“No Rising Tide: Theology, Economics, and the Future”

Posted on Sep 28, 2009 - 01:20 PM

Dr. Joerg Rieger, Wendland Cook Professor of Constructive Theology, Perkins at Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas, TX, has written a new book that criticizes Christian theology for its complicity in underwriting our economic crisis, but then also mints theology anew for a Christian practice of economic justice. 

Even though economic downturns are still followed by upturns, fewer people benefit from them. As a result, economic crisis is an everyday reality that permanently affects all levels of our lives. The logic of downturn, developed in this book, helps make sense of what is going on, as the economy shapes us more deeply than we had ever realized, not only our finances and our work, but also our relationships, our thinking, and even our hopes and desires. Religion is one arena shaped by economics and thus part of the problem but, as Joerg Rieger shows, it might also hold one of the keys for providing alternatives, since it points to energies for transformation and justice. Rieger’s hopeful perspective unfolds in stark contrast to an economy and a religion that thrive on mounting inequality and differences of class.

“For such a time as this, when financial markets are crashing, real estate bubbles bursting, and job security disappearing, Rieger gives us a book that reveals the consequences of placing blind faith in capitalism. Not only does he boldly critique the free market, but he suggests alternatives that are more humane and more liberating for the dispossessed. A must read for all who seek the link between religion and economics.”—Miguel A. De La Torre, Associate Professor of Social Ethics, Iliff School of Theology, Denver

“The time is long past for European and U.S. theologians to engage the crisis of current market economies. Theologian Rieger in No Rising Tide challenges the market s own fetishes and belief structure, criticizes Christian theology for its complicity in underwriting our economic crisis, but then also mints theology anew for a Christian practice of economic justice. Rieger s book is where Christian theological reflection on the economy must now begin.”—Mark Lewis Taylor, Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Theology and Culture, Princeton Theological Seminary

“This is an important and welcome addition to the growing body of literature which recognizes that global economics is a theological as well as an ethical and political issue of great urgency.”—Theodore Jennings, Professor of Biblical and Constructive Theology, Chicago Theological Seminary

“Joerg Rieger uses the occasion of the present financial crisis to remind us once again that the religion that controls most human history at present is devoted to the market rather than to the father of Jesus Christ. He shows how far we who call ourselves Christians have been sucked into the orbit of worship of this God. May his call to repentance be widely heard.”—John B Cobb Jr., Professor Emeritus of Theology, Claremont School of Theology

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