Theological Ethics in a Neoliberal Age

“By drawing on the parables, Kevin Hargaden helps us see that in fact Jesus does have some quite straightforward judgments about wealth and its dangers. He combines that analysis with a stunning knowledge of recent economic understanding that gives him an insightful account of the recent crisis in the Irish economy. This is a book that has been begging to be written and now Kevin Hargaden has done it—no mean feat.”


—Stanley Hauerwas, author of The Character of Virtue: Letters to a Godson





“Kevin Hargaden has produced a timely, thoughtful, and provocative work of theological ethics. His critique of neoliberalism is highly original and persuasive. His analysis of the ways in which economic values are embedded in cultural practices is brilliant, allowing the reader to understand why neoliberalism persists, despite all of its woes. A deeply challenging but rewarding read.”


—Linda Hogan, Professor of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin





“Hargaden’s study is as engaging as it is unsettling precisely because he invites us to consider the theological depth and scope of our ‘money troubles’. Working creatively at the intersection of ethics, theology, and economics, Hargaden suggests how attending to the new world attested in Jesus’ parables can break open the seeming inevitability of our current economic regimes and animate a worshipful Christian freedom amidst wealth’s captivity.”


—Philip G. Ziegler, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Aberdeen





"We live in an age when it seems we can never have enough, for there is always more to desire and obtain. Kevin Hargaden's book gives us a fantastic opportunity . . . to reflect anew on what wealth means for the people of God. Hargaden skillfully brings together contemporary Irish economic history, Karl Barth's theology, and a beautiful articulation of worship as a way of creatively reimagining what it means to have enough."


—Jana M. Bennett, Professor of Moral Theology, University of Dayton, Ohio





“Kevin Hargaden is an exciting and prophetic young Irish theological voice, crying out in contemporary idiom and from the heart of the Reformed tradition. His biblical and theological analysis of the problem of wealth is both erudite and provocative . . . which challenges us to resist the hegemony of neo-liberalism over our imaginations, and find sources of resistance in the parables of Jesus, theology, and worship.”


—Gerry O’Hanlon, S.J., theologian, author, and former Provincial of the Irish Jesuits