Van der Waag 1 Georgetown University College of Arts and Sciences Theology Department Course Title: God, Power, and Money Course #: THEO 158-01 Location: Walsh 492 Time: TTH 4:15-5:30 PM Office Hours: and by appt. Office Location: Berkley Center 3307 M Street, Suite 200 Contact:
[email protected] I. Course Description: Normative discussion about the basic institutional patterns for economic life remains a major point of debate today among both secular and religious groups throughout the world because of economic globalization and the persistence of wide-scale poverty. The desire to address the challenges of economic globalization and the problem of global poverty, as defined by The United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, is a commitment shared by many within these groups. Although secular and religious organizations often share a common commitment to address the challenges brought about by economic globalization as well as meet the needs of the poor and marginalized, they often differ about the most suitable means to meet this challenge and their needs. The purpose of the course is to examine how religious groups, particularly Christian denominations, have thought about these issues – particularly the problem of eradicating poverty today. The first part of the course focuses on the teaching aspect of the Christian tradition regarding economic life and its basic institutional structures. The historical survey begins at the end of the nineteenth century at the height of the Industrial Revolution to the rise of economic globalization