Asceticism and Capitalism
...ed Baxter’s writings. Calvin, on the other hand, saw nothing wrong with the clergy’s ability to acquire wealth and be wealthy. To Calvin, wealth enhanced the status of the clergy. Because they were clergy, Calvin saw no wrong in them using their wealth as they saw fit. Still, Puritanism condemned the active pursuit of money and goods for their own sake, except for the clergy. Yet, one must look deeper at this Puritan belief about wealth and its accumulation. The real meaning of the moral objection to wealth and its acquisition referred to the relaxation in the security of its possession, the enjoyment of wealth which would lead to idleness and temptations, distractions from leading a righteous life. Happiness is in the hereafter, not on earth. To be saintly, one must focus on the hereafter but do daily living that increases the glory of God and according to his will, not mans. Idleness is the biggest sin of all. Life is short and to lose time with idle talk, too much sleep or unnecessary social activities was morally condemnable. Sunday was a day of total rest and contemplation. Baxter believed in hard, continuous bodily or mental work. The motivation behind work was two-fold: an approved ascetic technique or a specific defense against many temptations of the flesh. If you lived a life of grace, you worked. Even contemplation of God is work, a form of monastic productivity through prayer and chant. Possession of wealth did not exempt anyone from work. After all, to work was God’s commandment, one of obedience to promote his divine glory. Everyone had his social status and was to remain in it, working to the glory of God. It was his religious duty to work within that class at all times. Maybe, this twist of belief was more Lutheranism than Puritan. The Puritan belief supported specialization of labor which leads to the development of ...