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senor boogie woogie

I would like to know the definition of a political group, society or group of persons who love and worship money. The ideal that getting rich is the first priority. To trekkies, the Ferengis are like this.

My Chinese friend says the word is called "memmonism", but I cannot find this word in dictionary.com.

My wife who is Chinese is a worshipper of money, and I want to Photoshop a 100 RMB bill with her face on it with the top reading "The Empire of China", and the bottom "In wealth we only trust" both in Chinese characters, with her picture as a regal queen over Mao's portrait.

Yes, its weird, but to me, its a hoot. If anyone can give me the definition, please respond.

SENOR

Kent F. Kruhoeffer · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 2129 Location: 中国

Dear Senor Cool

You were very close. This word has its origins in the New Testament, and is spelled "mammonism". Below, the definition you were looking for.

Mammonism (n.) n.
1. Devotion to the pursuit of wealth; worldliness.

And from Wordsmyth.net, a slightly different variation on the same theme:

Definition 1. in the New Testament, material wealth personified as a false idol.
Definition 2. material wealth regarded as an object of adoration.

And the etymology, courtesy of http://www.geocities.com/etymonline/index.html

mammon - c.1390, from L.L. mammona, from Gk. mammonas, from Aramaic mamona, mamon "riches, gain," regarded mistakenly by medieval Christians as the name of a demon.

Regards,
kenT

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Mammonism is widespread amongst the TEFL community in the Middle East. Some of these people here devote every waking hour tro the pursuit and worship of the almighty buck, or riyal, euro, dirham or pound.

BUT I see others here who seem determined to leave as poor as when they arrived. How do I find the middle ground ?

johnslat · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2003 10:55 am Post subject: Directions

Dear scot 47,
Ah, grasshopper - the middle ground is easy to discover. You'll find it exactly half-way between the two extremes. Must go now; I have to listen to the sound of one hand clapping.
Regards,
John

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

I should know by now that I can always rely on our man in Riyadh to come up with a smart*** answer !
But seriously when in the Middle East there ius always that question " How much is enough?" How much do I have to save to give up this EFLing business ? Can I afford to spend two riyals for today's paper ? Or should I put the money in the bank ?

johnslat · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2003 11:14 am Post subject: Never enough

Dear scot47,
Well, all of us Riyadhians are smart*****, you know. It's one of the requirements for a posting here. " How much is enough"? Here's a simple answer to that: There is no such thing as enough money. Just ask Bill Gates if he has " enough ". Besides, trying to plan in too much detail for the future is a frustration trap; the future seems to delight in screwing up all our well-laid plans. You save as much as you can without denying yourself the small pleasures that make life tolerable ( or nearly so, anyway ) here - in my case, books, M&Ms and cigarettes - and then you hope and pray that what you've accumulated will suffice. But I'd say there's simply no foolproof way to ensure that one's future will be financially secure.
Regards,
John

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Well money is a strange substance. Certainly there is NEVER enough, but we can pretend there is. What amazes me in Saudi are the people I meet who live miserable lives of frugality, so that one day they will have enough. Of course they never do.

johnslat · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 3:07 am Post subject: Why teaching?

Dear scot47,
What puzzles me is why those people, who " live miserable lives of frugality ", people for whom money is of such great importance, ever go into teaching in the first place. Surely they must have known that it's not the royal road to riches.
Regards,
John