Reading the Bible Economically
Even though money and economic decisions drive our lives, reading the Bible economically remains rare among people of faith. In this discussion series we’ll take down the wall between economics and the Bible. Stories will release new power for living. The Bible’s alternatives to empire economics will help reframe how we live amid a culture where we “follow the money.”
The practice of reading the Bible from the particular perspective of economics may well be unfamiliar to you. People in the U.S., even those of us who have had wide exposure to the Bible, who study it, or have heard lots of preaching and teaching from it, have not, from Sunday School to seminary, been asked to read the Bible with economic eyes. One reason is that we have read it more for spiritual guidance than for guidance in our economic practices. For economic practices we have turned to financial advisors, The Wall Street Journal, bankers, and a host of other sources. In Reading the Bible Economically, we will counter that separation of economics from spiritual
A complete PDF version of the RBE workbook is available from JEM for a suggested honor system contribution of $25. Download the zipped PDF and then donate via PayPal.
As we practice reading the Bible with economic eyes, we will see the impact of both empire economics and of those who practice alternatives to it. We help open one another’s eyes to how the lives and practices of people and nations less powerful are arranged for them by other people and nations more powerful. Once we see how an empire and her people, how the power and privilege that they assert, shape systems and lives, we will feel the risk, struggle, and excitement of others who develop contrast societies, counter movements, and economic alternatives. We are not likely to succeed completely in this re-reading of the Bible or the re-narration of its stories to emphasize the economics. When we fail, it will be to a significant degree because, in the U.S., we have been life-long citizens of contemporary empire as it is shaped by the G-8 nations, the U.S. leading the way. Our eyes have been blinded by the benefits that our empire economy and culture have entitled us with. Can our eyes be opened? Certainly. If we are open, and as we work together, our eyes will open to many things previously unseen in the Bible, in our culture, and in our ways of living in that culture.
Topics in RBE
From Economic Innocence to Consciousness: Reframing Eden
How Much Is Enough? Reframing Security
Release from Debt in a Debt Economy
Redistribution of Wealth: Necessary Structural Change
Co-creating the Commons Today
Shaping Economic Life Through Imagination: Isaiah and Jesus Imagine the Possible
Investing and Banking that Creates a Jubilee Economy
The Rich-Poor Gap: How Rich and Poor are Linked
Crash! When Empire Economics Fail
East of Eden: Living the Paradigm of God’s Commonwealth
But why read the Bible in this way at all?
The most important reason is because that’s the reality out of which and to which the Bible was written. The conventional reading of the texts among people of empire have throughout history blessed the essential tenets that keep empires in place, even though the Bible is in its essence a collection opposing empire. We can help one another deconstruct conventional readings. Juan Stam, a biblical teacher in Latin America, says that we need an eraser, magnifying glass, and earphones. The eraser is to rub out conventional readings that prevent fresh readings from happening. This is the work of deconstructing our previous conclusions and assumptions about the Bible and its meanings. The magnifying glass is to see more clearly its meanings in its original time and culture. The earphones are for us to listen carefully to various readings, discerning what resonates deep within us, how the divine Spirit sings into our understanding, imaginations, and emotions the lyrics of these ancient authors and their creative work. To preview a portion of Reading the Bible Economically, click here to download a sample.
These sessions will include ritual, assignments, reflective journaling, interactive activity, and taking the leap from the time and culture of the text to now−inviting the narratives to shape our economic actions today.
