BERMUDA College lecturer Jonathan Young is inviting Bermuda Christians to ask some hard questions about themselves and their attitudes to money.

His appearances in the electronic media this week have already caused a flurry of interest, as he prepares for next Monday's discussion at Bermuda College, which will ask: Can you be a capitalist and a Christian?

Mr. Young, who lectures in e-commerce at the College and holds a master's degree in economic and social history, was inspired to hold the event by his own beliefs and the conflict he sees in the Bermuda community.

He has already discovered what a raw nerve he is touching upon. Mr. Young's original plan to have a panel fell flat because while church representatives were eager to participate, business people and politicians were not. So instead Mr. Young will give a talk that will provide the basis for what should be a lively debate.

And he's already encountered reaction in the street.

"One woman had seen the posters advertising the event and the question: Can you be a capitalist and a Christian?" Mr. Young said. "She came up to me and said, 'You're wrong'. How can it be wrong? It's a question. It's drawing a lot of heat.

"Another question we shall we asking is: What would Jesus drive? If he were walking around Bermuda in 2005, would he take the bus, would he drive a BMW?

"A woman said to me that Jesus would drive a BMW, because Jesus is a king and kings are rich."

MR. Young disagreed with that sentiment and offered some probing thoughts. "In Bermuda, we are both overwhelmingly Christian and overwhelmingly capitalist," he said. "We find a way to reconcile it. One of the ways we find is in the large number of charities.

"We outsource our conscience to charities. I am more of a fan of the of the UK, Canadian or Australian systems, where they provide a minimum standard in education, health and shelter, for example.

"Here we have something like one per cent of people not covered by health insurance. That is a statement of a society's values. What we are saying is: If you don't have money, your life is not worth saving.

"When I broke my finger in the UK, I was impressed that they mended it without asking me first whether I could pay."

Christian values often clashed with personal spending decisions and the whole idea of making money, added Mr. Young, citing some provocative examples.

"There is a lot in the Bible about money," Mr. Young said. "For example, Luke 16:13 says that no man should have two servants and that no man can serve God and money. Banking institutions would be illegal according to the Old Testament.

"So why did the churches come out against gambling, but not against the stock market, because effectively they're the same thing.

"And should you eat at the Newport Room when you could have dined for less at the Specialty Inn? Couldn't the extra money have been spent on something else?

"It's not what you say, it's what you do that's important. If you're a Christian playing an active part in a capitalist economy, you have to be very careful about how you spend money."

The colloquium will take place in the College's Blue Room, starting at 6 p.m. next Monday. Admission is free and everyone is welcome to attend.