Overview

While a number of secular philosophers have written on global poverty, theologians have either steered clear entirely or simply mimicked the political analysis currently on offer. Christian authors have argued either for a free market solution to global poverty or for a radical reform of global capitalism as the best approach, but the theological underpinnings of such conclusions are noticeable by their absence. Justin Thacker offers a new way forward. He suggests deeply theological answers to questions around the effect of capitalism on global poverty and whether aid is really a sustainable long term solution for the world's poor. This book will challenge theologians, church leaders and congregations to consider much more seriously the huge implications of faith and theology on our attitude to those who live in extreme poverty.

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9780334055150

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Reviews

If you ever thought that theologians should stay in their ivory towers, safely out of harm's way, and that those who want to change our world for the good should be left to get on with the job at hand.... think again! Justin Thacker combines a deep theological understanding with a strong knowledge of economic theories of poverty relief, and a clear compassion for our struggling planet and its people, to provide a brilliant theological analysis that will inform and challenge all of us who long to bring about a better world. He shows that some of the best efforts to alleviate poverty are being done precisely by those who are grounding their work most closely in a well thought-out theological understanding of what they're doing. This is a superb book and I encourage you to read it -- Ruth Valerio At last - a thorough, graceful, nuanced and compelling theological engagement with capitalism and development. Avoiding easy stereotypes, false certainties, and cheap point-scoring, Thacker's book looks at global poverty through the lenses of Creation, Fall, Israel, Redemption and Consummation, to produce what he terms a 'symphonic account' of the theology of poverty. While Christians all over the world have intuitively been responding to poverty in many of the ways Thacker suggests, now we will be able to do so with renewed focus and strength, armed with this robust primer on why it is a theological imperative that we do so with urgency. -- Eve Poole Dr Justin Thacker has produced a resolutely theological, rather than pragmatic, analysis of global poverty. Justin's writing is steeped in theological and biblical study, but he is also at home in the currents of contemporary political and economic discussion, and the interaction between these things means the book is also full of practical insights as to what we can - and should - do. -- Sean Doherty

At last - a thorough, graceful, nuanced and compelling theological engagement with capitalism and development. Avoiding easy stereotypes, false certainties, and cheap point-scoring, Thacker's book looks at global poverty through the lenses of Creation, Fall, Israel, Redemption and Consummation, to produce what he terms a 'symphonic account' of the theology of poverty. While Christians all over the world have intuitively been responding to poverty in many of the ways Thacker suggests, now we will be able to do so with renewed focus and strength, armed with this robust primer on why it is a theological imperative that we do so with urgency. -- Eve Poole Dr Justin Thacker has produced a resolutely theological, rather than pragmatic, analysis of global poverty. Justin's writing is steeped in theological and biblical study, but he is also at home in the currents of contemporary political and economic discussion, and the interaction between these things means the book is also full of practical insights as to what we can - and should - do. -- Sean Doherty

At last - a thorough, graceful, nuanced and compelling theological engagement with capitalism and development. Avoiding easy stereotypes, false certainties, and cheap point-scoring, Thacker's book looks at global poverty through the lenses of Creation, Fall, Israel, Redemption and Consummation, to produce what he terms a 'symphonic account' of the theology of poverty. While Christians all over the world have intuitively been responding to poverty in many of the ways Thacker suggests, now we will be able to do so with renewed focus and strength, armed with this robust primer on why it is a theological imperative that we do so with urgency. -- Eve Poole

Author Information

Justin Thacker is a lecturer in practical and public theology at Cliff College. He is the author of Postmodernism and the Ethics of Theological Knowledge (2007) and co-editor of Micah's Challenge: The Church's Responsibility to the Global Poor (2008). He has spoken regularly at some of the UK's major Christian conferences, including Spring Harvest and has written for the Guardian newspaper and Third Way.

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