In brief: Why Christian humanism is the essential foundation of the faith & work conversation

• In light of theologically, biblically, and historically weak popular presentations of faith & work arguments, we must speak primarily in theological terms
• We must not speak in narrowly theological terms
• In other words, we must draw on a theological discourse that embraces and can be embraced by all current Christian traditions (e.g. not a discourse that is exclusively neo-Calvinist/Kuyperian, or Wesleyan/Pentecostal, or grounded in Catholic social thought, etc., but informs and converses with all of those traditions and more)
• We must draw on a theological discourse that stretches back to the earliest church
• We must draw on a theological discourse that is clear about what human beings are, how we (are to) flourish, and how we are (to be) redeemed
• We must draw on a theological discourse that is not narrowly “spiritual,” but instead addresses the broadest possible range of human activities (including all major sectors of work) and that affirms material and social as well as spiritual flourishing
• We must draw on a theological discourse that therefore includes a well-articulated approach to human cultural (including economic) activity
• We must draw on a theological discourse grounded in undeniable major orthodox doctrines such as creation, the incarnation, and the atonement, and with clear scriptural foundations such as Genesis and the Gospels
• Christian humanism is the only theological tradition I know of that fulfils all of the above criteria

Further:

• I am convinced by the four excellent papers by theologians and economists presented at a March 2022 convening in DC – which are to be published in The Journal of Markets & Morality at the end of 2022 – that conversation about economic work functions naturally within the framework of theological anthropology set by Christian humanism

Therefore I conclude:

• It is not only possible, but necessary, for the faith & work conversation to speak of human economic work from within this Christian humanist discourse

Postscript: For a brief narrative support of the above, see what I recently submitted when asked by the new scholarly journal Faith & Flourishing for a brief comment arguing for the theological study of human flourishing, to be added to other such comments in that journal’s soon-to-be-published inaugural issue.