Table Of Content“Babie and Trainor bring together various fields—economics, politics,
religion (biblical studies), law—to examine questions of ownership and
consumption and the choices we make to use, consume, change, mould and
shape the world in which we live. They challenge contemporary readers to
move from a self-focus to consideration of the other for the good of all. Buy
this book for your own good and then lend it to others for the good of the
planet.”
Warren Carter , Professor of New Testament Brite Divinity School
at Texas Christian University, United States
Neoliberalism and the Biblical Voice
This book compares our contemporary preoccupation with ownership and consumption
with the role of property and possessions in the biblical world, contending that
Christian theology provides a valuable entry point to discussing the issue of private
property—a neoliberal tool with the capacity to shape the world in which we live by
exercising control over the planet’s resources.
Babie and Trainor draw on the teaching on property and possessions of Jesus of
Nazareth. They demonstrate how subsequent members of the Jesus movement—the
writers of early collection of Jesus sayings (called ‘Q’), and the gospels of Mark
and Luke—reformulated Jesus’ teaching for different contexts that was radical and
challenging for their own day. Their view of wealth and possessions continues today
to be as relevant as ever. By placing the insights of the Galilean Jesus and the early
Jesus movement into conversation with contemporary views on private property and
consumer culture, the authors develop legal, philosophical and theological insights,
what they describe as ‘seven theses’, into how our desire for ethical living fares in the
neoliberal marketplace.
Paul Babie holds a Personal Chair of Law in the Adelaide Law School of The
University of Adelaide. He is currently Associate Dean (International) of the Faculty
of the Professions and the Adelaide Law School and Director of the Law and Religion
Project of the Research Unit for the Study of Society, Ethics and Law. He holds a BA in
sociology from the University of Calgary, a BThSt from Flinders University, a LLB from
the University of Alberta, a LLM from the University of Melbourne, and a DPhil in law
from the University of Oxford. He is a Barrister and Solicitor (inactive) of the Court
of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Canada), and an Associate Member of the Law Society
of South Australia. His primary research interests include private law theory; property
theory; and law and religion. He has published and spoken extensively in these fields .
He teaches property law, property theory, law and religion, and Roman law.
Michael Trainor is Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies at the Australian Catholic
University, Adelaide. He holds post-graduate degrees in theology (Melbourne College
of Divinity and Catholic Theological Union, Chicago) and Education (Boston
College, Boston) and is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic
Biblical Association of America and the Australian Catholic Biblical Association.
Michael is involved in interreligious and interfaith matters, as Chair of the Australian
Council of Christians and Jews and board member of the International Council of
Christians and Jews. His research interest concerns the interface of theology and
biblical research with contemporary questions, especially environmental issues. His
most recent books are About Earth’s Child: An Ecological Listening to the Gospel
of Luke (Sheffield Phoenix, 2012) and The Body of Jesus and Sexual Abuse: How
the Gospel Passion Narratives Inform a Pastoral Response (Wipf & Stock, 2015).
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60 Neoliberalism and the Biblical Voice
Owning and Consuming
Paul Babie and Michael Trainor
Neoliberalism and the
Biblical Voice
Owning and Consuming
Paul Babie and Michael Trainor
First published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Taylor & Francis
The right of Paul Babie and Michael Trainor to be identified as
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
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retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Babie, Paul Theodore, 1966– author. | Trainor, Michael F.,
1950– author.
Title: Neoliberalism and the biblical voice : owning and consuming /
Paul Babie and Michael Trainor.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2017. | Series: Routledge studies
in religion ; 60 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017040189 | ISBN 9781138902992 (hardback :
alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315697178 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Consumption (Economics)—Religious aspects—
Christianity. | Right of property—Biblical teaching. | Wealth—
Religious aspects—Christianity. | Economics—Religious aspects—
Christianity. | Neoliberalism—Religious aspects—Christianity.
Classification: LCC BR115.C67 B33 2017 | DDC 261.8/5—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017040189
ISBN: 978-1-138-90299-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-69717-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
For Marjorie and Theodore a nd for Len
Contents
Acknowledgements xiii
1 Introduction 1
I. Introduction 1
II. Ownership and Consumption 3
III. Private Property 4
IV. Religion and the ‘Theological Voice’ 5
V. Context 6
VI. The ‘Marketplace’ 7
VII. Property and Possessions 10
VIII. The Dialogue: Insights for Ethical Living 12
2 Neoliberalism Conceived: Politics, Economics and Law 19
I. Introduction 19
A. Jimmy Carter and the Summer of 1979 19
B. Freedom 22
C. Choice 23
II. Political-Economic: Neoliberalism and Capitalism 25
A. Liberal Origins 26
B. But How Do We Choose? 28
III. The Individual: Neoliberal Rationality 29
IV. Liberal Law 31
A. A Rare Glimpse 31
B. Individual 33
C. Rights 34
D. Your Liberal Legal Biography 35
E. Community? 36
V. Conclusion 38
