Orbis Books. 3 pp
“WE READ THE GOSPEL as if we had no money,” laments American Jesuit theologian John Haughey, “and we spend our money as if we know nothing of the Gospel.” Indeed, the topic of economics is exceedingly difficult to talk about in most First World churches, more taboo than politics or even sex. Yet no aspect of our individual and corporate lives is more determinative of our welfare. And few subjects are more frequently addressed in our scriptures.
The standard of economic and social justice is woven into the warp and weft of the Bible. Pull this strand and the whole fabric unravels. At the heart of this witness is the call to Sabbath and Jubilee, a tradition we might summarize in three axioms:
1. The world as created by God is abundant, with enough for everyone— provided that human communities restrain their appetites and live within limits;
2. Disparities in wealth are not “natural” but the result of human sin, and must be mitigated within the community of faith through the regular practice of wealth redistribution;
3. The prophetic message calls people to the practice of such redistribution, and is thus characterized as “good news” to the poor.
Full Article: Foreword to Ross and Gloria Kinsler’s The Biblical Jubilee and the Struggle for Life SKU: 99-2-F
Ched Myers 