Transcript Does Recycling Waste Resources?

Economic Evidences for
Christianity
W. Robert Reed
Department of Economics
University of Oklahoma
I. Introduction
Four Main Points
Humans consistently and
pervasively behave in
ways that violate standard
economic theory.
A
fundamental,
and
unique,
teaching
of
Christianity is that human
beings possess a “sin
nature.”
The concept of the “sin
nature” is central to
Christian doctrine.
The violations of economic
theory provide empirical
evidence that man has a
“sin nature,” and hence,
are
evidence
for
Christianity.
II. Violations of
Economic Theory
(But first we have to know
what we’re violating!)
Part 1: The Indifference Curve(s)
DATES
7
3
1
CD’s
1
3
8
An Infinite Number of
Indifference Curves
DATES
U1 > U2 > U3
U3 U2
U1
CD’s
Part 2: The Budget Constraint
DATES
Income = $150
PDATES = $30
5
PCD’ s= $15
3
1
CD’s
4
8
10
A Pop Quiz:
What happens if PCD’s ?
DATES
Income = $150
PDATES = $30
5
PCD’ s= $15
3
1
CD’s
4
8
10
The Answer…
DATES
Income = $150
PDATES = $30
5
PCD’ s= $15
3
1
CD’s
4
8
10
The Economic Paradigm of Choice
DATES
UtilityMaximizing
Point
C
B
A
CD’s
A Fundamental Proposition of
the Economic Paradigm of
Choice
People will never choose to
raise prices to themselves…
…Because when P, U
DATES
U2 < U1
U1
U2
CD’s
An Empirical Fact
People DO raise prices to
themselves!
Examples where people
deliberately raise the price of
“undesirable” activities
 Leaving spending money at home
 Studying in the library
 Placing alarm clock across room
 Many others…
Why?
III. The Christian Teaching of the
“Sin Nature”
The biblical account of how man
acquired a “Sin Nature (a.k.a. “The
Original Sin”)
Genesis 2:15-17,3:1-6: “…The LORD God took
the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to
work it and take care of it. And the LORD God
commanded the man, "You are free to eat from
any tree in the garden; but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
for when you eat of it you will surely die…Now
the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild
animals the LORD God had made. He said to
the woman, "Did God really say, `You must not
eat from any tree in the garden'?“ The woman
said to the serpent,
"We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but
God did say, `You must not eat fruit from the tree
that is in the middle of the garden, and you must
not touch it, or you will die.' "You will not surely
die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God
knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God, knowing good
and evil.“ When the woman saw that the fruit of
the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye,
and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took
some and ate it. She also gave some to her
husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
The concept of the “sin
nature” is central to three
fundamental doctrines of
Christianity.
The Doctrine of Damnation
The “sin nature” results in
condemnation
Romans 5:19: “…through the
disobedience of the one man, the
many were made sinners.”
Romans 5:18: “…one trespass was
condemnation for all men…”
The Doctrine of Grace and
Salvation
Deliverance from condemnation
comes solely by relying on Jesus
Christ—not on oneself or another
religious figure—to address the
problem of the “sin nature”
John 14:6: (Jesus speaking):
“I am the way, and the truth,
and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me.”
Since People Are Fatally Flawed,
the Solution To Their Sin Problem
Cannot Lie Within Themselves.
Rather, It Must Lie Outside
Themselves. Hence the Reliance
On Jesus Christ In Order To Be
Delivered From the Power of Sin.
The Doctrine of Regeneration
The sin nature cannot be reformed—
it must be replaced
Galatians 2:20: (Paul speaking):
“I have been crucified with Christ and
I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation;”
IV.
The
Connection
Between the “Sin Nature”
and the Violations of
Economic Theory
A Description of the “Sin
Nature”
Romans 7:15-24: “I do not understand what I
do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what
I hate I do…As it is, it is no longer I myself
who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that
nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful
nature. For I have the desire to do what is
good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do
is not the good I want to do; no the evil I do not
want to do—this I keep on doing…
“…Now if I do what I do not want to do, it
is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living
in me that does it. So I find this law at
work: When I want to do good, evil is right
there with me. For in my inner being I
delight in God’s law; but I see another law
at work in the members of my body, waging
war against the law of my mind and
making me a prisoner of the law of sin at
work within my members. What a wretched
man I am! Who will rescue me from this
body of death?”
Three Characteristics of the “Sin
Nature”
#1) The sin nature has a mind of
its own
“…it is no longer I myself who
do it, but it is sin living in me.”
#2) The sin nature is intent on
evil
“…For what I do is not the good
I want to do; no the evil I do not
want to do—this I keep on
doing.”
#3) The sin nature is engaged in a
battle against my will
“…For in my inner being I
delight in God’s law; but I see
another law at work in the
members of my body, waging war
against the law of my mind.”
Price-Raising is a
“Self-Control” Strategy
Before SelfControl Strategy
“Right” Choice
10
“Wrong” Choice
15
Before SelfAfter SelfControl Strategy Control Strategy
“Right” Choice
10
10
“Wrong” Choice
15
15 – 10 = 5
What is the Significance of
“Price-Raising” Behavior?
It clearly indicates that we are
engaged in an internal struggle…
…a struggle within ourselves to do
the “right” thing
Could This Be Evidence for the
Existence of the “Sin Nature?”
 The “sin nature” has a mind of its own
 It is “evil” in the sense that it leads us
to do things which are destructive to
ourselves and others
 It is engaged in a battle against our
wills
Could This Be
Evidence for
Christianity?
No other
religion has a
“Romans 7”
No other religion
describes man as
having a
“sin nature”
Other
religions
talk about “sin”
and “temptation”
They speak of sin
as an immoral or
unwise choice…
…and “temptation”
simply as something
that shouldn’t be
given into.
But if we can’t stick
to exercising, if we
can’t make ourselves
study, if we can’t
stop from eating
Snickers bars…
…why would we
ever think we could
do the really hard
stuff and “be good?”
Christianity Teaches That
People Are Fatally Flawed
and Need Outside, Divine
Intervention to “Fix” Them
Closing Thought
Think about that next
time you find yourself
“raising prices”
A Short Bibliography on the Problem of “Self-Control”
•Ainslie, George. 1975. Specious reward: A behavioral theory of impulsiveness and impulse
control. Psychological Bulletin 82(4): 463-96.
•Deily, Mary and W. Robert Reed. Temptation, willpower, and the problem of rational selfcontrol. Rationality and society 5(4): 455-472.
•Elster, Jon. 1986. The multiple self. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
•Hare, R.M. 1971. Backsliding. In Weakness of will, edited by Geoffrey Mortimore. London:
Macmillan.
•Lukes, Steven. 1971. Moral weakness. In Weakness of will, edited by Geoffrey Mortimore.
London: Macmillan.
•Matthews, Gwynneth. 1971. Weakness of will. In Weakness of will, edited by Geoffrey
Mortimore. London: Macmillan.
•Schelling, Thomas. 1984a. Self-command in practice, in policy, and in a theory of rational
choice. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings 74(2): 1-11.
•----. 1984b. The intimate contest for self-command. In Choice and consequence. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
•----. 1985. Enforcing rules on oneself. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 1(2):
357-74.
•Thaler, Richard H. and H.M. Shefrin. 1981. An economic theory of self-control. Journal of
Political Economy 89(2): 392-406.
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