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Greg Forster (PhD, Yale University) is a program director at the Kern Family Foundation and a senior fellow at the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including The Joy of Calvinism.

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This book by Greg Forster, director of the Oikonomia Network at the Center for Transformational Churches at Trinity International University, is a welcome addition to Crossway’s Student Guide series.

Here Forster looks at the economy ‘through the lens of the Christian intellectual tradition, seeing these things as the church has seen them in the light of Scripture and the Spirit.’

He begins by differentiating between economics, the academic discipline that studies the economy, and the economy. The economy is more than money and material goods, it involves other economic resources such as time and, surprisingly, reputation.

He is clear that important as it is, life is not just economics.

The Bible does not provide an economic theory, any more than it provides a theory of quantum gravity. What it does is provide premises or presuppositions for economics. Forster contends:

‘According to Scripture we were made to be good stewards of God's world. … The two key concepts of stewardship in Genesis are cultivating and protecting… Thus us where a Christian view of the economy comes in.’

Thus, Forster takes seriously the cultural mandate and the need for development in the creation, where stewardship is a key factor.

In chapter 2 he looks at the role of justice and mercy in terms of integrity, fruitfulness, provision and compassion. He then moves on in Chapters 3-5 to look at Augustine, Aquinas and Luther to see what insights can be gleaned for economics. Surprising is the omission of any discussion of Calvin’s views.
In the final chapter, he notes that the world is dominated by economic ideologies. He makes an excellent point:

‘However, we would be equally naive to think that we can totally repudiate existing systems of economic thought and set up “Christian economics” against them. That is not how the Holy Spirit works. At Pentecost, the people of many nations did not hear the gospel preached in a totally new language. They heard it in their own languages, the existing languages of human culture. God does not remove us from cultural systems—which include systems of economic thinking—when he redeems us.’

He makes a good case that in challenging the idolatries we do so ‘from the position of active and loving participation in the economic life and thinking of our communities’. This echoes the so-called LACE-approach of Andrew Basden. The need to listen and affirm before critiquing idolatries and then enriching (redeeming) the viewpoints,

Areas discussed are the market, political intervention in the markets and the role of the state.
There is a list of further reading, but notable Christian economists such as Bob Goudzwaard and Alan Storkey are surprisingly absent from it.

The book takes seriously the discipline of economics and the economy from a Christian perspective, particularly welcome is the emphasis on stewardship and thus provides a good introduction to the subject.
… (mer)
 
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stevebishop.uk | Jul 23, 2020 |
I enjoyed this book - I appreciated the emphasis on how Calvinism brings joy rather than just on a defense of the doctrine. I felt like some of the points were weak like joy is not an emotion/love is not an emotion. This seems like a popular teaching but is very difficult to defend from scripture. He equates love with sacrifice but the love chapter I Cor 13 says "If I give my body to be burned and have not love..." God created our emotions too and they are to point us to God as much as the mind and will. One other interesting point I thought was that Forster maintains that man has free will. He distinguishes between how we understand the term today as opposed to Calvin and Luther's day. I thought he did a decent job explaining what he meant by the term, I just don't think it is the best term to describe someone who is a slave to sin. Will yes, free will (even using today's understanding) not so much. Still overall it is a good study in Calvinism and would give food for thought to the convinced Calvinist and a good introduction to the teaching for someone looking to understand or study Calvinism.… (mer)
 
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KenMcLain | 1 annan recension | Jul 18, 2017 |
Calvinism is often seen as a joyless and cold theological tradition. Forester, however, believes that this is a gross misunderstanding. Calvinism is about joy – not an emotion, but “a settled certainty that God is in control.” The doctrines of grace, Forester argues, should be know as expressions of God’s love and our joy in His provision: thus the subtitle, “Knowing God’s Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love.” Rather than explaining Calvinism by way of the more familiar TULIP acrostic, which itself was formulated as a rebuff to Calvinism opponents, Forester offers a beautiful and startling affirmation of Calvinistic soteriology – not in terms of reaction, but a positive expression of the grace, love, and joy found in its doctrine. Where he sticks to this tone, Forester’s is among the very best contemporary expressions of Calvinist theology. On the other hand, however, Forester does his readers a huge disservice by way of his mischaracterization of non-Calvinistic theologies (esp. Arminianism). While Forester rightfully seeks to compare and contrast, he both misinforms his readers and steals away from the otherwise joyful tone of his work. B-… (mer)
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bsanner | 1 annan recension | Aug 15, 2012 |

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436
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