Zadok Catalogue 2008

Economics, Government & Politics

It's a wonderful world
Peter Crabb
Zadok Perspectives 98, Autumn 2008
Greed is both a collective and individual issue. Collective public pressure through the ballot box is just one avenue for bringing about change, but in terms of governments, it must not stop there.

The Federal Election: how should we then vote?
Dr Armen Gakavian
Zadok Paper S156, Spring 2007
A draft was inadvertently published of Dr Armen Gakavian's paper.
The final paper may be found HERE
The author begins this paper by commenting that the 2007 Federal Election is "the most interesting in a decade" But he suggests that Christians find it hard to make a biblical response to the task of voting. He then takes Romans 13 as the basis for a discussion on why and how to vote. He begins the discussion with an examination of politics and of Christian involvement, then shows how principles of order, justice and freedom can inform our voting. He also offers some guidelines for evaluating Christian candidates, and concludes by reminding us of the nature of our real Christian calling, and how political involvement relates to it. He calls the church to open, honest and prayerful discussion of political options.

Christians and Australian Politics 2004-2007.
Brian Edgar
Zadok Paper S155, Spring 2007
Brian Edgar examines the changes in attitudes of Australian towards faith and politics since the last federal election in 2004. While accepting that the mainstream denominations are still the main religious players in the political realm, he shows how attitudes have changed within those denominations, as well as identifying some new players, such as Family First and the Australian Christian Lobby. He then goes on to look at the different ways that Christians engage in political activity and how these are related to different theologies of the Kingdom. He shows how the personal faith of politicians has become a more public concern and examines the implications. With new players and new attitudes, the dialogue between faith and politics is changing. Some of the limitations and hazards of political involvement for Christians are highlighted and Brian ends by presenting the real goal of that involvement.

Picking Almonds
Alison Sampson
Zadok Perspectives 96, Spring 2007
In God's economic system, the one we don't follow, there is enough for all as long as we share and don't take more than we need.

Bringing the Christian influence to bear on both personal morality and social justice issues.
Jim Wallace
Zadok Perspectives 96, Spring 2007
To help further the gospel and create a more just society, there is a need for Christians to reject the artificial dividing line between personal and social issues.

What does the Lord require of you?
Jessie Taylor
Zadok Perspectives 96, Spring 2007
From the moment I first glimpsed the 10 foot steel pickets, crowned with razor wire, the things I saw crystallised my purpose in studying law, focused a vaguely defined humanitarian impulse, and threw the biblical imperatives to pursue justice and mercy into sharp relief.

Christianity, the vote and social change.
Dave Fagg
Zadok Perspectives 96, Spring 2007
Refusing to vote is not a good in itself, but a means by which I can publicly remind myself and others that political responsibility means more than voting.

The Holy Spirit and politics.
Jim Reiher
Zadok Perspectives 96, Spring 2007
Each person has something within them that is from the Holy Spirit. Each individual follower of Jesus has a special gift or act of service or work to do that is their special thing, that is from the Spirit. And for some people it will be a political service.

What about making poverty history?
Ben Thurley
Zadok Perspectives 96, Spring 2007
What a difference eight words can make. It was Jesus after all who said that "You will always have the poor with you", just eight words and I happen to know some (although happily not too many) who think that Christian involvement in the Make Poverty History campaign is problematic, possibly foolish and even a bit blasphemous.

Why are you doing this? Politics and religion, politicians and ministers.
Rev Dr Robert McFarlane
Zadok Perspectives 96, Spring 2007
My answer is autobiographical as much as ideological. It can be summed up in one word: Tampa.

The Simple Life? Affluent-culture Christians and a biblical and systematic reflection on the theology of wealth.
By Jonathan Wei-Han Kuan
Zadok Paper S145 Autumn 2006
What is the simple life? What level of material living is appropriate for affluent-culture Australian Christians today? What does the bible say about the presence and persistence of economic inequality and what is the proper godly response to either povery orto riches? The author gives and overview of Craig Bloomberg's Neither Poverty nor Richies and John Schneider's The Good of Affluence. He calls for sustained reflection and action on how to be good stewards, how to generate and employ wealth in the service of the kingdom.

