Based on the Statement of L. Blankfein, CEO of the Investment Bank Goldman S a c h s , b e i n g "j u s t a b a n k e r d o i n g G o d ' s work" the paper compares a finance driven capitalist ethics of wealth creation with its historical roots based on the work of Max Weber and original sources from Calvin. To do so the authors recapitulate Weber's argument on "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" and modernize it with Granovetter's contribution of "social embeddedness". Based on this theoretical groundwork the paper addresses individual ethics and collective religious ethical sen­ timents to ask whether or not today's un­ limited profit maximization in finance can be seen as compatible and compliant with protestant ethics in the traditional sense. The conclusion presented here is that un­ limited profit maximization disregards the principle of charity and measures pro­ claimed by protestant ethics.