Sinai Strategy

There can be little doubt that the Ten Commandments made possible the development of Western Civilization. There is almost equally little doubt that Western Civilization made possible the development of free market capitalism. The question must then be raised: What was it about the Ten Commandments which made possible the development of capitalism in the West, and nowhere else (except in cultures influenced by an already capitalistic West)?

It was not some hypothetical (and nonexistent) universal natural law, or "natural law rightly understood," which made possible the development of the free market, but rather biblical law and a biblical concept of linear time. It was Western man's confidence in the validity of the Ten Commandments which alone created free market institutions in world history.

Is it therefore not sufficient to ask: Is capitalism Christian? It is not sufficient to answer that the ethics of Christianity is generally in accordance with the ethics of capitalism. It is not sufficient to appeal to natural law in the Christian West as the foundation of capitalism. What must be asked is a far more controversial question: Is orthodox, Bible-based Christianity inherently capitalistic? In other words, in cultures where the Bible is preached from Genesis to Revelation, will there be an innate tendency for that culture to adopt a free market economy? Therefore, is socialism inherently heretical biblically? Gary North answers "yes."

As secular humanism has steadily expanded its influence over the thinking of the West, especially the thinking of the intellectuals, the assault on free market capitalism has escalated. Humanism's denial of God's providence, God's law, and God's redeeming grace has created faith in a New World Order, a world in which elite central planners will direct a world-wide economic system. This is the society of Satan.

The Sinai Strategy is a detailed look at the Ten Commandments and their social, political, and, especially, economic implication. These commandments set forth a strategy of dominion. The war between capitalism and socialism is ultimately a war between God and Satan. Far too many compromised Christians have not recognized the nature of this ethical and institutional war, and they have sided with the socialists. Dr. North has drawn the dividing line between the humanists and the Christians, and between Christians themselves. Will it be God's law or Satan's, Christ's New World Order (inaugurated at Calvary) or Satan's New World Order?

This is Part Two of Gary north's commentary on Exodus. It is a discussion of the Ten Commandments from the point of view of economic theory. Gary's discussion of the sabbath in this book supersedes everything he has written in the past, and nobody who wants to deal with the sabbath issue can afford to ignore the questions he raises in this book. So far, there has been no detailed response from strict sabbatarians, although the book was published in 1986.