31 August 2018

Christianity and Private Property

You can go here to download a good survey piece by David Opderbeck, Christian Thought and Property Law. Opderbeck surveys the Biblical record (Old and New Testament) about the notion of private property including its legitimate uses and risks. He also covers the views of the Patristics (including Augustine), Thomas Aquinas, Protestants from the Reformation era (Magisterial and Anabaptist), as well as the broad strokes of contemporary Catholic thought. His take-away: "there is no single 'Christian view' of private property. The Biblical witness and the historic reflection of various Christian traditions on the subject are vast and sometimes inconsistent."

In short, a fine introduction that does not requires extensive historical or theological skills to use profitably for individual (including law student) or small group purposes.

No comments:

Post a Comment