[Ed. note: Originally published as "From Anxiety and Greed to Milk and Honey," in the February 2009 issues of Sojourners magazine, (800) 714-7474, www.sojo.net. Reprinted with permission.]

So far as I know, the Bible says nothing explicit about subprime loans and the financial implications of such risky economic practice. There is a great deal, nonetheless, that the Bible has to say about such a crisis as we now face. I will comment in turn on a biblical perspective of an analysis of the crisis and a biblical perspective for an alternative economic practice.

While the specifics of the current market collapse are peculiarly modern, biblical perspectives are pertinent because the fundamental issues of economics are constant from ancient to contemporary time, constants such as credit and debt, loans and interest, and the endless tension between haves and have-nots.
We may identify three dimensions of the theological-moral foundations of the current economic crisis:

February is Black History Month and, with Barack Obama’s inauguration as the U.S.’s first Black President, it’s time to ponder what that means for Canada.

We Canadians like to think we’re a tolerant people – even though we have a checkered history with Aboriginals, Jews, and Japanese-Canadians. Still, we can be smug about our history when we compare it to the southern U.S.’s slavery and segregation because much of our history is different.

Most of us feel pressed – surviving holidays, keeping up with jobs, managing ever-expanding family obligations, and trying to find time for friends and community. It’s little wonder we’re asking: how can we create space in our lives for what we want?

It’s a question I wrestled with this fall as I recovered from surgery. The prognosis was good, but when I was off work longer than expected, I discovered I like having time to read, write, and walk– so I started considering how to create space for those in my life.

I love making resolutions. It gives me a sense that I’m driving my life forward. I can decide what I want, plan it, and make a change happen – countering my life’s drift.

But, like most people, I find it hard to live up to all of my expectations. Every year, I check the resolutions I keep in my datebook and check off the ones I achieve – and, every year, I carry some forward, feeling I failed because I didn’t achieve those.

 About the WonderCafe Advent Calendar.

It’s the final entry of our Advent Calendar…but what will it be?

About the WonderCafe Advent Calendar.

Two takes on a beloved Aboriginal Christmas Carol.

 About the WonderCafe Advent Calendar.

We go to the darkness under the surface of a holiday classic.