American Financial Turmoil - The Search for Security

These are turbulent financial times in which the daily market headlines leave many feeling confused and anxious. Turmoil that began in the mortgage market has spilled over into the banking sector and has initiated some significant changes in American banks and markets. In an attempt to provide some broad understanding of these changes, Jeffrey Brown [on a broadcast of The Lehrer Newshour, aired September 22nd] conducted an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times who is covering the monumental changes that have taken place in the Wall Street banking industry over the last couple of weeks. Sorkin was asked to address the announcement this week by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the last of the five major New York investment banks, that they are converting their businesses from “investment banking” to “bank holding companies”. To most of us who are not familiar with the inner workings of Wall Street investments these words mean little, but in truth they signal a significant shift in American banking away from high flying investment banks who conduct their business with relatively little interference from the federal government toward commercial banking whose practices are more closely watched by government regulators. The end results of this shift are impossible to predict with any specificity, but one thing is for certain; the lives of many who are employed in brokerages and investment houses have radically changed. Many of the institutions that were thought to be unassailable have proven surprisingly vulnerable.

During the last twenty years, banks such as Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley came to symbolize the fast lane of American financial business. The money they invested was big, the risks they took were just as big, and the profits that both investors and brokers stood to make were bigger still. But, according to Andrew Sorkin, many of those investors and brokers have had their wings clipped; perhaps permanently. Sorkin describes it this way, “You know … the culture of Wall Street, the lavish bonuses, the amount of money people have made over the years isn't going to happen anymore. It really is a very, very different world.” Much of the profits generated by the Wall Street investment banks were because they could borrow enormous amounts of money while having relatively little collateral to put against their loans. As long as their investments paid off, things were terrific. Investors received handsome dividends and brokers and bankers were rewarded with generous commissions. AS LONG AS THEIR INVESTMENTS PAID OFF. That was the catch. The investments, however, did not continue to pay off and so, according to Sorkin, “… something radical has happened overnight .” In the last two weeks, three of the five major investment banks were either bought out or bankrupted and the final two have fundamentally retooled their businesses toward a more conservative direction.

As Congress and the Treasury Department deliberate on how best to stabilize financial markets, and as the doomsday predictions begin to come in with ever greater frequency it is important for disciples of Jesus to seriously consider the basis of our security. Economic success, both personally and corporately, can allow us to indulge the fiction that we exert far more control over our destiny than we actually do. It can also tempt us to invest our hopes and dreams in places that will never be strong enough to make them secure. The Lord warns us of this tendency in Deuteronomy: “Be careful that you don’t forget the Lord your God … When you eat and are full, and build beautiful houses to live in, and your herds and flocks grow large, and your silver and gold multiply, and everything else you have increases, be careful that your heart doesn’t become proud and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out … of the place of slavery … Otherwise, you may say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.'” (Deuteronomy 8:11-14 [HCS] & 8:17 [NAS]) Making prudent financial provisions and seeking adequate employment are essential elements of the business of living life in this world, but they are only tools that are used to sustain us. It is the hand of God that wields them to make provision for us and to test us and to grow us. I realize that financial times are tough for many in our fellowship and that things may yet get worse before they get better, but let me encourage you to not forget the Lord your God. Remember Him as you read the financial headlines in the newspaper. Remember Him as you listen to the latest gloomy economic forecasts. Remember Him as you listen to politicians talk about how they are going to fix the problems. Remember Him as you hear the latest price of a barrel of oil. Remember Him as you decide where your money is and is not going to go. Finally, remember that the greatest asset that you have has been purchased by God at tremendous cost to Himself and is currently in the safest of safe deposit boxes: “Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:2-3 [NLT])

Jeffrey Brown’s interview of Andrew Sorkin can be viewed at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec08/newwallstreet_09-22.html.

Is Evolution The Only Explanation?

