] with ’the prosperity church’ [ what economic mode enables this?] is a false Either-Or framework. And cannot, in my view,be linked to an economic mode. Just my immediate reaction… Edwina Taborsky > On Apr 2, 2025, at 9:40 PM, Gary Richmond <[email protected]> wrote: > > List, > > The lead article in David French's NYT newsletter today, "Trump’s religious > advisers have a peculiar view of Christianity." immediately made me think of > Peirce's sharp contrast between what he characterized as the Gospel of Greed > as fully opposed to the Gospel of Christ (elsewhere referred to by Peirce as > the Gospel of Love). Peirce writes (in a long passage regarding what came to > be known as "Social Darwinism": > > Here, then, is the issue. The gospel of Christ [or Love] says that progress > comes from every individual merging his individuality in sympathy with his > neighbors. On the other side, the conviction of the nineteenth century is > that progress takes place by virtue of every individual's striving for > himself with all his might and trampling his neighbor under foot whenever he > gets a chance to do so. This may accurately be called the Gospel of Greed. > CP 6.294 > > > A brief excerpt from French's piece can perhaps serve as a kind of summary of > it, although an appreciation of the full depth and breadth of his > argumentation requires, I think, a reading of it in its entirety. Ordinarily, > at this point I would put a link to the article, but it's a "subscribers' > only" piece so I can't. (If the url I've placed at the bottom of this message > doesn't work and you'd like to read French's article, email me off-List and > I'll forward it to you.) > > While other traditions may respect the quiet, humble pastor who loves and > serves his community from, say, a modest parsonage or lives a contented, > middle-class life, the pastor of the prosperity church glories in his wealth > and power. > > In fact, these pastors often teach that the most concrete way you can > manifest your own faith and thus receive God’s blessing is by giving > ever-greater amounts to the pastor’s ministry. You demonstrate your faith by > sacrificing to enrich your pastor. > > Traditional Christians are used to giving money to help the poor and to keep > the lights on at church. Christians who follow the prosperity gospel give > money for the pastor’s mansion, and — in extreme cases — the pastor’s jet > <https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/qdgUUXu9jfrcBXkYZy9afA~~/AAAAARA~/YePAwH1qCDz4-skI2Gy3Hpg6b4mZQ6ulvy2EfBLmgYXHgxjcnrnFzcobr41yVCOTxocs2OqJKRSF1gu7LbN4sGIYx234QcW7jfFocI6hyl6Xx7BUi8TmihRRH0Bve0JRWUcxpxgG5b_4Ck0xq7Azfl5Gckg1VYrsESSYZ4fX_ZSRJfVdnEGh26IAodU_i3mMjvwqz55_mVBxNkrTF-v2U3JsuVZ9YgRgMwivhBzBreGNRanfimiQsnIxxL4b5QxSfobGMaSpGQ1feb7oYfeUfoHOz7Ff5xDGD1JL2oYJoFhKezM8k657nowGZc4uI7mT-Y-4ovoHu1mwKUOuxkTv_BvBvgFEzjjHM4rWibvDlMQQpsrTlTmgupZupLsVMPk6WasIBasgvMRWh58wlr764pRON3V-lgm7OK1IyMRku7kuAHAroxZaHYUD6h_VqmSv>. > > But here’s where things get truly strange. These congregations don’t love the > pastor in spite of his obvious exploitation. They give to him or her > enthusiastically, inspired by the pastor’s wealth, hoping that by providing > him or her their absolute devotion (including their financial resources) > they, too, will one day enjoy the same wealth and power. > > Think of it as a kind of investment strategy — pastors promise believers that > they’ll receive a “hundredfold” return on their gifts (twisting a passage in > the Gospel of Mark > <https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/zC-8ildg2Qw8sxw-5Ew0Zw~~/AAAAARA~/-iN_xZjuxd0QP4s5G38UdSMcMUCkoU-TZGMUtN9xZXpwnGYN2c1xPUaUzCNL2fsItKUZ-Oyfk1U-zSVA-fyTB7zy4ypJ9fpMmlDj5GUOQirDQJNyeBiOohE-zZujatqHhTtBoZBs4rx6_WkMSpQAPyxPNWtlhobQl2Bp-AijKkRmmLb4sBB0-reUmtcZHQFtr1eVdlo9UmE5go4C1TTeP0bfcQHy7NZmRg1lFFVGvqsNsWGhXJ_s33AcNtEYlOlIZyRBdcoz1ymVJu23JMUxg_seKO5YVph6mUPqaGg1FrnWBum4Y04vBcZCcovssSuPHOf9iqYmFGFW2wRpZzoa6dYU_OZvQIepQw7PyXSrnZI~>). > > In