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Nicholas Gunnell

REL107

02/05/18

Harvey Cox and the God of Markets

arvey Cox is first and foremost, the author of our book for this section, “The

Market as God”. In the interview with Professor Barfoot, Harvey Cox is an

author, a minister, an educator and philosopher, primarily focused on the nature and growth of

mysticism. This word is not considered the most favorite of Mr. Cox, saying that is has a sort of

connotation and undercut the meaning behind the actual word. He explains that mysticism is the

form of experiencing religious ties to the “transcending” directly. This cuts away the

ecclesiastical leadership which tells you what to do and it is about direct communication between

you personally and a higher power.

In Harvey Cox’s book, “The Market as God”, Cox’s views of the global market are

dismal. His views stretch from corruption of religion to the growing global poverty levels and

how they are all perpetuated and strengthened by the global market. The best thesis of the Cox

could be found almost at the end of the book saying, “…There is nothing essentially wrong with

markets…But in the past couple centuries markets have become bloated…The result has been

that they not only fail to serve their intended purpose, but they intrude on and distort other vital

institutions such as the family, the arts, education, and religion.” (p. 242). In Cox’s eyes, the

market that we know and rely on heavily today has become one that has stopped helping the

people and has become a monster itself, preying on those too weak to defend themselves and

strengthening the ones powerful enough to control its movements. “The Market” has outgrown is
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intended purpose and now is a god of itself, worshipped, fought over, demanding, morphed by

man’s own corrupted nature, and is delving out more bad than it has ever brought good.

“The Market as God” is comprised of Cox’s experiences, Bible quotes and stories which

support Cox’s theories, and the relation that the Market has to the human nature and how it is

slowly replacing the ideals of our old world and impressing other traits and deceiving natures in

the human soul. The first and only true mention of globalization is found in Cox’s quote from

Pope Francis, the current Pope of the Catholic religion today, who speaks about consumerism

and the nature of the market today noting that people are under the ruse that a free market will

bring about “economic growth” and a “greater justice and inclusiveness in the world” (pg. 3).

This, however, is not the Pope’s stance saying that the market has not brought anyone new into

the realms of inclusivity and are still excluded while “a globalization of indifference has

developed” (pg. 4). This quote from Cox’s book can summarize how globalization is

undermining our natural way of life, distorting foreign lands’ cultures while bringing them into

servitude to more powerful countries. The market that is opening wider and wider has become a

certain replacement for religion (hence the title of the book). People have started following the

rules of the Market as closely as devout followers of any religion would, placing its needs above

their own moral compass. It seems that Cox’s is bashing globalization through mostly the

growing difference between the poor, the rich, and the “ultra-rich” as stated by Cox. He talks

about the nominal global financial assets (GFA) being equal to the gross national product (GNP)

but “in 2005 it [GFA] had soared to three times the global GNP. From 1980 to 2007, derivative

(financial) contracts increased from $1 trillion to $600 trillion” (pg. 102). This entails the

growing debt that people are placing themselves in to join the race in becoming to top 10% and

enjoying their lives according to the Market’s definition.

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Based on the interview that Professor Barfoot had with Harvey Cox about the future of

faith and religion, it seems that Cox is predicting a religious shift, almost like a Third Great

Awakening where the younger generations of the world will grow up with difference ideals and

ways of communicating with higher powers. Cox mentions that the ways of religious worship are

in their dying stages to be replaced with a “new era of the Spirit”. He talks about how people

describe their ties to the transcendent as “spiritual but not religious”. What this means to Cox is

that people are wanting to connect to God or Allah or whatever they see as a higher power in the

universe on their own terms. This means that they do not want organized religion. They do not

want ecclesiastical leaders telling them what to do or how they should worship to get closer to

God (or whatever). They are searching for the Spirit minus the middle man or organized religion.

Or, whether this was from the interview or from my own mind “In touch with the transcending

without all the packaging”. Cox says that the Spirit is often forgot as a God (like the Father and

the Son) and it is through this knowledge that people will turn their religious views to become

less about what church or religion you are a part of and more about what you are learning on

your own through your personal connections to the Spirit. Outside of personal connections to

faith and religion, Cox also informs that Christianity is becoming less and less or a “thing” in

America and Europe and its shifting more internationally to other countries. This is a logical and

theological shift as people are seeming to follow the liberal protestant God, The God that

Transforms Culture, and shed their old familial connections to religion to take a more personal

and singular approach.

Although I do not personally agree with all that Cox’s says in both his book and his

interview, his remarks are incredibly insightful of the future of the world and our religious

growth and expansion. It seems that people are becoming less about the God of Man and more
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about the Market of Millionaires. This does promote a certain feeling of uneasiness but like all

great things that happen on the Earth, checks and balances come to pass.