Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand of God (Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies)

"This book contributes to the 'new view' reading of Adam Smith, providing a historically and contextually rich interpretation of Smith's thought. Smith built a moral philosophy on the foundations of a natural theology of human sociality. Examination of his life, relationship with David Hume, and use of divine names shows that he retained a progressive form of Christian theism. The book interrogates the metaphor of the 'invisible hand' and highlights the importance of the religious dimension of Adam Smith's thought for his moral philosophy, his jurisprudence and his economics. It reflects on the contemporary relevance of a theological reading of Smith and lays the ground for further inquiry between economic and religious perspectives"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents List of Figures List of Tables 1. Searching for the real Smith 2. A synopsis of the corpus 3. Situating Smith: Personal and intellectual influences 4. Smith’s Christian faith? 5. Smith’s natural theology of society 6. The invisible hand 7. Smith’s Christian God 8. Why Smith’s theism matters today Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 References Index