Towards constructing Paul’s economic vision on work

Abstract

It is often assumed that Paul, even more than the rest of the New Testament, is concerned with ethereal matters and are therefore inconsequential in contributing to a proper awareness of an economy ethics and the moulding of a corresponding ethos. As much as the Pauline letters cannot be presented as a textbook for economic theory and practice, ancient or modern, it is nevertheless argued that Paul showed considerable concern for the socio-economical situation of the communities he addressed. In this article an initial attempt is made to reread Paul’s letters with a view towards identifying and formulating that which emerges as his “economic vision”. Taking the socio-historical context of the first century CE into consideration and setting it against the broader discussion on Pauline economic perspectives, the emphasis here is on some Pauline comments on work.