They who give from evil: The response of the Eastern Church to money-lending in the early Christian era.
Published: 2004
Language: eng
Number of pages: 253
Description: This thesis, They Who Give from Evil. The Response of the Eastern Church to Money-lending in the Early Christian Era, considers the financial and salvific implications of usury on the community and the individual soul, as it is addressed within the sermons of a selection of fourth century early Church Greek authors. Chapter One explores the twentieth-century historiography of usury in Christian history, focusing almost exclusively on works devoted to economic concerns in the early Church era. Chapter Two provides an examination of the economic situation of the late Roman/early Byzantine era, a legal history of usury up to the fourth century CE, a consideration of the attitude towards lending and usury among Greek philosophers and Roman historians, and an analysis of Old and New Testament teachings on lending. Chapter Three explores the subject of usury in the writings of a selection of early Church Greek authors, examines the use of the term "usury" within the contexts of their sermons and other writings, and investigates how the authors use the term, with respect to the biblical and philosophical understanding of the term "usury" as it is defined in Chapter Two. Chapter Four provides a critical, in-depth analysis of St. Basil's Homily on Psalm 14 and Against Those Who Practice Usury by St. Gregory of Nyssa, two sermons written specifically to combat usury. Finally the Conclusion summarises the concluding thoughts of each of the chapters in turn, ponders the themes, similarities and discrepancies in the writings against usury by the early Church authors, and establishes what remains to be done regarding future examination of the topic of economic injustice in the early Church era.
Notes: Adviser: T. Allan Smith.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of St. Michael's College, 2004.

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Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-12, Section: A, page: 4603.