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The Liberating Path of the Hebrew Prophets, Then and Now

saving faith. If Christians have managed to escape a generation of similar studies (many of which are listed in n.1, 241–42), this book affords a good introduction to some of the key texts of Scripture that should inform a missional economics. Barram avoids getting entangled in specific debates between capitalism and socialism and stresses the difference that Christians and churches can and should voluntarily make. Without adding very many additional pages to the study, he could have mined the poetry and wisdom literature for other key texts and themes, and it would have been nice to have a little more direct confrontation with the prosperity gospel that tragically ensnares so many believers on every continent. While overall Barram’s exegesis is solid, it is not clear he has adequately nuanced, whether in Jas 2:5 or elsewhere, that God’s preferential option for the poor is specifically for “those who love him.” And it is somewhat astonishing that he can admit that exegetes probably correctly recognize that the sheep and the goats (Matt 25:31–36) refer to helping the needy Christian and then simply affirm that those who apply the text to all poor indiscriminately are “more on target” (191). So much the worse for exegesis! All he would have needed to do was turn to the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) or Paul’s teaching in Gal 6:10 and he could have had help for the non-Christian poor and valid exegesis. Above all, it would have been good to stop merely repeating theoretical points and get into some of the application as well, because as he recognizes, the need for action remains urgent.