Theology of Money and Ascetical Theology: From Simmel to Kathryn Tanner and Phillip Goodchild
Author: Wai-Yiu WAN, Professor, Department of Culture and Religious Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Abstract:
This essay begins with Georg Simmel’s socio-philosophical exploration of the ontology, morality and spiritual meanings of money. Towards the twenty-first century, Christian theologians develop different concerns of Simmel’s philosophical schema into theological agendas in order to understand the radical transformation of the late capitalist global economic scenario. Kathryn Tanner champions her relational theology and argues for the economy of grace as an exchange model. Philip Goodchild, on the other hand, bases his argument on his eschatological reading and argues for a pessimistic critique of the world financial system. The positive and negative paradoxicality of money leads to a Christological reading. The symbolic character of money demands choices every time when we hold it in our hand. Therefore, money is much more than an economic entity and it points to a divine realm of reality which governs our world of buying and selling.
Keywords:
money; Christian theology; financial system; Philosophy of Economy
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