Institute for Spirituality and Global Economics (SAGE)

Bob Rundle,
Co-Director

SAGE is an institute that has grown out of a study group of the United Church of Christ, Knoxville TN. SAGE seeks to continue the explorations of that group, sharing relevant articles and articulating the connections between spirituality and global economics.

Compassionate spirituality dictates that we critique our economic practices on individual, corporate, and global levels, assessing their impact on human life and society, on personal and international relationships, and our planet�s capabilities to sustain itself and its inhabitants. It includes issues of biblical justice, human greed, and compassionate, spiritually-based economics.

John Lackey,
Co-Director

GLOBAL ECONOMICS BOOK NOTES
(Click on title for more information)

Collins, Chuck and Mary Wright. The Moral Measure of the Economy. � �Christian faith (and the other great religious traditions) teaches that �human life is made sacred by its transcendent worth...thus all humans must be respected with reverence...In our inter-actions with others, we should approach one another with �a sense of awe that arises in the presence of something holy and sacred�...The dignity and sacredness of the human person is the yardstick against which all aspects of economic life must be measured.�

Galbraith, John Kenneth Excerpt from The Economics of Innocent Fraud. His book is an excellent short, very readable series of essays on the major economic myths of our day. He thinks that war "remains the decisive human failure". He notes that the concept of public and private sectors in largely a myth because of the pervasive power of private interests. His writing is informed by his many years of teaching economics and service in the federal government.

Gallagher, Vincent A. The True Cost of Low Prices: The Violence of Globalization. -- Any one who wishes to share God�s concern for the poor and oppressed must develop an understanding of today�s global economic system. This book, in clear, simple language, can provide that understanding. Gallagher makes clear that the high cost of the low prices we enjoy is due to the injustice built into the global economic system. (This review will be in next issue of En Christo)

Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21^st Century -- Writing about the political picture which emerged in 2006, Phillips summed it up this way: �Difficult politics thus lies ahead. Unfortunately, the history of past leading world economic powers is that they have not been able to throw up the sort of leadership needed to reverse the tides involved. In consequence, the nations in the process of being dethroned as the world�s economic leader have faced a difficult period of twenty to forty years, at very least, in making the transition from yesterday�s hegemony to a lesser but eventually comfortable role in a differently shaped world.� Whether the United States and its people are willing to accept an �eventually comfortable� role in this future world remains to be seen.

GLOBAL ECONOMICS ARTICLES
(Click on title for article - Some require Adobe Reader)

George, Susan. "A Short History of Neo-Liberalism: Twenty Years of Elite Economics and Emerging Opportunities for Structural Change"

Lackey, John. "Global Economics from a Christian Perspective, #1: Oikonomia" in EC, Vol. 1, #2

Lackey, John. "Global Economics from a Christian Perspective, #2: Compassionate Leadership� in EC, Vol. 1, #3

Lackey, John. "Global Economics from a Christian Perspective, #3: Greed� in EC, Vol. 1, #4

Lackey, John. "Global Economics, Good or Bad?"

Lackey, John. "Globalization as Process and Project"

Lackey, John. "A Vision for the 21st Century"

Mennonite Central Committee. "Biblical Values and Principles for Global Economic Policies"

Rundle, Bob "Thoughts on Creating Peace"

Rundle, Bob "Thoughts on Reducing World Poverty" Rewritten from EC, Vol. 2, #1

Rundle, Bob. "The Beginnings of SAGE (Institute for Spirituality and Global Economics} "

Rundle, Bob. "Christian Theology and Economics" (A Study Guide for M. Douglas Meeks' book, God the Economist: The Doctrine of God and Political Economy)

Spirituality and Global Economics (SAGE) LINKS

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