The dark side of Globalisation: a driving force behind today's new slavery.
Os Guinness
Zadok Perspectives 92, Spring 2006
We are more anonymous in more situations than any generation in human history ... what is the source of our integrity and responsibility when no one sees?

Globalisation and worship - the view from the pew sheet.
Doug Hynd
Zadok Perspectives 83, Winter 2004
Scripture and prayer can reshape the political imagination. The God whom we meet in Jesus started a movement which was global in its reach and identity. How cam we think that globalisation is a purely "worldly" issue or that the church as a community has nothing to do wi the political?

Christian Engagement in Public Issus: a Missionary Challenge.
By Ian Barns
Zadok Paper S131, Autumn 2004
Christian engagement with public issues should be understood as a missionary task. Rather than engaging with public issues as an ethical task involving the application of general ethical principles, we need to articulate the gospel, not just as a message of personal salvation, or even as an abstract world view, but as an interpretive framework which can equip Christians to be more fiathful wintess of the Lordship of Christ in the public domain. This kind of engagmeent will reframe issues, to contest the taken for granted enlightenment notions of human autonomy, and re-vision them in terms of the alternative vision of God's Kingdom.

The Body Corporate: Triumphant, but Flawed and Wounded; how can it be healed?
Chris White
Zadok Perspectives 80, Spring 2003
In recent decades, both traditional and socialist economies have collapsed. Unsurpassed until recently in historical importance, modern capitalist economies have eclipsed them. But the apparently triumphant capitalism is not without significant flaws. It is the subject of unanswered and substantial reservations which both encompass and extend beyond the current spate of corporate scandals.


The Ethics of Capitalism.
Ian Harper
Zadok Perspectives 80, Spring 2003
The market economy can only survive if a critical mass of its participants freely choose to reject the values of materialism and greed. True freedom is the the freedom to be virtuous. Those engaged in business must choose to exercise all the virtues as they pursue and deploy the resources at their disposal. This goes for scientists, labourers, and artists as well - all citizens, whatever their position in life.

Does Jesus make us Rich?
David Milikan
Zadok Perspectives 80, Spring 2003
The prosperity gospel is drawing thousands of middle class Australians to believe the Charismatic movement is the answer to their fear of financial disaster. They are responding to the promise that salvation through Jesus is not only about the soul, but takes effect in our bank account now. Ten years ago the controversy about speaking in tongues and miraculous healing was the point of departure with mainstream Christianity; it is now the teaching of the prosperity gospel. This is what divides the traditional Christian parishes from the richest and fastest growing churches in Australia.

"Best Practice" and the Sermon on the Mount.
Colin Carter
Zadok Perspectives 80, Spring 2003
Most of us in the church don't yet know what to make of business. Certainly not those right wing churches where prosperity is seen as a fruit of the spirit. It is not that Christians should become apologists for business - business can take care of itself. Rather, the church must reclaim its prophetic role. It must offer intelligent and powerful critique. It must oppose exploitation and stand up for the weak. But it must be credible. Its views must not rest on a "voodoo economics" understanding of how the market system works.

Resident aliens.
Doug Hynd
Zadok Perspectives 75, Winter 2002
While Senate estimates committees are not the den of lions and the Minister’s office doesn’t make the grade as a fiery furnace, the story of Daniel as a policy adviser in a foreign land offers Christians who are public servants a way of re-visioning their task.

Approaching Politics.
John Rees
Zadok Perspectives 72, Spring 2001.
By first considering a biblical response to public debates – and there is often more than one response at work in our texts – Christians can avoid political favouritism and instead be seen as honest players in public conversation.

More than Spectators: a Biblical Response to this Year's Federal Election.
Dave Collis
Zadok Perspectives 72, Spring 2001
Our sense of democratic ownership is largely a fantasy; a biblical response to this year’s Federal election.

Politics of Grace: an interview with Tim Costello.
Gordon Preece
Zadok Perspectives 72, Spring 2001
A politics of grace accepts that people can disagree but still have the same motivation, rather than impugning their motives. Tim Costello discusses his approach to politics.

