Prosperity, Theology, and Economy

Abstract

The chapters in this volume raise fascinating and important questions for understanding the intersection of prosperity, theology, and the economy. Applying sophisticated analyses from theology, biblical studies, ethics, cultural studies, anthropology, and the sociology of religion, they together provide multiple angles of vision upon Pentecostalism and the ideas and practices of prosperity theology. The authors raise points of tension and possible contradiction within this field; and, indeed, the chapters themselves represent divergent perspectives. Thus, it is important to ask (paraphrasing the title of Alasdair MacIntyre's renowned book Whose Justice, Which Rationality?) 1 : Whose prosperity? Which theology? And, we should add, what economic practices? This chapter, then, is organized into three thematic sections-prosperity, theology, economy-followed by a brief concluding section on Christian faith and economic life. Writing as a Christian ethicist, my normative claims build upon a theologically informed approach to well-being that is grounded in an inclusive understanding of Reformed theology and which is also influenced by various Protestant and Catholic understandings of economic life. 2 Prosperity What does it mean to prosper, to live in abundance, or to have a flourishing life? So easily, in public discourse, prosperity gets reduced to the sphere of material goods, and condensed further still by assuming that material well-being can be accurately assessed by one common standard, or currency. Thus money becomes the measure of abundance (or scarcity). In practical terms, the most common K. Attanasi et al. (eds.), Pentecostalism and Prosperity