Kruse Kronicle

Christianity and Economics Reading List

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by

mwkruse
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I've been engaged in some heavy-duty discussions about faith and economics over at Jesus Creed in recent days. I've had requests for a reading list of books that have shaped my thinking. (I've been writing my own book on this stuff to clarify my thinking. Whether it ever gets published is yet to be determined.) I could list dozens of books, but here are some that give general coverage to major topics. Ask me tomorrow, and it might be a different list.

Books Relating Faith and Economics:

Bulls, Bears & Golden Calves: Applying Christian Ethics in Economics John Stapleford. Designed to be a stand-alone introduction to economic issues from a Christian perspective or to be used in conjunction with an Intro to Econ college textbook.

Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work Miroslav Volf. The single best theology of work I've read. If you can only read one, start here.

The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective Paul Stevens. Probably one of the most important books I've read on placing work within the broader framework of ministry and what God is doing in the world. (My chapter by chapter review)

The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success Rodney Stark. A fascinating presentation of how certain Christian values and ideas gave birth to capitalism over many centuries.

The Good of Affluence: Seeking God in a Culture of Wealth John Schneider. This is somewhat of a counterpoint to Ron Sider's "Rich Christians." Some colleges use the two books to study in tandem.

A Theology of Work: Work and the New Creation Darrell Cosden. I just read this book. Not for the faint-hearted. It is a dissertation turned into a book. Fascinating insights about the image of God and how work relates to the new creation.

God at Work: The History and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement David Miller. An interesting history of how the church has sought to relate faith and work over the past century and where he sees things headed. (My book review)

Three books not from a Christian perspective:

Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science Charles Wheelan. A nice primer written in accessible English without graphs or math equations.

The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good William Easterly. A wonderful examination of economic development in developing nations. (A bit long.) (My book review)

The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created. William Bernstein. A very readable and insightful, if somewhat long, history of how our modern economic system came to be.

I've done some writing of my own on this blog. Theology and Economics

Comments

12 responses to “Christianity and Economics Reading List”

  1. Light Avatar
    Light

    Michael, permit me to recommend another book for your list. It’s “The Redemption of Love: Rescuing Marriage and Sexuality from the Economics of a Fallen World.”
    Miles looks at the current debate on gender roles in the church and home through the lens of basic economics. She posits that rigid sex roles (beyond biology) were a survival mechanism in the fallen world. She writes:
    “[The] historic subordination [of women] is natural because it follows the one absolute difference between men and women: women’s ability to bear children. But it is not innate, being instead shaped by the material, economic demands of living in an agrarian world of scarce resources. …
    Patterns of behavior that are strongly reinforced by the physical demands of survival cannot help but become institutionalized in patterns of belief. …
    It can be very difficult for us to sort out God’s will from the material imperatives in which we are embedded.”
    Every page is this rich with insights. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

    Reply
  2. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Sounds fascinating Light. Thanks. I’ll check it out.

    Reply
  3. samlcarr Avatar
    samlcarr

    Michael, this is great news. I look forward to reading the completed work. I’m sure you’ll shake us out of our complacency, just as you have done with the series on the household (another book possibility?). What would then be fun would be to have Scot blog your book – the ensuing discussions would be very fruitful!

    Reply
  4. Quotidian Grace Avatar
    Quotidian Grace

    Great list, Michael. Thanks so much. As a former Director of Christian Education, I’d love to see you develop a curriculum (maybe with your book as the starting point) on this topic.

    Reply
  5. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Thanks QG. Curriculum or at least a study is what I’m working toward. Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Bob Robinson Avatar
    Bob Robinson

    Thanks, Michael, for this list.
    I’d add a neo-Calvinist book that applies Sphere Sovereignty to global economics.
    Bob Goudzwaard’s classic book Capitalism and Progress: A Diagnosis of Western Society does just this. He suggests that we should conceive the global market as an autonomous sphere, an economic organism whose principle of existence ought to be economic justice — that is, seeking the arrangement in which the greatest number of people can be employed in the most fulfilling work possible. However, given the fallen conditions in which we live, the market has become idolatrous — its principle has become simply profit maximization. Thus, economic justice, when it is considered at all, becomes a secondary or tertiary concern for those engaged in the marketplace (which is all of us). Secondly, the economic sphere has overreached its authority and has impinged upon all the other spheres of western civilization. The family, the educational systems, the state, etc. have all abdicated their proper principles of existence and have adopted the idolatrous economic principle. The principle of profit-maximization has become an all-encompassing idolatry across all spheres in society, and everyone believes that this is “progress.” But instead of steering the ship of economic progress, western civilizations have become its slave. This is always the way of idolatry; there is always a reversal in which the master becomes the servant of the idol. Seeking the maximum amount of utility out of every transaction, we have found that no part of the universe remains uncommodified. Thus, “Progress itself apparently has assumed sovereignty and has subordinated man to itself” (p. 119).

    Reply
  7. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Interesting Bob. I haven’t gotten to Goudzwaard yet. I’ll be interested to learn more. Profit is to business and economics what eating is to the human body. You can’t live without it. But when “food” has become all you live for, then you have a problem. Sphere stuff at the global is fascinating.

    Reply
  8. Darren Avatar
    Darren

    This looks familiar…thanks again for the list.

    Reply
  9. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    LOL
    Yes, you were the third person who had asked me about a list and each time I was composing a separate response. This was a attempt to canonize the list of which book are in and which are out. 🙂

    Reply
  10. SpellCheckGuy Avatar
    SpellCheckGuy

    Blogs – Oraganizations and Communities
    Correct to “organizations” on left side

    Reply
  11. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Thanks spell check guy. My blog could keep you occupied indefinitely. 🙂

    Reply
  12. Jesus Christ Avatar
    Jesus Christ

    It is a very wonderful post and it contains all the valuable information about the Christianity and its economics reading. Thank you for providing a very valuable information.

    Reply

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