his article, French argues that the contrast between what he calls "humble > Christians" and their megachurch counterparts has never been clearer. In his > view authentic Christians (and, in my view, true humanists of all stripes and > sects, religious or not) are guided by humility and selflessness, live to > some large extent to serve others, and prioritize love in the form of faith, > charity, and at least the hope of community. Meanwhile, major megachurch > figures embody a brand of (again in my view) pseudo- or even > anti-Christianity that glorifies wealth, power, and personal gain; they offer > "blessings" (material ones, like eventual great wealth, but also bizarre > "spiritual" ones, like personal 'angels' as discussed in the article) in > exchange for hefty donations. > > The prosperity gospel they preach distorts faith into a transactional system > where believers are encouraged to enrich their pastors in hopes of "divine > favor." Unlike the humble pastor who dedicates his life to service, these > leaders revel in material excess (see the link above of the mega-pastor with > a fleet of jets), mirroring the values of the political figures they endorse. > The rise of independent charismatic churches -- led by self-appointed, > unchecked leaders -- further deepens this, in my view, tragic distortion, > promoting a worldview where power and wealth signal divine approval. > > So while historically the true "heart" of Christianity (and Buddhism, > Hinduism, Islam, etc. and non-religious humanism of all stripes) has > emphasized humility, sacrifice, and concern for the poor, this perverse new > "theology" celebrates dominance, prosperity, and even a dangerous, > quasi-messianic view of political figures like Donald Trump. So French > counsels that, just as Martin Luther once nailed his 95 Theses in protest of > indulgences, today’s humble Christians especially (but also all truly > human-centered folk) must challenge the corruption that has infiltrated their > faith, thus rejecting the Gospel of Greed and returning to a Gospel of Love > and Grace. > > David French's article > https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/dynamic/render?campaign_id=292&emc=edit_df_20250402&instance_id=151659&isViewInBrowser=true&nl=david-french&productCode=DF®i_id=68716072&segment_id=195096&sendId=195096&uri=nyt://newsletter/bbcb3660-d70a-598d-94c4-00d89fd25ad8&user_id=b1422b225dd9c2c469ac06c116c9fb08 > > Best, > > Gary R > _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ > ARISBE: THE PEIRCE GATEWAY is now at > https://cspeirce.com and, just as well, at > https://www.cspeirce.com . It'll take a while to repair / update all the > links! > ► PEIRCE-L subscribers: Click on "Reply List" or "Reply All" to REPLY ON > PEIRCE-L to this message. PEIRCE-L posts should go to [email protected] . > ► To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message NOT to PEIRCE-L but to [email protected] with > UNSUBSCRIBE PEIRCE-L in the SUBJECT LINE of the message and nothing in the > body. More at https://list.iu.edu/sympa/help/user-signoff.html . > ► PEIRCE-L is owned by THE PEIRCE GROUP; moderated by Gary Richmond; and > co-managed by him and Ben Udell.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ARISBE: THE PEIRCE GATEWAY is now at https://cspeirce.com and, just as well, at https://www.cspeirce.com . It'll take a while to repair / update all the links! ► PEIRCE-L subscribers: Click on "Reply List" or "Reply All" to REPLY ON PEIRCE-L to this message. PEIRCE-L posts should go to [email protected] . ► To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message NOT to PEIRCE-L but to [email protected] with UNSUBSCRIBE PEIRCE-L in the SUBJECT LINE of the message and nothing in the body. More at https://list.iu.edu/sympa/help/user-signoff.html . ► PEIRCE-L is owned by THE PEIRCE GROUP; moderated by Gary Richmond; and co-managed by him and Ben Udell.
