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 Random Utility Model (RUM) is a workhorse model for valuing new products or changes in public goods. But RUMs have been faulted along two lines. First, for including idiosyncratic errors that imply unreasonably high values for new alternatives and unrealistic substitution patterns. Second,...