Conservatives, Radicals and Globalisation.
Doug Hynd
Zadok Perspectives 71, Winter 2001
Christians need to develop a theological reflection and practice of discipleship that neither denies the reality or goodness of the economic dimension of life nor accepts that it is the ultimate key to our existence and the only thing worth talking about.

Democracy Australian Style.
Doug Hynd
Zadok Perspectives 70, Autumn 2001
When we praise Australian democracy as an achievement, what are we actually celebrating?

A Christian Response to Global Capitalism.
Richard Higginson
Zadok Paper S112, Autumn 2001
Christian criticism of global capitalism stems from the biblical concept of good stewardship and is not just about guarding or preserving something in its original state, but also about realizing potential by adding value to original resource. God’s special concern for the poor is seen in the message of the prophets and Jesus’ ministry and man’s responsibility to be faithful stewards of the earth. The author notes that wholesale rejection of the current system prevents churches and their members from voicing constructive protest. He suggests that it is more constructive for Christians to consider how to influence the system for good than simply to call for an end to global capitalism. Responsible involvement will effect change and is good stewardship.

Who Owes What to Whom? Some Thoughts on Mutual Obligation.
Robert McDonald
Zadok Perspectives 68, Spring 2000
Changes in political vocabulary may be harbingers of new meanings, different moral claims, and policy approaches. The shift in the language of social policy under the current Commonwealth government is a good example. Stronger families, stronger communities, social conditions and mutual obligation are a few of the key phrases. Can the church in its own life more clearly embody a form of mutual obligation which demonstrates an ability to give and receive the gifts we each bring?

The Job Network Tender.
Doug Hynd
Zadok Perspectives 67, Winter 2000
What forms of public engagement can most clearly stand as witness to the church’s vocation and politics?

Public Theology in a Global Catholic Perspective.
Bruce Duncan
Zadok Perspectives 66, Autumn 2000
It is puzzling that Australian policy makers should so enthuse over the US pattern and adopt policies drawn from the Chicago School of Economics.

The Politics of the Preamble.
Anne Winckel
Zadok Perspectives 64, Winter 1999
But again, as a nation, we don’t necessarily behave with grace and humility, just because we constitutionally entrench such a sentiment.

Theology and Economics: a Reading Guide.
Paul Oslington
Zadok Paper S98, Autumn 1999
There is no lack of discussion of economic issues in newspapers and magazines. What is not so readily available is a competent and specifically Christian discussion. This reading guide has been prepared with two groups in mind: firstly, students of economics seeking to relate their Christian faith to their studies and, second, for the non-economist Christian concerned about economic issues such as poverty, youth unemployment in Australia or the impact of economic activity on the environment. The contemporary student of economics will rarely encounter any discussion of relationships between economic and theological issues in university courses, and when theological or ethical issues do arise, exploration of them is considered illegitimate.

Beyond Tolerance.
McKenzie Wark
Zadok Perspectives 62, Spring/Summer 1998/1999
To be offended by free speech is better than to be stupefied by its absence

Justice and Entitlement in the Republic of God.
Frank Brennan
Zadok Perspectives 62, Spring / Summer 1998/1999
Yes, it sometimes does require that we sup with the devil: some thoughts on ‘moral purity’ and the political process.

The Soul-less Politics: the Role of Values and Faith in the Body Politic.
Veronica Brady
Zadok Perspectives 62, Spring / Summer 1998/1999.
Politics ruled by the two-second grab becomes a realm of double-speak: the role of values and faith in the body politic.

Pauline Hanson: The Wicked Witch of the North?
Alison Cotes
Zadok Perspectives 61, Winter 1998
We may refuse to go to Pauline Hanson’s party but the realization that it’s happening may make us even more determined to work harder for true justice, which may be the best any human society can achieve.

The Real Challenge of Pauline Hanson.
Veronica Brady
Zadok Perspectives 61, Winter 1998.
If the best short definition of God, as one theologian has said, is “interruption,” then God may be saying something to us in the interruption she represents.

Whose Reform? Which Equality?
John Neville
Zadok Perspectives 61, Winter 1998
One can make a good case that according to the Bible a just economic system is simply one in which the poor pay no taxes.

