Grandpa Lake’s Weblog

A German man whom I recently got to know sent me a copy of Warren Buffett’s letter to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway in 2007. In this letter he made reference to Adam and Eve. I had already made a religious remark to him, so he asked whether Warren Buffett is also religious. Here is my reply to my new friend.

Religion in America is very different from religion in European countries.

Here in Finland, 85% of the population are members of one church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Another 10% are members of the Russian Orthodox Church. This leaves 5% to be unchurched or members of other churches. A German man told me, years ago (before reunification), that most Germans are either Lutheran or Roman Catholic.

America has over 300 church denominations and many, many parishes that are not affiliated with any denomination. America is unique in that it was founded on an idea, an idea of making an government to embody the principles of the Christian faith. Our Declaration of Independence from England in 1776 contains this statement “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The document goes on to state that preserving these rights is the legitimate role of government. The founders of my country were almost all Bible literate Christians. They were from various denominations, but they agreed on the essentials of the Christian faith.

Although we, the American people, have strayed so far from this ideal that I fear that my country will not endure, in my generation, and in generations past, a knowledge of what was in the Bible was a basic part of education. Most Americans of my generation and earlier generations (including Warren Buffett) know who Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Jacob (Israel), Moses, Joshua, Kings David and Solomon in the Old Testament were. They also know who Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John (the writers of the Gospels) are and who the Apostle Paul is.

My father made certain that my knowledge of the Bible was very comprehensive. In some churches, a knowledge of the Bible is held at a high premium. In other churches, the pronouncements of their leaders, past and present, are the most important.

You said that you know that I am religious. I presume that you believe so because I made reference to God and my desire to please Him. Whether that makes me religious or not depends upon how one defines “religion”. I don’t go to church, which means that I don’t participate in liturgies and church ceremonies. I’m not against the organized church. I just consider it to be largely irrelevant. Most Finns do, too. While 85% are members of “Suomen Kirkko”, most seldom go to church. Unfortunately, most people, in the church or outside of it, have not made it their business to know what’s in the Bible.

The Bible really isn’t a religious book. Jesus taught that religion had value only within the context of knowing God in a personal relationship and that religion is worthless without a righteous life. In fact, it was the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who arrested Him and demanded His crucifixion.

Most people in the world are “religious” in one form or another. Even atheists are religious in their opposition to religion. I don’t believe in elves and gnomes. I spend no time trying to convince others that elves and gnomes don’t exist. How else than “religious fervor” can you explain why atheists devote so much energy to trying to prove that God doesn’t exist? I believe that most people are religious because our Creator, God, designed us to have a need of Him so that His need for a voluntary love relationship might have an object.

I will go into details of my faith only if you ask, but the essence is that I have come to know Him as a Person, through His Word, die Heilige Schrift. I know what He likes and what He doesn’t like. I know what we wants from me and what He is willing to give me, both now in the life to come. He even gave investment advice, which I’ve followed.

I believe that Warren Buffett is “religious”, but that his religion is not based on the Bible, or even in the teachings of any church that I know of. To get a knowledge of finances like his requires a dedication usually reserved for religious pursuits. In 2006, he announced a plan to give around $30 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In commenting on this gift, he said that he knew that his remaining years on earth are few. He stated his belief that there are many ways to get to Heaven and that his gift is just one of them. I have no idea where he got that belief. He apparently does not know, or, if he knows, he does not believe the words of Jesus, Who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.” In another place, Jesus asked, “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” All that Warren Buffett has striven for all these years will become worthless to him when he draws his last breath. Frankly that doesn’t sound like a wise investor to me.