The Economics Of The Parables

Timeless and moral economic wisdom for life's choices and changes derived from the parables of the New Testament by famed free market advocate and Catholic priest Robert Sirico. Libraries are filled with books on the parables of Christ, and rightly so. In the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, “While civilizations have come and gone, these stories continue to teach us anew with their freshness and their humanity.” Two millennia later, the New Testament parables remain ubiquitous, and yet, few have stopped to glean from one of Christ’s most prevalent analogies: money. In The Economics of the Parables, Rev. Robert Sirico pulls back the veil of modernity to reveal the timeless economic wisdom of the parables. Thirteen central stories—including “The Laborers in the Vineyard,” “The Rich Fool,” “The Five Talents,” and “The Faithful Steward”—serve as his guide, revealing practical lessons in caring for the poor, stewarding wealth, distributing inheritances, navigating income disparities, and resolving family tensions. As contemporary as any business manual and sure to outlast them, The Economics of the Parables equips any economically informed reader to uncover the enduring financial truths of the parables in a reasonable, sensible, and life-empowering manner.

Ever wondered how to pay the next bill? Felt the world is unfair in economic rewards? Been indecisive about investing wisely? These types of fiscal questions are addressed from a Christian viewpoint in Economic Parables. Using his vast experience in the financial world as well as church ministry, the author invites you to listen directly to the words of Jesus and reflect on a number of economic parables to understand life in an increasingly globalized economy. Some of the answers you find will be surprising, in part because Jesus was a more sophisticated economist than he is given credit for. His words will shed light on many modern economic problems and decisions we may not think to go to the Bible about. By taking this journey through the economic parables, your response to finances and the global marketplace will be enriched from a balanced biblical approach. Each chapter contains a parable and reflection, followed by a question making this book ideal for group or personal Bible study.

In this short, hard-hitting volume, Roelf Haan critiques the assumptions that underlie our current economic system and makes the case for a truly biblical alternative. / The Economics of Honor walks through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, but it blazes an unfamiliar path. Through careful exegesis Haan draws economic insights from surprising passages and challenges conventional interpretations of some of Jesus' parables. Haan also draws insights from a wide-ranging number of thinkers, including John Calvin, Jacques Ellul, Ren Girard, Germaine Greer, and several Latin American liberation theologians. / A provocative and fascinating read, The Economics of Honor challenges accepted economic wisdom and exchanges it for groundbreaking, well-reasoned arguments on how the Bible would have us live today.

This work includes sections on combating recessions and the free market, as well as updated material on the pros and cons of establishing new individual accounts under Social Security. It also includes a discussion of the tax-credit approach to encourage the purchase of health insurance.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Tables and Figures -- Preface -- I. Introduction to Economics -- 1. An Economist's Genesis -- II. Microeconomics -- 2. Markets: Demand and Supply -- 3. Environmental Pollution -- 4. International Trade -- III. Macroeconomics -- 5. Recession -- 6. Inflation -- 7. Growth -- 8. Growth Through Tax Reform -- IV. Policy Issues -- 9. The Social Contract -- 10. Social Security -- 11. Health Insurance -- 12. Education -- 13. Poverty -- Index -- About the Author.

Over the past few decades biblical economics has developed into an important subfield of biblical studies. Through examining the economic realities that lay behind Hebrew biblical texts and archaeological findings, biblical economics has led to greater understandings of the cultures and experiences of ancient Hebrew communities, the legal and religious texts they produced, and of how those texts may or may not relate to the experiences of communities who continue to receive them, today. Economics and Empire in the Ancient Near East has brought together ten scholars of biblical economics and one economic anthropologist to create a repository of what is understood about the economic realities of Southwest Asia in the late second and first millennia BCE. In addition to furthering the research and teaching interests of biblical scholars, this volume has also been created for the benefit of economic historians, anthropologists, and sociologists.