Continuing our debate, Baptist Press reports on a meeting of Southern Baptist leaders last month to discuss the Bible’s response to wealth and poverty. One of the items on the agenda: does the Bible support capitalism?

Jay Richards, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and author of “Money, Greed and God: Why Capitalism is the Solution and not the Problem” took on common economic myths. BP reports:

“I am convinced that the free economy, rightly understood, is compatible with Christian theology,” Richards said. “I am also convinced that Christian theology illuminates certain economic mysteries and economic realities.”

The “greed myth” portrays capitalism as fundamentally selfish and greedy, which is not the case Richards said. According to the “Zero-Sum Game Myth,” people only gain when others lose. On the contrary, Richards argued, “free trade is by definition win-win,” since both parties in the trade gain something that they consider valuable. According to the related “materialist myth,” wealth is redistributed rather than created. According to Richards, however, “human beings,” who are made in the image of God, “transform matter into resources, creating wealth.”