Evaluating Privatisation proposals
John Olsen
Zadok Paper S83, Spring 1996
This paper attempts a Christian perspective on the privatisation debate. It proposes that either state or private ownership of those services and production often considered the province of state ownership can be preferred, depending on the product or service involved and the prevailing circumstances. Some principles are suggested as a basis for assessing alternative privatisation or nationalisation proposals. Finally, some cases are briefly examined in the light of the concepts and
process proposed.

Economics, Ecology and God
Editor: Doug Hynd
Zadok Paper S55, 1991
A debate between Clive Hamilton and members of the Zadok Economists' Group. There has been increasing debate in the mass media over economic rationalism and its impact on public policy. Ethical issues have been touched on, but the nature of rationality, and the relationship of this policy to religious and philosophical world views has been given little attention. This controversial paper by Dr Clive Hamilton, delivered to the Zadok Economists' Groups in July 1991, and its accompanying responses, presents a contrast between the dominant economic paradigm and religious commitment in powerful, uncompromising terms.
Jointly published by Canberra Economists Group and Zadok.

Christian Visions of Common Wealth
Ian Barns
Zadok Paper S56, 1991
Writing in response to the draft social justice statement, Common Wealth and Common Good: A Statement of Wealth Distribution, by the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference in February 1991, Ian Barns discusses a number of approaches Christians may consider when forming a view on what constitutes our wealth, our common good and the church's role in society.

Christian Faith and the World Economic Order: the Oxford Declaration on Christian Faith and Economics
John Harris
Zadok paper S45, 1990
In January 1990, over one hundred Christian economists, theologians, ethicists, business people, church leaders (including Zadok representatives) and development practitioners from around the world met in Oxford, England. In a week of intense discussion and debate, they welded together a declaration of supreme importance, The Oxford Declaration of Christian Faith and Economics. With some introductory and explanatory material, this paper contains the full text of the declaration. It is a forthright and significant document.

Between the Gospel and the Enlightenment: the Christian economist as 'theologian'
Doug Hynd
Zadok Paper S34, 1987
This paper deals with the relationship between Christian faith and economics by discussing four papers by Christian economists.

Justice, Equality and Market Capitalism: a Christian perspective
John Williams
Canberra : Zadok / Senior Business Executives' Group of ITIM (Vic), / 1984
19 page booklet.

Economics
Douglas Hynd
Zadok Paper CR2, 1983
This reading guide introduces a number of books that between them survey the basic issues involved in developing a Christian approach to economic theory and policy.

The Myth of Individualism
Bill Stent
Zadok Paper S21, 1983
Bill Stent explores the individualism that lies at the heart of much contemporary economic theory and briefly indicates its ethical weakness and theological inadequacy.

Perspectives and Resources
1982,
A collection of papers relating the Bible to various areas of economics. An important reference for those interested in understanding economic theory and policy in the light of scripture. Published by Zadok Christian Economists' Group.

On Lasting or Natural Unemployment
Thomas K. Rymes,
1982,
Unemployment is still a critical issue for Australians, despite a tendency to accept unemployment as inevitable. Professor Rymes in a substantial theoretical paper analyses the assumptions that underly this fatalistic approach to economics and examines three fundamental answers to the question: Why is there unemployment and can anything be done about it?

Economic Structures in the Bible
Ray Barraclough
Zadok Paper S11, 1980
This paper examines aspects of the economic model of society which emerge from the Bible's teaching.

Living with the Multi-nationals
Michael Moynagh
Zadok Paper S5, 1979

Economics: a Christian perspective
John Harrower
Zadok Paper S4, 1978
The application of the economic principles to a proposed lowering of tariff levels on clothing imports is discussed. The Church is unwise to squander its collective authority by making pronouncements on every governmental economic policy. Harrower suggests Christian individuals should criticise the government, but without implicating the authority and reputation of the Church.

Economics
John Harrower
Zadok Paper R8, 1978
An important paper that brings biblical concepts into dialogue with economic theory to derive Christian principles which have application in contemporary Australian society.

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