Byron Burke

Professor Patricia Szczerba

Globalization / Social Justice: DePaul University

12 October 2013

Globalization & the Great Commission according to the Bible.

Thesis: While many people around the world view Christianity as a segregated religious group

that attempts to enforce their dogmas on others, I believe there are some practical ideologies

embedded within the framework of the Bible which addresses many of the issues and concerns

about globalization, regardless of personal beliefs. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the

purpose of the Great Commission for humanity, including strategies to combat against poverty

and debt.

Introduction

Before I dive into the synopsis about the Great Commission, I had to take several days of

meditation to fine-tune my focus area as an Undergrad student here at DePaul. My original

degree choice was computer science, but after analyzing the competencies that I’ve acquired

over the years in ministry [byronburkeministries.com], music, motion pictures, business

development and investment sectors, the customized degree approach allows me the flexibility to

take courses that will be beneficial to my family and my clients.

What’s the Great Commission and its purpose?

I believe there are some practical principles embedded within the framework of the Bible

which addresses many of the issues and concerns about globalization, regardless of personal

beliefs. It’s important to understand what the Great Commission is in order to grasp the prophetic

insight about globalization. The Great Commission charged to the 12 disciples by Jesus is more

than what I would perceive as “being sent out” to teach others about the gospel of Jesus Christ to

save people from “losing their souls” by participating in unethical practices such as lying, killing,

stealing or following other gods. It has more to do with humanity becoming effective stewards of

Burke 1

the Earth, which includes managing all of the inhabitants and resources, by understanding God’s

spiritual laws for humanity [Joshua 1:8] (Dake p 240) .

Phase 1 – The creation of Earth according to Moses .

To begin, let’s take a closer examination of several scriptures in the bible to help us

establish the foundation of this dialogue. In the first book of Moses, called Genesis, chapter 1

and verses 1-2 talks about how God created the Heaven & Earth, and how the “spirit” of God

moved across Earth (Dake p 1). As we continue to read verses 11-25, it states how God created

the Earth’s multitude of species and commissioned them to procreate and fill the Earth (Dake).

Earth's atmosphere is a mixture of gases made up of 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent

oxygen, with the remaining 1 percent including carbon dioxide, argon and traces of other gases.

Compared to the radius of the Earth, the atmosphere is very thin. It’s composed of six layers: the

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere, thermosphere and exosphere (eHow.com

"Levels of the Earth's Atmosphere").

Without an atmosphere, the Earth would be a rocky planet with no oceans, clouds or any

form of life. The mix of gases and conditions in the Earth's atmosphere make life possible. Plants

and animals need the gases in the air to survive, and the protection the atmosphere provides helps

sustain life as well (eHow.com "Three Ways That the Atmosphere Helps Living Things Survive

on Earth").

Phase 2: The dominate species on Earth – The creation of Man according to Moses.

From this position, we can see that God created the Earth, the various levels of

atmospheres to sustain life and the creation of countless species which originated from the planet

we call Earth. However, out of the 8.7 million species on Earth (Wall), the Godhead [The Father,

Son & Holy Spirit] decided to create the first part of man and woman [I.e., spirit beings / inner

man] in their own image and likeness [Genesis 1: 26; John 1:1; John 4:24 and John 14: 12-20]

(Dake pp 1, 2, 92, 97 & 112).

Burke 2

The most important reason I believe there are some practical principles embedded within

the Bible which addresses many of the issues and concerns about globalization, regardless of

personal beliefs is because, we as human beings sometimes forget that regardless of our different

beliefs, we all are by products from a combination of the elements of this planet.

In the book of Genesis chapter 2 and verses 5 and 7, it introduces us to the second part of

man [created from the elements of Earth] which says “And every plant of the field before it was

in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for the LORD God had not caused it to

rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. And the LORD God formed man

of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a

living soul” (Dake p 2). Being created from the elements of Earth, we have the ability to

procreate as well as have authority / dominion / stewardship of the Earth and its inhabitants and

resources [Genesis 1: 26-31] (Dake pp 1 and 2). Collectively we have a responsibility as

stewards of this planet to utilize all the resources responsibly, and to participate in the common

good for others.

One cannot overlook the Earth’s current diagnosis and expect globalization to work

effectively. If humanity doesn’t find a solution to produce clean and affordable energy, including

a strategy to rebuild our forest around the world, Earth can become a desolate planet.