Have you every wondered where the chest thumping and arm pumping celebrations of victorious athletes originated? People do not normally let out a forceful victory shout upon waking from a good night’s sleep, but they certainly do after having scored a touchdown. Why do we humans do what we do to celebrate victory and express defeat? This was the question that motivated Jessica Tracy at the University of British Columbia and David Matsumoto at San Francisco State University to conduct research into the expressions of both the “thrill of victory” and the “agony of defeat”. They wanted to see if these expressions were similar across cultural lines and, if so, to suggest reasons why it is so. Tracy and Matsumoto sought to examine “whether the recognizable nonverbal expressions associated with pride and shame may be biologically innate behavioral responses to success and failure.” The August 14th edition of The Economist magazine (available at http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11919409) analyzed their research study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS). The researchers observed the reactions of athletes from over 30 countries and found that there were striking similarities in their responses to positive and negative athletic performances. The common responses included “tilting their heads back, raising their arms or expanding their chests in victory, or hiding their face or narrowing their chests in defeat.” These behaviors are not only common among human nationalities but are also observed in the primate world of gorillas and apes. For many people reading Tracy and Matsumoto's research, including the columnists of The Economist, this begs the question of why the similarity exists. The columnists are quick to provide an evolutionary answer.

The Economist article reasons thus, “Such displays may have an evolutionary function. People could be advertising their accomplishments and ensuring their status and acceptance within their social group. Similarly, shame shows acceptance of a defeat and a reluctance to fight on (which may help to avoid further aggression), and so might well be a display of submission.” Thus, our football and basketball celebrations are modern manifestations of the same survival instincts that allowed our primate forefathers to survive in the evolutionary fight for the survival of the species. This is but one minor example of how every aspect of human behavior is increasingly being understood as merely the product of blind biological and chemical forces that have no basis in anything larger than the observed natural order. Everything from reproductive choices to shopping preferences are made the subjects of an impressive array of scientific studies that claim to explain all of these behaviors on the basis of how they gave/give our species an advantage in the struggle to survive. Younger people are especially accustomed to having their behaviors, preferences, and choices explained without any reference to the supernatural. It is important for Christians to understand that studies like the PNAS research do not occur in a philosophical vacuum but are often conducted and interpreted by scientists and scholars who are devoted to an evolutionary explanation of the world. As such, it is important to divorce the information that we glean from such studies from the evolutionary interpretations that are used to explain them. The data from this study are a good example of how contemporary Christians can interpret scientific data through a distinctly biblical framework.

Many Christians assume that there must be a radical physical separation between humanity and the rest of creation, or else, the biblical account of our origins is in peril. For instance, if humans and birds share certain genetic traits or sequences, then that must mean that one evolved from the other, and thus, the Bible is proved false. This is not so, however, because the Scriptures do not place humans outside the created order. To put it simply, we are a part of God’s creation just as trees, planets, animals, and the laws of physics are. Genesis 1 places the creation of man and animals on the same day, indicating a relationship between the two. Genesis 2 reveals to us that God formed man from “the dust of the earth”, which is an essential part of God’s truth about what we are. Contrary to many other religions, our faith does not conceive of man as a preexistent being or as an angelic being descended to earth. We are creatures who are the physical workmanship of God, and as such, we should not be surprised to find similarities in the way in which God constituted us and some parts of the animal world. Not only do we share the same Creator, but we also share many of the difficulties that resulted from the fall of Man. The curses pronounced by God in Genesis 3 were not reserved for mankind alone but included all of the creation over which Adam had been made a steward. In a similar way, all of creation awaits future redemption with us: “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.” (Romans 8.19-21 [NLT])

Our unique place in creation is not the result of our physical distinctiveness but rather of our spiritual distinctiveness. Only man was created for the express purpose of representing God on earth and was held morally accountable for his actions before God. Christians must understand that no research study can either reveal or eliminate our moral responsibility to the Lord. We may express triumph or terror in ways that are similar to apes, but only God can tell us whether those expressions are acceptable in His sight or not. We may share certain cognitive faculties with the animal world, but only humans will be held accountable for how we choose to employ those faculties. I fear that many such studies and evolutionary explanations are being used as a subtle way to undermine the idea that we will one day be held accountable for our choices. Unfortunately, the Church has not been immune to this influence; however, we must realize that a better grasp of God’s revealed facts will help us to accurately interpret researched facts.