Ep 178: Ludwig von Mises vs. A Christian Scholar, Round 3 (N.T. Wright)

In the long-awaited third installment of my Ludwig von Mises vs. a Christian Scholar series, I take on the big dog himself, N.T. Wright. Wright is the world’s most famous New Testament scholar and theologian and is known for his pioneering work on the ‘New Perspective’ on Paul, Paul and empire, and the historical Jesus. I explain how his own theology of empire and the church helped lead me to libertarianism, but how Wright himself often fails to see the modern consequences of his own theological positions. I look at a passage from his book History and Eschatology where he writes a veiled critique of capitalism, and counter it with a passage from Mises’s Human Action that explains how free market capitalism actually works. This demonstrates that on a definitional level Wright doesn’t understand free markets and attributes to ‘capitalism’ economic problems that are directly caused by government intervention in the market. I then play clips from an interview Wright had with entrepreneur Phil Chen, showing that Wright fails to understand monetary theory, central banking, economic regulation, and markets. I counter his points with selected readings from the works of Mises, demonstrating how an understanding of the Austrian school of economics would better help Wright better apply his theology to modern social and economic problems. 

Media Referenced:

Round 1: Mises vs. Gorman: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ludwig-von-mises-vs-christian-scholar-round-1-michael-gorman/

Round 2: Mises vs. Smith: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ludwig-von-mises-vs-christian-scholar-round-2-james-k-a-smith/

‘Inflation’ defined: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-66-the-high-cost-of-inflation-and-the-war-in-ukraine/

Bitcoin explained: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/bitcoin-and-the-future-of-currency-with-adam-obrien/

Money, the Fed, and Christianity: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-99-money-the-federal-reserve-and-christian-ethics-with-jordan-bush/

Human Action: https://mises.org/podcasts/human-action-treatise-economics

History and Eschatology: https://a.co/d/8tHavlm

Money and Inflation: https://mises.org/library/book/ludwig-von-mises-money-and-inflation

Phil Chen Interview Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFR7J2-N6JM&list=PPSV

Phil Chen Interview Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2W0Jo5QAaU&list=PLQhBTXNmfWOyX5l7di2JV8ghJh4SdwcUF&index=8

The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.

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