This was one layer of the foundation that Jesus commissioned his Apostles to remind

humanity that we all come from the same planet, and we’ve been given charge to maintain a

balance of Earth’s resources and her inhabitants.

Strengths & Weakness in Christian Principles towards Globalization

Managing debt according to the scriptures

Does it matter? After all, world governments owe the money to their own citizens, not to

the Martians. But the rising total is important for two reasons. First, when debt rises faster than

economic output (as it has been doing in recent years), higher government debt implies more

state interference in the economy and higher taxes in the future. Second, debt must be rolled over

Burke 3

at regular intervals. This creates a recurring popularity test for individual governments, rather as

reality TV show contestants face a public phone vote every week. (Economist.com).

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the current global public debt is $51.3

trillion dollars (Economist.com). How is this even possible for countries to be in tremendous

debt by governmental institutions that are appointed to protect the interest of their citizens? After

surveying the scriptures, I noticed some very interesting information.

Managing debt according to the scriptures

Upon reviewing Joshua 21:19 which says “All the cities of the children of Aaron, the

priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs (Dake). The thirteen cities refer to the cities of

refuge in the Kingdom of Israel & Kingdom of Judah that were governed by Priests, not a

governmental body as we see today. The only city in the world that continues this practice is the

Vatican which is a landlocked sovereign city-state (Wikipedia "Vatican City"). In addition,

whereas global governments are comprised of many individuals that contribute to the decision

process, the Old Testament priest and the Holy See (Pope) seek the guidance from God to be

shared with the citizens. This includes the management of debt. There are several chapters in the

Bible that give us an insight on how to deal with debt as a global community.

The church is saved from deception by the leading of God [The Holy Spirit]

through its members (Eph. 4:11-16; 1 Jn. 2:27).

The church grows together, and only as each part is doing its share (1 Cor. 12:12-

26; Eph. 4:15-16).

The unity and good works of the church together is the light and testimony of the

world (Matt. 5:13-16, where all the "yous" are plural; Jn. 17:20-23; 1 Thess. 1:6-

10).

The church shares all things, taking care of one another, though voluntarily rather

than under compulsion (Deut. 15: 1-10; Acts 2:42-47; 4:32; 2 Cor. 8:13-15; Heb.

10:33-34; and that this continued long past apostolic times is testified to until at

least A.D. 210).

Burke 4

The church is a family with responsibility to one another, even more so than our

biological families /Luke 14:26; 18:29-30; Gal. 6:10; 1 Tim. 3:15] (christian-

history.org).

As C.K. Prahalad eloquently stated in his video presentation, a solution for poverty and

debt should be developed within that particular segmentation. I don’t want to stray away from

our topic, but I feel that I should share one of my personal experiences from Riches to Rags

moving towards the hill of stability.

Testimony 1 – Personal experience with poverty after success in the music industry.

I can relate to Mr. Prahalad’s statement as being someone who was very successful in

the music industry [Ten City 1988-1994] and losing everything from property [Oak Park, IL

1995], all of my music equipment [Wurzburg, Germany 1997], which lead me to financial ruins.

Between 1997 – 2002, I lived in New York and I had no idea on how I was going to eat

every day and where I was going to live. But by the grace of God, somehow, someway, I had a

meal every day and never slept on the streets. During the time that I left America in 1995, I

always kept my dad’s bible with me. During this dark moment of my life, there was always

something in the Bible that spoke to me that encouraged me to keep going. In fact, the one

scripture that has been one of the keys to pull me away from giving up is in the book of James

1:5 which says “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,

and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him”(Dake).

As I began asking questions (yes, I was speaking out loud which may seem crazy), I

discovered that many of my issues began at the age of 5 ½ from being molested for 6 months

which led to depression and pushed me towards becoming an extreme introvert. In fact, it was so

bad, I felt very uncomfortable being around groups of people for a long period of time, I began

skipping school during the 5th

grade and it had gotten so out of control, I had to repeat the 6th

&

9th

grade over ( I guess that’s one of the reason why I prefer taking online classes).

Burke 5

Now you may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with Globalization & the

Great Commission? We’ll, it has everything to do with it. Forty-nine days after 9/11 (October 30,

2001) I had a life changing experience in one of my old offices in Manhattan, N.Y. and on the

streets of Time Square (I can’t go into all the details because I’m developing a motion picture

about my life) that has propelled me towards ministering the Word of God. In addition, I’ve been

healed from depression and for the first time in my life, I’m an honor student at DePaul.

