Tag: Distributive Justice
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Theologians and Economists: Distributive Justice
[Series Index] Reading the legal codes in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, it is clear private property was taken for granted. One of the Ten Commandments was "Thou shall not steal." Numerous references exist for appropriate restitution when someone's property has been taken or damaged. Private property was central to Old Testament economic life. However,…
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Theologians and Economists: Economic Justice
(Today, we return to this series after a two-week hiatus due to duties with the Presbyterians. 🙂 ) [Series Index] In recent posts, I've been suggesting some biblical themes that need to be a part of deliberations on theology and economics. God created humanity for dominion. It is our mission. Our relationship to material things…
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Living Simply in Abundance (8)
What did the prophets have to say about wealth and justice? It is frequently preached today that the prophets condemned economic inequities and proclaimed God’s desire to equalize wealth. Is this true? First, we need to recognize that there are three aspects to economic justice. Distributive Justice – Addresses how capital and goods are distributed…
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Economic Fallacies: “Biblical Redistribution”
The Biblical Redistribution fallacy identifies wealth equalization as the primary economic concern of the Bible; the Jubilee Code of Leviticus 25 is the most exemplary passage. Based on this perspective, public policies ranging from tax rates to debt cancellation for developing nations are advocated. These policies may be worthy and appropriate, but that is distinct…
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Theology and Economics: Distributive Justice
Distributive Justice – How capital and goods are distributed throughout society. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…" and only God is eternal. Therefore, everything ultimately belongs to God. Yet God created us to be "stewards" of his creation. "Steward" is not widely used today. I love its Old English origins. Hundreds…
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Theology and Economics: Justice in the Old Testament
Any discussion of economics in the Old Testament must begin with the Pentateuch, especially the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Clearly, these are not economic textbooks. The Hebrews were an agricultural people without the compartmentalization of life we have today, and to speak strictly of economics would have been unintelligible to them. Both Leviticus and…
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Distributive Justice
Reading the legal codes in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, private property was taken for granted. One of the Ten Commandments was "Thou shall not steal." Numerous references exist about appropriate restitution when someone's property has been taken or damaged. Private property was central to Old Testament economic life. However, ownership of private property was…
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Economic Justice
Before we can talk about globalization, debt cancellation, or any other economics-related topics, we must understand what constitutes economic justice. The term means different things to different people. I believe there are three aspects to economic justice: 1. Distributive Justice – This addresses how capital and goods are distributed throughout society. 2. Commutative…