This contribution advances a critical examination of Smith’s thought in theological perspective, with a point of departure in a recent interpretation of the "invisible hand." We show that the concept of general providence has displaced traditional understandings of special providence in the...

Volume 41A of Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology features a symposium on "Religion, the Scottish Enlightenment, and the Rise of Liberalism," a new research essay by Syed Mohib Ali, and a roundtable on the institutionalist economics of Geoffrey Hodgson.

Introduction: Exploring Adam Smith's theological contexts, sources, and significance / Jordan J. Ballor and Cornelis van der Kooi -- Bourgeois culture : understanding Adam Smith's moral horizon / Govert J. Buijs -- A survey of Adam Smith's theological sources / Jordan J. Ballor -- Calvin and...

Although often acknowledged as critically important, the role of the entrepreneur in the modern economy is often underdeveloped or inadequately understood. The reason for this is in large part due to the complex anthropological mysteries that lie at the heart of entrepreneurship. The Christian...

This paper explores the problem of envy (“sadness at another's good”) from both theological and economic perspectives. The theological analysis helps show why envy is a perennial feature of human existence and an ongoing problem for ordered and flourishing social life. The economic analysis...

There is a subset of literature that asserts that the title of Adam Smith’s famous work, The Wealth of Nations, is an allusion to passages from the Bible, such as Isaiah 60:5, which reads, “Then you shall see and be radiant;/your heart shall thrill and exult,/because the abundance of the sea...

Purpose: Creativity and innovation are interrelated, and indeed often conflated, concepts. A corollary to this distinction is two different perspectives or types of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to explore the distinction between creativity and innovation on...

This article discusses the nature of human work as manifested particularly in market settings. Human work is properly oriented toward the service of others, a disposition which has important implications for how we view the goal of work in relationship to things like profit, as well as the...