Anyone that’s oppressed or abused becomes depressed. Those that are considered losers

in Globalization fit into this physiological profile. Depression can affect anyone and it is one of

the most widespread illnesses, often co-existing with other serious illnesses. According to the

World Health Organization, unipolar depressive disorders were ranked as the third leading cause

of the global burden of disease in 2004 and will move into the first place by 2030 (Wan).

From my own personal experience, the Word of God has provided me and millions

around the world throughout the centuries with a solution to this problem. However, as along as

the hidden truths of the Word of God are not shared with others, pharmaceutical companies will

continue to make billions of dollars, using humans as their laboratory experiments.

Weakness in Christianity

From a historical perspective, the main problem with Christian ethical critiques of

globalization is that Christianity played a major role in the creation of globalization as we know

it today (Müller). Beginning with Charlernagne in A.D. 800, the emperors of the Holy Roman

Empire recognized the power of religion to unify diverse subjects – people of various ethnicities

and social classes (Haugen p 51). This led to the unraveling of a unique alliance between the

popes and the emperors, after eight centuries of mutually beneficial – and sometimes uneasy –

collaboration (Haugen p 51). Today, the Roman Catholic Church is the oldest institution in the

world with over 1.2 billion members. In additional, they are the largest non-government provider

of education and medical services in the world (Wikipedia "Catholic Church").

Burke 6

In spite of their charities and other social awareness programs, the Catholic Church,

among other Christian denominations, intellectualized the teachings and governmental structures

from the Bible; including all the theological methodologies beyond simplicity for citizens in

developed & developing countries to understand [this includes laws, policies and procedures on

all levels of government]. Furthermore, numerous scandals and conspiracy theories released to

the media and shared on popular social network platforms and smartphone applications [apps]

have disenchanted many around the world about globalization.

Conclusion

In conclusion, although many people around the world view Christianity as a segregated

religious group that tries to enforce their beliefs on others, , I believe there are some practical

principles embedded within the framework of the Bible which addresses many of the issues and

concerns about globalization, regardless of personal beliefs for two main reasons.

First, collectively we have a responsibility as stewards of this planet to utilize all the

resources that this planet provides for us responsibly. Second, if we could view the Earth from

outer space through the eyes of God, we’ll soon realize there’s no distinction between winners

and losers, or the different economic and social classes. To some degree, we may appear like

microorganisms viewed under a microscope from a particular distance. We all have blood

flowing through our veins; we inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide which is beneficial to all

humanity and all plant life. We communicate with one another with body gestures and sounds

produced from our vocal fold which is subdivided into three parts; the lungs, the vocal folds

within the larynx, and the articulators (Wikipedia "Human Voice").

So if God created the Earth for us to enjoy and share in the responsibilities for managing the

affairs of the Earth among one another, perhaps we’ve lost sight of the greater picture.

- Byron Burke

Burke 7

Workes Sited

christian-history.org. "Is the Roman Catholic Church the One True Church". Web. 30 July 2013.

<http://www.christian-history.org/roman-catholic-one-true-

church.html#sthash.BFLWNl1t.dpbs>.

Dake, Finis. j. Dakes Annotated Reference Bible. Lawrenceville: Dake Bible Sales, Inc., 1963.

Print.

Economist.com. "Global Debt Clock". 2012. Web. 3 August 2013.

<http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock>.

eHow.com. "Levels of the Earth's Atmosphere". Web. 29 July 2013.

<http://www.ehow.com/list_6850223_levels-earth_s-atmosphere.html>.

---. "Three Ways That the Atmosphere Helps Living Things Survive on Earth". Web. 5 August

2013. <http://www.ehow.com/info_8632405_three-living-things-survive-earth.html>.

Haugen, David; Mach, Rachael. Opposing Viewpoints - Globlization. Opposing Viewpoint

Series: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Print.

Müller, Retief. "Christianity and Globalisation: An Alternative Ethical Response." HTS 67.3

(2011). Print.

Wall, Tim. "8.74 Million Species on Earth". 2011. Web. (23 August 2011): Discovery. 1

November 2013. <http://news.discovery.com/earth/plants/874-million-species-on-earth-

110823.htm>.

Wan, Deborah. Depression: A Global Crisis: World Federation for Mental Health, 2012. Print.

Wikipedia. "Catholic Church". Web. (7 August 2013): 7 August 2013.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church>.

---. "Human Voice". Web. (9 September 2013): 1 November 2013.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_voice>.

Burke 8

---. "Vatican City". Web. (26 October 2013): 1 November 2013.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City>.