To some people it might seem a little odd that Green Christian has project on sustainable economics. We certainly get asked about it from time to time – on both the ‘green’ side and the ‘Christian’ side.
One of our aims at Joy in Enough is to be a bridge between the church and economics. We want to bring the debate about sustainable economics into the church in one direction, and in the other, offer insights from the church to the wider movement for a fairer and greener economy.
What sort of thing are we talking about? There’s a lot we could say, but we could perhaps summarise what the church has to offer under four loose categories:
Scripture
What does the Bible say? From Scripture we can draw wisdom on our place in the world, as described in the Genesis stories. We learn that humans are part of a created order, with responsibilities to God and creation. We are to serve the natural world as well as benefit from it.
We can also find lessons about stewardship, a familiar term when discussing the environment in church. Jesus’ teachings offer us guidance on healthy attitudes to wealth, encouraging generosity and patterns of prosperity that include everyone, including widows, orphans, and foreigners. And even though God’s people don’t always live up to these things in the Bible account, there is always the promise of restoration and renewal – a vital source of hope at a time when so much can seem lost already.
Ethics
As well as scripture, the church can bring two thousand years of wrestling with ethical questions to bear on this wider debate. Some of those who helped to set up Joy in Enough draw on ideas around the cardinal virtues of justice, temperance, prudence and perseverance. What does an economy look like that draws on those sorts of ideas?
We can also look at Catholic Social Teaching. One of the most significant interventions in the climate debate was Pope Francis in 2015 and his encyclical on climate change and justice. It speaks compellingly of the social case for climate action, and what we owe each other in a divided world. Pope Francis also launched a project around sustainable economics, which we wrote about recently.
History
We can also draw on an extensive history of change-making, and Christian visions for a good society that have been developed throughout church history. Some of the thinking behind Joy in Enough draws on the Benedictine monastic tradition. In a culture of individualism, the monastic principles of life in community are powerful and counter-cultural.
Many monastic traditions embraced simplicity, also demonstrated among Mennonite communities, or right back among the Desert Fathers, who radically denounced the affluence of the time. Modern consumer society is an extreme version of a challenge our forebears also faced – how to live well in a society that is selfish, greedy and oppressive to minorities?
Britain as it is today has benefitted from the pioneering reforms that were led by Christians, from the treatment of prisoners to human rights, to reducing poverty and ending child labour. What can the church of today add to that legacy?
Prophecy
Another thing the church can bring to the table is a tradition of prophecy. I don’t mean predicting the future here, but truth-telling. Speaking truth to power, pointing out sometimes quite basic truths, sometimes things people don’t want to hear. When you read the Old Testament prophets, half of what they’re saying is basically ‘if you keep going in this direction, you’re going to get to where you’re going’. The church, at its best, can sometimes do this – calling out politicians and speaking truth.
These are all things that the Church can use to speak into economics, as we’ve done in the past. Alongside all of this are the more practical contributions of community and resources, experience of running ministry, and traditions of welcome and care. We think the church has a lot to offer to the movement for sustainable economics – what about you? What do you think are the most important things that the church can contribute?
Joy in Enough 