THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
(previously published in the Politics and Theology section of my other website, www.peterbrooke.org.uk)
This is a response to a lecture of that title given by Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach in Swansea in March 2013. Lord Griffiths was in 1985 appointed head of Margaret Thatcher's No 10 policy unit. He played an important part in the deregulation of the banking industry and subsequently became Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs International. He is a Christian.
I have divided my response into two parts - (1) The Christian Faith and (2) The Financial crisis (or a general reflection on free market economics).
Part One: The Christian Faith
Simonos Petra, Mount Athos
'Jesus's teaching on economic matters'
Story of a successful revolutionary (Brian Griffiths)
Story of an unsuccessful revolutionary (me)
Morality and the Market Place
Is Jesus business friendly?
Was Moses business friendly?
The two testaments
Monastic Christianity
Two-tier Christianity - monastic and evangelical
Postscript: On social justice
A copy of this paper in Word format can be downloaded here