Theology of work /
by Edwin G. Kaiser.
- Westminster, Md., Newman Press, 1966.
- xxi, 521 pages, 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
Basic meanings and backgrounds -- The word and the theology -- Work Degraded: Slavery -- The Pagan Concept -- The revealed concept of work -- Work in the New Testament -- Early christian attitude toward work -- The mind of the fathers -- The monastic concept of work -- Work in the middle ages -- An introductory note -- The medieval economy -- A theological summary -- An introduction note -- Capitalism -- The marxist concept of labor -- The world of work today -- Theological appraisal: work in its value -- The value of dignity and discipline -- Value of duty and right -- Virtue in work -- The value of association -- Works in its current problems -- The problem of law and regulation -- The strike -- The problem of no work: unemployment -- The problem of automation -- The problem of profit-sharing and codetermination -- Special areas of papal teaching -- The land -- Business -- The professions -- Work and worship
The great thinkers, the intellectual leaders of an age, are said to articulate its thoughts and ideas into driving forces of history that change the world. In that event modern man seems to have entered an age of anxiety and despair, if we are to judge by the widespread influence of atheistic existentialists. For, despite brillant intuitions and insights into the condition of man, these writings have led to an utter dead-end of pessimistic despair culminating in the words of Sartre to whom life is "nausea" and man "a useless passion". Such writings, the author feels, are valid reflections of the experience of the unbeliever; they represent generations of men from all times, lost and absorbed in the world, slaves to passions, knowing nothing else but the perpetuation of the very things that bring them to destruction, a world of darkness, emptiness, meaninglessness, and doom. Like a man who has fallen into the pit, these writers can analyze, observe, ponder, and explore–yet all the while remain at the bottom of a pit. The understanding of the Christian believer differs vastly from the unbeliever, as the author shows. The vision of Christian faith brings fulfillment, meaning, and hope the understanding of reality for a believer. Christianity is not alien to the world, nor unavailing before the tragic human condition. Man is a mystery, not to be degraded merely into a problem. Only the murmur of divine friendship in this world explains man's misery and greatness, binds his wounds and elevates him. Only the relevance of faith in the Good News, the power and peace of Jesus Christ, can be guide to a way of life and truth of the meaning of man. The true picture of God and of His relationship with man, delineated so emphatically in the Old and New Testaments, can and should transform our outlook on existence as a whole. It should lead us to a new appreciation of the Christian realities in our lives–the Church, the sacraments, prayer, etc. –and to concrete program of spiritual action. What form this program might take is suggested in the concluding sections of the book, with a plan for Christian living that demands an understanding of christianity, and a biblical appreciation of faith and existence.