Reforming the Morality of Usury: A Study of Differences That Separated the Protestant Reformers

Rating:
Summary: Scholarly, yet practical
Review: I read a lot of books related to money, morality, and other topics in the fields of business and material ethics. David Jones' book "Reforming the Morality of Usury" is unquestionably one of the best books in these general fields. This text is good in that it is not a technical treastise in any sense of the word, but rather it is a simple historical analysis of what the major Protestant Reformers (Martin Luther, John Calvin, and various Anabaptist leaders) thought about the morality of charging and receiving interest on monies lent. While this description may make "Reforming the Morality is Usury" sound like an esoteric religious book, this is not the case at all. Anyone familiar with Max Weber's "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" knows that Protestantism shaped much of modern economics. In this book Jones shows how and why the various Protestant Reformers differed in their financial thought and makes practical application for the present day. I highly recommend this volume to anyone with an interest in this or related topics.

Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: This is an extremely well written book. I highly recommend it for all educated readers, regardless of their religious persuasion. In a vein similar to that of H. Richard Niebuhr in his classic text "Christ and Culture", Jones' thesis is that the reason why Martin Luther, John Calvin, and various Anabaptist ecclesiastical reformers each held different views on the morality of usury--the hot ethical topic of the 16th century--was that the Portestant reformers each held different ideas about how the Church (or Christians) ought to related to the State (or culture). Jones' arguments are very well reasearched and convincing. This book ought to be read by all, for it will force readers to consider and answer questions regarding the proper relationship between one's Faith and one's country; which, indeed, are important questions for the age in which we live. Note that "Reforming the Morality of Usury" includes a 250+ work bibliography of related works, as well as an extremely thorough index.