Professor Paul Oslington

Economic discussion has deep roots in the Christian tradition. The Scriptures are full of images from the marketplace like redemption, reconciliation and the divine economy.    Christian theology, especially the British tradition of scientific natural theology, shaped the development of the new science of political economy in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries.   However  fruitful exchange between economists and theologians ceased in the late 19^th century in Britain and the early 20^th century in America, impoverishing both economics and theology, and the church’s capacity to engage with economic issues.  The current state of the discussion is reviewed and suggestions made about how the church’s economic witness can be best advanced.  Few issues are more pressing for the mission of the church in a culture dominated by economics.

1.  An Old Discussion Being Renewed

2.  Brief History of the Relationship

3.  Contemporary Areas of Research

4.  Framing of economics theologically rather than a distinctive economics.

Monday 13 April 7pm