Christ's Lessons on Money: 'The Economics of Parables' (Deusto). Robert Sirico
This book is unique. It was not written by an economist, but by a priest. The Italian Robert Sirico reviews 13 of the most famous parables of the New Testament to extract the lessons that Jesus Christ offered with the use of money. From stories such as The Prodigal Son to Hidden Treasure or The Rich Fool, Sirico reflects on economics and the Holy Scriptures. “Economic issues permeate practically all human life on earth,” he writes, “and what we call the market is not, therefore, a place, but a process of discovering how to use those scarce and limited resources.” The values of the Bible, the priest narrates, influenced the development of economics as a discipline. The book speaks about the administration of wealth, private property, the management of inequalities, the resolution of family conflicts or the distribution of inheritances. And it reflects on private property, wealth and technology, among many other issues such as, for example, socialism in the early church.