Tag: paterfamilias
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Household: Voluntary Associations
Up to this point, we have focused almost exclusively on the two institutions of the household and the state. Roman mythology suggests Rome was founded and ruled by kings in the 8th Century B.C.E., but the aristocrats unseated the king and formed a Republic in the late sixth century. That Republic prevailed until the mid-first…
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Household: Architecture (Part 2)
I wrote about the Roman domus (house) in my last post. The peristyle domus I described was an urban dwelling. Today I want to highlight a few more details about Roman-era homes. In particular, we need to say something about the Roman villa. Outside Roman cities, in the centuries prior to the New Testament, the…
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Theology and Economics: Two Ecos
The word "Economy" is laden with meaning for Christians. It comes from the Greek word oikonomia, meaning "household management." (oikos = household or home; nomia =management) Related to it is the word oikonomos, which means "household manager or steward." The household in mind here is the large villa of the Greco-Roman world. These were self-sufficient…
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Theology and Economics: Cathedral Built of Eikons
One day during the Middle Ages, a gentleman was walking through a European village when he came across a large construction site. Curious about the project, he asked a stone mason what he was doing. "I am laying stones," replied the mason somewhat sarcastically. Not satisfied with the answer, the gentleman approached a carpenter busy…
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Theology and Economics: Why Economics?
I have not said much about one economics up to this point in this series. I am using the term economics in its broadest sense, "The science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind." (1) Many will agree that economics is important but will…