Paul, Poverty, and Economic Justice (original) (raw)

2020, Published in Human Flourishing: Economic Wisdom for a Fruitful Christian Vision of the Good Life, edited by Greg Forster and Anthony R. Cross. Eugene, Pickwick,

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Paul’s understanding of economic justice, as evidenced in his letters. Twenty-first century debates such as that between equality of outcome and equality of opportunity do not enter into Paul’s first-century letters. Nevertheless, given that Paul does discuss issues such as wealth and poverty, giving practices, and master-slave relationships, it is worth asking whether Paul has in mind some particular vision of economic justice, and so, how does Paul envisage that justice coming about? The paper compares attitudes and responses to poverty and justice found in Greco-Roman and Jewish sources with Paul. Jewish and Greco-Roman reflections on poverty have significant parallels. Study of Paul shows also some overlaps, despite the brevity of the corpus of his letters. Paul is content whether he is poor or affluent. He accepts the poverty that he suffers as a persecuted apostle of Christ, knowing that God has put him in that position, and he chooses to remain in his calling. He exhorts believers to work hard with their own hands, and not become dependent on others, and seeks to set an example of this practice in his own life. He urges and organizes acts of generosity to the poor, especially to fellow believers. Concerning justice there are several key conclusions. First, as with Romans and Jews, there is no evidence that Paul, who is both Jewish and a Roman citizen, sees poverty in itself as evidence that injustice has been committed. There is no call for mandatory redistribution. Second, Paul upholds the obligation for justice in certain relationships, such as the obligation on families to look after their own elderly widows. Third, Paul sees justice, or equality, being worked out through the mutual care of believers for one another over time, as they give voluntarily, generously and in proportion to their means, shaped by the self-giving of Christ himself. And ultimately, for Paul, hope is in God, not on riches in this age. Life in this age is like shivering in a tent, waiting for the sun to rise—for mortality to be swallowed up by immortality (2 Cor. 5:4).