“I have just defied your god.”

That’s what Robert Farrar Capon said after lighting a $20 bill on fire. He was standing, naturally, in the pulpit in a well-off church in East Hampton. Capon’s attitude toward “the Almightier” was a major inspiration for our approach to this issue of The Mockingbird, where we do our best to untangle the complicated knot that is faith and moolah.

We examine what Jesus said about money, what the church has said, and what our daily experiences have shown. We reflect on poverty, aspiration, and middle-class guilt. We have interviews about economic precarity, the theology of capitalism, and the social psychology of (material) possession. You’ll find writing from poets, priests, moms, even a stockbroker! Per usual, we arrive at the gamble of faith from all different places.

But the outcome, we think, is right on the money.

CONTENTS

“Small Letters and Sparrows” by Mischa Willett

“Little Aptitude for Money” by D.S. Martin (poetry)

“Money Is How We Keep Score” by David Clay

“The Myth of Making It” by Soraya Roberts

“Dear Gracie…” by Sarah Condon

“The Most Important Things in Life Are Not Good Deals” with Anne Helen Petersen (interview)

“Crunched by Numbers” by CJ Green

“Love People, Use Things, Worship God” with Arthur C. Brooks (Q&A)

“Layen Hens” by Maurice Manning (poetry)

“When Money Matters” by Ben Self

“Upside-Down Kingdom” by Juliette Alvey

“What’s Mine Is Yours Already” with Kathryn Tanner (interview)

“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Todd Brewer

“Money Isn’t Funny” by Robert Farrar Capon (excerpt)

“When Your Wallet Is Emptied on the Floor” by Kate Campbell (photoessay)

“Good News to the Poor” by Nathan Hart

“The Science of Possession” with Bruce Hood (Q&A)

“Shortchanged” by David Zahl

You can pre-order The Mockingbird here. Hard copies will ship at the end of August!

 

COMMENTS

---