The Cities of Genesis: Religion, Economics and the Rise of Modernity

Abstract

The paper argues the thesis that the modern city rises in Genesis and that urban development intertwines (a) with changes to religious concepts from spiritual religion to rational religion, and (b) with changes to economic concepts from behavioural socio-economics to non-behavioural institutional economics. The conclusion arrived at is that the modern city and religious pluralism do manifest themselves, exemplarily so in the final stories of Genesis. Then, ideas on rational religion and institutional economic governance become much more visible. Through textual, narratological analysis, the paper contributes to an institutional economic theory of ancient polity, religious text and of Old Testament-based religion.