This paper critiques constrained optimization as the dominant framework in contemporary economics by revealing its implicit theological flaw: the assumption that constraints are inherently bad. The author traces the development of Homo Economicus from Mill through Robbins to Becker, examining...

This article explores J. A. Hobson's writings on religion. Hobson had an economic methodology focused on an organic view of society, treating it like a living being. Imperialism, promoted by the government, the press, and religion acts like a parasitic ideology, infecting all parts of society,...

Views on climate change are often either pessimistic or optimistic. In this book Jan Jorrit Hasselaar discovers and explores a third way, one of hope. A debate within economics on risk and uncertainty brings him to theological questions and the concept of hope in the work of the late Jonathan...

This article argues that much of Scholastic and neo-Scholastic teaching on usury rests on practical considerations regarding redistribution and market instability. This aspect of usury is underappreciated by economists, especially those in the field of the history of economic thought. A core...

Klimapolitische Entscheidungen sind herausfordernd. Eine besondere Schwierigkeit liegt in der Folgeabschätzung: Meist sind zwar die möglichen Handlungsfolgen, nicht aber deren Wahrscheinlichkeiten bekannt (Entscheidungen unter Unsicherheit). Mitunter ist sogar unklar, welche Handlungsfolgen...

Although the antecedents to modern-day taxation systems are embedded in the annals of western civilization, tax exemption for churches and charitable organizations, on the other hand, have a long history that dates back to the ancient Egyptian, Persian and Babylonian civilizations. Priests and...

This paper discusses how in the British tradition, political economy, which partly emerged out of discourses in natural theology, ethics, and jurisprudence, casts some light on the content of our moral obligations. Drawing on Hutcheson, Hume, and Smith, I illustrate how commerce came to be...

This essay explores the use of financial instruments and the way such instruments discipline actors to envisage time, the future, and its possibilities. Through the construction of a contrastive theological account of futurity, using the Christian Discourses of the Danish theologian-philosopher...

This article analyzes prices and value as constituting a theological problem in early and medieval Christian thought. First, it looks at the patristic critique of wealth and market prices and shows that such critique was rooted in a concern with a disordered world. Next, it moves on to medieval...

Klimapolitische Entscheidungen sind herausfordernd. Eine besondere Schwierigkeit liegt in der Folgeabschätzung: Meist sind zwar die möglichen Handlungsfolgen, nicht aber deren Wahrscheinlichkeiten bekannt (Entscheidungen unter Unsicherheit). Mitunter ist sogar unklar, welche Handlungsfolgen...

Introductory circles of history of philosophy and economic theology -- The circle of Cusanus's life -- The circle of Cusanus's literary activity -- The circle of Cusanus's reformatory activity -- The circles of the game -- Two more circles in the game : the circles of the creator and of the...

This paper explores the need for theology-oriented economic policymaking, as well as its possible sacred and secular ends. To facilitate this exploration, America’s Social Gospel movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is examined as a historical case of theology-oriented economic...

The Abrahamic doctrine of liberty of the will can allow liberalism in the economy. For a century or so in academic theology, and stretching back to the early church and such revivals as the Radical Reformation, numerous Christian writers have denied such a liberalism. In the past century, for...

Recently, some theological ethicists have criticized modern economics for offering a rival theology that undermines an appreciation for creation and God’s gifts. In their view, through the logic of opportunity cost, economics substitutes a tragic world of scarcity for God’s abundance....

The primary objective of this paper is to highlight some similarities and dissimilarities between orthodox Judaism and Islamic teachings to inspire and motivate these two communities to share their common values and moral teaching at this crucial juncture of deteriorating Judo-Muslim relations....

This chapter presents ethical and theological perspectives on commerce in Adam Smith through the lens of Bishop Joseph Butler. After discussing the context of Butler's political economy and Smith's and Butler's overlapping theological and psychological frameworks, I focus on three issues. The...

Chapter 1: Introduction -- Part 1: Biblical Implication regarding Basic Income -- Chapter 2: Two foundations of the Theory of Basic Income: Natural Rights and Biblical Laws -- Chapter 3: A Reflection for “Anyone Unwilling to Work” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) from the Perspective of Basic Income...

Introduction: Exploring Adam Smith's theological contexts, sources, and significance / Jordan J. Ballor and Cornelis van der Kooi -- Bourgeois culture : understanding Adam Smith's moral horizon / Govert J. Buijs -- A survey of Adam Smith's theological sources / Jordan J. Ballor -- Calvin and...

Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Polytheism and Economics -- Part I The Beginnings -- 2 Greeks and Romans: The Religions Without Professional Priests -- 3 Celts and Germans: The Elusive Religions -- 4 Indians and Iranians: The Priestly Religions -- Part II The Endings -- 5 Extinction: Polytheism...

Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of human thoughts, feelings, and the associated processes, including learning. In the past 50 years, tremendous progress has been made in understanding how people learn. These principles can be used to make theological education more effective in...

The main purpose of this article is to describe and validate/test a set of hypothetical traits of the theology students from two important Romanian universities regarding their migration attitudes after graduation. The study is based on a consistent questionnaire survey, both in terms of...

The economy of the mysteries -- Perpetual penance and frequent communion -- The spirit of speculation -- Usury redeemed -- The cult of consumption -- Luxury and the origins of the fetish -- Epilogue : encounters with economic theology.

A surface view of monotheistic or “Western” religions might lead some to infer a singularity to truth that is inconsistent with paradoxical thinking. The author explores a key Biblical narrative common to both Judaism and Christianity – the story of origins that unfolds in the Garden of...

Equity and efficiency -- A society within a society -- Thomas Aquinas : the interplay of natural and positive law -- William of Ockham : repudiation of power and wealth -- Martin Luther's redistributive theology of the Lord's supper -- John Calvin and the challenge of inequality -- Triumph of...

Most of the literature published under the nomenclature of ‘Islamic economics' deals with Islamic guidelines that address Muslims only. However, there is a vast area of economic subjects dealt in the Qur'an and (also hadith of the Prophet) that addresses the entire humanity in the form of...

Romanian education system is in constant change, trying to distance itself from the communist approach to education, but also in fast integration with our contemporary new pedagogical methods. In the opinion of some observers especially careful on education, the changes that have occurred in the...

Human dignity is a concept which can hardly be confined to a unique field of inquiry, or be analyzed from a restricted scientific approach. In this paper I would like to approach the idea of human dignity through the lenses of economics and religion. The word “dignity” has wide and multiple...

For the interdisciplinary field of theological economics to grow and flourish, four questions must be answered. First, whose theology and scholarship are relevant? Second, to what ends may theological economics be undertaken? Third, does theology support its own use and application in economics?...