Missional Economics: Biblical Justice and Christian Formation

Abstract

American Christians today, says Michael Barram, have a signifiƯcant blind spot when it comes to economic matters in the Bible. In this book Barram reads biblical texts related to matters of money, wealth, and poverty through a missional lens, showing how they function to transform our economic reasoning. Barram searches for insight into God's purposes for economic justice by exploring what it might look like to think and act in life-giving ways in the face of contemporary economic orthodoxies. The Bible repeatedly tells us how to treat the poor and marginalized, Barram says, and faithful Christians cannot but reflect carefully and concretely on such concerns. Written in an accessible style, this biblically rooted study reflects years of research and teaching on social and economic justice in the Bible and will prove useful for lay readers, preachers, teachers, students, and scholars. Transformation for life -- Biblical formation in missional perspective -- Jesus's mission and divine blessing -- The Exodus: the God of liberation provides a way out -- Economic formation in the Decalogue -- Economic formation in the covenantal legal codes -- Prophetic formation for economic reasoning -- Creation and its discontents -- The kingdom's economy of abundance -- Formation for economic reasoning in Matthew -- Kingdom reversals and economic reasoning in Luke -- Economic reasoning and faith in the context of divine abundance -- Missional hermeneutics, transformed reasoning, and choosing life.