Wealth and the Will of God

Paul G. Schervish is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College. He is author of Gospels of Wealth: How the Rich Portray Their Lives.Keith Whitaker is a research fellow at Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy and Managing Director, Family Dynamics, at Wells Fargo Family Wealth. His work has appeared in Philanthropy Magazine and The Wall Street Journal.

• ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Moral Biography1. Aristotle: "Being-in-Action" and Discernment2. Aquinas: "Distinguish Ends and Means"3. Ignatius: All Things Ordered to Service of God4. Luther: Receiving and Sharing God's Gift5. Calvin: Giving Gratitude to God6. Jonathan Edwards: Awakenings to BenevolenceConclusion: Classical Wisdom and Contemporary Decisions: The Contribution of Western Christianity to Discernment about WealthSelected ReadingsIndex

"A new book by Paul Schervish is always likely to be a development of interest to people who study and care about philanthropy, as he is one of the most eminent experts on this topic. The book, co-written with Keith Whitaker, has an explicitly religious angle, exploring some of the spiritual resources of the Christian tradition that can aid serious reflection on wealth and giving. Six chapters focus, in turn, on six thinkers who have written about the ultimate purposes of human life: Aristotle, Aquinas, Ignatius, Luther, Calvin and (probably less well known to a UK audience), Jonathan Edwards, an 18th century American preacher. The notion of 'moral biographies' is described as a means for integrating an individual's personal capacity and moral outlook in order to 'live well' and achieve their own ultimate ends. As an endorsement on the book jacket notes, this book: 'brings a philosophical and theological perspective to questions about motives for and practices of giving that is little evident in the extant contemporary literature on philanthropy'."—Philanthropy UK Nwsltr, Issue #41, Summer 2010"Ideas of major importance to the practice of philanthropy. The volume brings a philosophical and theological perspective to questions about motives for and practices of giving that is little evident in the extant contemporary literature on philanthropy."—Thomas H. Jeavons, ARNOVA