A Perilous Concept: Philosophies of Money in Early Christian Thought

This chapter examines philosophies of money in early Christian thought, focusing on the patristic period (ca. 200–600 CE). Such discourse exhibits a range of attitudes toward the use of money and wealth: on the one hand, rigorists decry money as a danger to be shunned; on the other, moderates claim that money is a tool to be used wisely for God’s kingdom. No parties assert, however, that a full-fledged embrace of money or the pursuit of wealth is unproblematic. All agree that money is potentially perilous and is to be handled carefully, if at all. At the same time, despite the fact that money looms so large as a source of spiritual anxiety, it also serves as a conceptual tool for theologians to think with and to incorporate as they formulate central Christian doctrines. Notions of money, financial calculation, debt, and exchange serve as metaphors, imagery, and logical devices for thinkers to explain the dynamics of the Trinity, Christ’s incarnation, and his work of redemption. A profound synthesis occurred in which monetary logic provided scaffolding for theologians to explain Christian doctrines. This close mutual relation between Christian thought and Greco-Roman economic institutions explains Christianity’s enduring influence on the politics and economics of the West as these institutions evolved over centuries.