Craig L. Blomberg - Neither Poverty Nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Material Possessions

Ironically, this is a book by the rich for the rich. This is not a comment about the precise net worth of either the author or the readers, but merely an observation that scholars, theological students and the educated public, for which a work of this nature is intended, comprise, by global standards, part of the small percentage of the socio-economic elite in our world today. As a member of that cadre of scholars myself, I am very much aware of how easy it is to skew the interpretation of the biblical data so as to console myself that my current economic status and practices fit comfortably with Scriptures teaching about material possessions. To try to combat this tendency, I have read widely from authors of many different theological, ethnic and economic perspectives. I have tried to weigh heavily those few but significant experiences throughout my life of travelling and interacting first-hand with people in communities of acute poverty, both in North American urban centres and internationally. And I have listened particularly carefully to the voices of colleagues and students who have read the manuscript in its current or previous forms who themselves represent marginalized communities at home and abroad.

One of the significant dynamics of being poor, of course, is the sense of powerlessness that often accompanies economic poverty. While I cannot claim to have experienced this kind of powerlessness, I have had somewhat comparable experiences as a result of various physical afflictions. Right in the middle of the research for this volume, I contracted a repetitive stress injury, which a series of doctors thought was thoracic outlet syndrome, though no-one ever diagnosed it definitively. As I dictate this preface and get ready to send in the final draft of this book in manuscript form, I have participated in a regimen of physical therapy, swimming, weightlifting and other stretching exercises for nearly a year and a half, and for the first time since the onset of the RSI, I can now write or type up to perhaps seven or eight pages consecutively before needing to take a break. For many months, even one page brought on considerable pain. This disability has made the completion of this book much more challenging, but, thanks to a variety of friends and technology, it has become possible. Even as the RSI improves, however, my right knee, which has not had proper amounts of cartilage in it since surgery following an injury that I sustained when I was nineteen, is becoming increasingly arthritic. The doctors tell me I am too old for a cartilage transplant and too young for knee replacement surgery, so I must rely on further exercises, a knee brace, medication and a generally sedentary lifestyle for the time being. The sense of helplessness which both of these injuries have at times engendered in me I suspect is not entirely different from the powerlessness that the economically impoverished often feel. Nevertheless, it is important for me at the outset of this book to admit frankly that I am not poor economically and that I realize this does limit my ability to understand the topic of this book to a certain extent.