Globalization and the Kingdom of God

Our world is rapidly becoming a single "global village." International commerce, conducted electronically with lightning-fast speed, is reshaping the very fiber of our countries as we grow increasingly interdependent on one another. Unfortunately, our village of humanity is marked by extremes: wealth and optimism for some, poverty and despair for others. And the forces driving these developments aren't superficial. Rather, they are rooted in our deepest beliefs--humanistic ideals of self-sufficiency that are starkly at odds with the Christian faith.

In what was originally delivered as the fifth annual Kuyper Lecture, this resource by Bob Goudzwaard examines the controversial trend of globalization and challenges Christians to help guide its direction.

Following Goudzwaard's thoughts are critiques by Covenant College associate professor of economics Dr. Brian Fikkert; University of Veracruz (Mexico) professor of economic philosophy Dr. Adolfo Garcia de la Sienra; and Larry Reed, who works with issues of global poverty through Opportunity International. Editor James Skillen concludes by weaving together each essay and charting a course for those who want to act globally on the basis of a biblical vision of life.

Bob Goudzwaard is professor emeritus, Free University of Amsterdam. He was elected to the Dutch Parliament in the 1970s and served for a time in a Christian policy research institute in The Hague. He now works with a coalition of Dutch churches to address Third World poverty and other aspects of an international Christian witness. His books include Beyond Poverty and Affluence: Towards an Economny of Care (Eerdmans, 1995); Idols of Our Time (Intervarsity, 1984); and Capitalism and Progress: A Diagnosis of Western Society (Eerdmans, 1980).

2001

ISBN 0-8010-6354-X

Copublished by Baker Books & the Center for Public Justice