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Globalization (Christian Perspective)

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Globalization allowed interaction between countries and the global market and has grown economies to higher levels. It is a highly debated subject and there is a great deal to be discussed about it. One perspective on this worldwide movement is the Christian (religious) point of view. First of all, Christians believe in a higher authority, and aim to model their lives in obedience to their God. That being said, they value community and ultimately care for all the people their God has created. That is on a global scale, not only local. They feel a responsibility to the poor, and encourage globalization as it provides more opportunities for countries with weak economies that struggle with poverty. Work is valuable and there is importance in working in a global economy.

Contents

There are three main approaches to this topic from this perspective. There is the Evangelical Approach, Catholic Social teaching, and the Non-Evangelical Perspective.

Evangelical approach

The evangelical approach focuses on the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ through globalization. Globalization opens many doors to many countries, and this perspective looks at that as an opportunity. It is an opportunity to spread the Christian teaching through the doors that have been opened. In this context globalization is seen as a tool, a stepping stone towards achieving the evangelical goal.

Catholic social teaching

The Catholic social teaching looks at globalization with the aim of improving it. Improving it in the sense that they desire to shift the focus to a more humanitarian goal. Thomas Friedman wrote that, "the more I observed the system of globalization at work, the more obvious it was that it had unleashed forest-crushing forces of development and Disney-round-the-clock homogenization which, if left unchecked, had the potential to destroy the environment and uproot cultures at a pace never before seen in human history." in his book The Lexus and the Olive Tree In this perspective, globalization is not viewed as a positive development, but can be seen as a way to reach more people and create a more socially conscious global environment.

Non-evangelical perspective

The non-evangelical perspective highlights the benefits of globalisation through reach. It emphasizes the number of people now more easily contacted and the cultures more easily understood. In this view the focus is not the spread of the gospel but the connecting of the "body of Christ" on a global level. It is basically the universal church being more easily unified through the barriers broken down by globalization.

References

Globalization (Christian Perspective) Wikipedia