Wealth and the Will of God: Discerning the Use of Riches in the Service of Ultimate Purpose (Philanthropic and Nonprofit Studies)

Wealth and the Will of God looks at some of the spiritual resources of the Christian tradition that can aid serious reflection on wealth and giving. Beginning with Aristotle―who is crucial for understanding later Christian thought―the book discusses Aquinas, Ignatius, Luther, Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards. Though the ideas vary greatly, the chapters are organized to facilitate comparisons among these thinkers on issues of ultimate purposes or aspirations of human life; on the penultimate purposes of love, charity, friendship, and care; on the resources available to human beings in this life; and finally on ways to connect and implement in practice our identified resources with our ultimate ends.

Paul G. Schervish is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College. He is author of Gospels of Wealth: How the Rich Portray Their Lives.

Keith Whitaker is a research fellow at Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy and Managing Director, Family Dynamics, at Wells Fargo Family Wealth. His work has appeared in Philanthropy Magazine and The Wall Street Journal.