Victor Claar and Robin Klay introduce students to the basic principles of economics and then evaluate the principles and issues as seen from a Christian perspective. This textbook places the economic life in the context of Christian discipleship and stewardship. This text is for use in any course needing a survey of the principles of economics.
What does the Bible say about economics? A lot. What about socialism, which is becoming an increasingly common concern in US economic policy discussions? In Biblical Economic Policy, Arnott and Saydometov build a biblical framework for analyzing national economic policy that takes on everything from taxes to spending to tariffs to minimum wage. The Bible has something to say about all these critical present-day issues, and this book explains how to apply it to 21st-century policies. Authors Dave Arnott and Sergiy Saydometov hold up the mirror of the Bible and ask their fellow Christians, “Is this the way we're supposed to run a biblical economy?” What the book is not: ● It is NOT a financial advice book. ● It is NOT about how to apply business principles at work. ● It is NOT about stewardship or giving. ● It is NOT about how to run your business for the glory of God. Biblical Economic Policy takes the macroeconomic view and analyzes how well America's economic policies align with biblical principles. This book tackles difficult present-day economic policies, including taxes, spending, national debt, interest rates, and money supply. Written with sound biblical grounding, in accessible language, Biblical Economic Policy will turn the common reader into a biblical economic analyst.
The new interdisciplinary field of Christianity and economics deals with the important and difficult questions that cluster at the boundary of these disciplines, drawing on contemporary theory and empirical findings in both fields, with roots in older discourses. This landmark volume surveys the field and advances the discussion. It deploys historical, economic, and theological analysis to search for answers.
America's market economy--a heritage to cherish and the key to tomorrow's prosperity--is the unifying theme of Economics: Work and Prosperity. Contrasting the free enterprise system to the system that kills the goose that laid the golden eggs, the author takes the cheerful view that the market economy can continue to produce abundantly for years if people will learn to understand it and care for it properly. This enlightening text will help students become informed citizens, able to make wise decisions about the crucial area of economics.
Should Christians be for or against the free market? For or against globalization? How are we to live in a world of scarcity? William Cavanaugh uses Christian resources to incisively address basic economic matters -- the free market, consumer culture, globalization, and scarcity -- arguing that we should not just accept these as givens but should instead change the terms of the debate.Among other things, Cavanaugh discusses how God, in the Eucharist, forms us to consume and be consumed rightly. Examining pathologies of desire in contemporary "free market" economies, Being Consumed puts forth a positive and inspiring vision of how the body of Christ can engage in economic alternatives. At every turn, Cavanaugh illustrates his theological analysis with concrete examples of Christian economic practices.
Self-interest, economic efficiency and private property rights are among the most basic assumptions of market economics. But can an economic theory built on these assumptions alone provide adequate insight into human nature, motivation and ultimate goals to guide our economic life? John Stapleford says no along with those economists who recognize the limits of their discipline. He insightfully shows us in detail how ethics are inextricably intertwined with economic life and analysis. Writing from a Christian ethical perspective, he interacts with seven standard introductory economics texts, exploring the moral challenges imbedded in various macro-, micro- and international economic theories and outlining a faithful response to them. Among the important ethical issues addressed are possibilities and perils of economic growth the role of government in the economy the growth of work and loss of leisure lending and borrowing poverty and distributive justice environmental stewardship business and social responsibility legalized gambling the pornography industry debt relief for less developed countries the economics of immigration population control Keyed to seven of the most widely used introductory economics texts--Gwartney, Stroup and Sobel; Mankiw; Mansfield and Behravesh; McConnell and Brue; Miller; Samuelson and Nordhaus; and Stiglitz--this book will be especially useful for introductory courses in economics.
In this addition to the award-winning Church and Postmodern Culture series, respected theologian Daniel Bell compares and contrasts capitalism and Christianity, showing how Christianity provides resources for faithfully navigating the postmodern global economy. Bell approaches capitalism and Christianity as alternative visions of humanity, God, and the good life. Considering faith and economics in terms of how desire is shaped, he casts the conflict as one between different disciplines of desire. He engages the work of two important postmodern philosophers, Deleuze and Foucault, to illuminate the nature of the postmodern world that the church currently inhabits. Bell then considers how the global economy deforms desire in a manner that distorts human relations with God and one another. In contrast, he presents Christianity and the tradition of the works of mercy as a way beyond capitalism and socialism, beyond philanthropy and welfare. Christianity heals desire, renewing human relations and enabling communion with God.
American Christians today, says Michael Barram, have a significant blind spot when it comes to economic matters in the Bible. In this book Barram reads biblical texts related to matters of money, wealth, and poverty through a missional lens, showing how they function to transform our economic reasoning. Barram searches for insight into God’s purposes for economic justice by exploring what it might look like to think and act in life-giving ways in the face of contemporary economic orthodoxies. The Bible repeatedly tells us how to treat the poor and marginalized, Barram says, and faithful Christians cannot but reflect carefully and concretely on such concerns. Written in an accessible style, this biblically rooted study reflects years of research and teaching on social and economic justice in the Bible and will prove useful for lay readers, preachers, teachers, students, and scholars.
Americans are obsessed with money, yet understand little of the workings of economics. Worse yet is the fact that what we think we know is just plain wrong. Politicians and special interest groups benefit from this ignorance while the American people slip deeper into debt and financial slavery. Biblical Economics offers clear, straightforward, and biblically grounded explanations of the basic principles of economic activity. Dr. Sproul examines the many way in which God provides us with our daily bread and helps the reader discover certainty in uncertain times. - Back cover.
