Wealth and the Will of God: Discerning the Use of Riches in the Service of Ultimate Purpose (Philanthropic and Nonprofit Studies)

How six great thinkers and Christian theologians addressed issues surrounding wealth, charitable giving, and human purpose.Wealth and the Will of God looks at some of the spiritual resources of the Christian tradition that can aid serious reflection on wealth and giving. Beginning with Aristotle—who is crucial for understanding later Christian thought—the book discusses Aquinas, Ignatius, Luther, Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards.Though the ideas vary greatly, the chapters are organized to facilitate comparisons among these thinkers on issues of ultimate purposes or aspirations of human life; on the penultimate purposes of love, charity, friendship, and care; on the resources available to human beings in this life; and finally on ways to connect and implement in practice our identified resources with our ultimate ends. Introduction: Moral Biography -- Aristotle : Being-in-action And Discernment -- Aquinas : Distinguish Ends And Means -- Ignatius : All Things Ordered To Service Of God -- Luther : Receiving And Sharing God's Gift -- Calvin : Giving Gratitude To God -- Jonathan Edwards : Awakenings To Benevolence -- Conclusion: Classical Wisdom And Contemporary Decisions : The Contribution Of Western Christianity To Discernment About Wealth. Paul G. Schervish And Keith Whitaker. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [181]-184) And Index. Wealth and the Will of God looks at some of the spiritual resources of the Christian tradition that can aid serious reflection on wealth and giving. Beginning with Aristotle -- who is crucial for understanding later Christian thought -- the book discusses Aquinas, Ignatius, Luther, Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards. Though the ideas vary greatly, the chapters are organized to facilitate comparisons among these thinkers on issues of ultimate purposes or aspirations of human life; on the penultimate purposes of