Having Property and Possession in Religious and Social Life

The last few decades have witnessed the expansion of market economies into a complex global system. From shantytowns in Africa and rural villages around the Black Sea to the high-tech worlds of Tokyo, Berlin, and New York City, no place on the planet has escaped this development. While the present conditions of economic life are unique to our time, the human impulses that stand behind them are not. People have always negotiated life in economic terms, constituting much of their personal and social identity in relation to the things they possess.What, if anything, might religious studies and theological reflection contribute to thinking about and responding to the basic human reality of bhavingb? The engaging inquiries found in this volume provide some answers. Distinct from books taking purely economic, political, or social-scientific approaches to the subject, this book uses resources from the biblical traditions to throw fresh light on the role of property and possessions in cultural processes. Well-known scholars from a variety of fields (theology, ethics, economics, and biblical studies) explore in new and penetrating ways how people find value in having things, and how having things, in turn, gives value to social life. Their work will interest anyone grappling with issues of ownership and consumerism in todaybs global age.Contributors: Claudia V. CampJean Bethke ElshtainJonathan R. GangleDavid M. GunnChristine Firer HinzeArjo KlamerDavid E. KlemmCharles MathewesDeirdre McCloskeyPatrick D. MillerMargaret M. MitchellAndreas SchueleWilliam SchweikerKathryn TannerGunter ThomasMichael WelkerSchweiker, William is the author of 'Having Property and Possession in Religious and Social Life', published 2004 under ISBN 9780802824844 and ISBN 0802824846.