So, no Martha, I do not rope Jesus into anything. You’re right to raise the points you raise though, and in fact, the first chapter of “Economic Parables” starts with the rich young man and what Jesus is telling him, and then stats with the first parable of the “Parable of the Dishonest Manager”, where Jesus tell us to use worldly wealth wisely. Remember, wealth, greed and all these things predated Capitalism, and Jesus talked about how we should respond.

Thanks Michael for creating this forum for discussion, I appreciate all the comments that are coming in!

But this shouldn’t stop us from looking at how Biblical principle does affect the economic realm. There are Biblical truths (like the inherent sin nature of man) that can radically affect what you think of the works of different economists. And I believe Adam Smith and Co. made natural law arguments that economics is much closer to the laws of mathematics than it is to just an ideology you can choose from.

There is a big difference between what I should do personally with my finances trying to follow what Jesus taught – and what the government does in the economy, with the pretense of following what Jesus taught – which is why I’m going to have to read this book. Thanks for the recommendation.

I don’t think there is such a beast as “the economics of Jesus”. I don’t think you can say “Jesus is a socialist/Jesus is a capitalist.”

If you want to find evidence, you can certainly strain it out – but what do you do about such passages as telling the rich young man “Go, sell all you have; give to the poor, and come – follow Me”? That doesn’t sound like capitalism.

On the other hand, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s” and the Miracle of the Tribute Money instructs us to pay our taxes. That’s not seizing the means of production, either.

I wonder what the point of this book is – is it as a guide to how a Christian should deal with the worldly financial matters we all have to deal with, or is it a political tract that is concerned to push Capitalism as the One True Method of Salvation, and Jesus is roped in for an endorsement?

Dave R, no it is not a “How to” book, it is a challenging study to get people thinking about their engagement with economic issues, and to get them talking in a relaistic and biblical way about the economy. I would be very happy to hear your own reflections having seen the book itself.

John H, sounds like you’re in England!?

Chris E, the book was published before the current crisis, but does warn that we were living in a bubble and all bubbles burst, so quite prophetic in that respect! The issues I tackled remain alive.

Great to read these comments on the original review, and thought I could answer them. Thanks to all!

Otherwise it would just be a case of assuming the authorial context and Christianity not having anything to say to world about economics.

I guess though that this material was covered as indicated by your paragraph on debt?

There’s been a lot of discussion about how American Evangelicals have turned the bible into the ultimate “how to” manual: how to improve your marriage, how to balance your checkbook, how to improve your self esteem, how to decide that you should vote Republican, etc. On the surface, based on your review, it sounds like this book is another variation on the theme. Is your recommendation based on the book providing a “spiritual” or “biblical” perspective on finances and economics, or based on the author’s “vocational” expertise and experience? I don’t mean to sound challenging, but how would you describe the difference between this book and the thousands of books on Christian bookstore shelves that take the bible way out of its intended realm? That is, the revelation of who God is, who we are, the effects of sin, and God’s plan for reconciling us to himself in Jesus Christ. Maybe the gift of cynicism is being stirred up here; maybe I’ve missed the point and purpose of the book; maybe you can help me put this in perspective.