gifting God, The
Book Description
In a culture increasingly skeptical of generosity, Stephen H. Webb offers a profound exploration of what it truly means to give and receive. Drawing from contemporary philosophical and religious thought, Webb examines how modern society has developed a troubling cynicism toward charitable acts and generous impulses.
The author identifies two dominant approaches to understanding generosity that have emerged in recent scholarship. The first emphasizes excess and extravagance in giving, which Webb terms "squandering." This approach disconnects generosity from moral considerations and community bonds. The second treats giving as a form of exchange or reciprocity, reducing generous acts to market-like calculations. Both perspectives, Webb argues, contribute to our cultural suspicion of authentic charity.
This widespread cynicism has created what the author describes as a new orthodoxy of self-interest, one that obscures the deeper generosity that should characterize human relationships. Webb contends that theology can serve as a critical tool for recovering genuine understanding of the gift.
Through examining the Christian Trinity as a model of divine generosity, Webb presents God as simultaneously the Giver, the Given, and the Giving itself. This theological framework demonstrates how true generosity can emerge from abundance while remaining grounded in community responsibility and mutual care. The result is a vision of giving that serves others without requiring self-negation, offering readers a path toward reorienting their own practices of generosity and exchange.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Short (< 200 pages) (~5 hours)
📄 Length: 192 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Großzügigkeit
- ✓ Explore Christianity
- ✓ Explore Trinity
- ✓ Explore Wealth, moral and ethical aspects
- ✓ Explore Generosity
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects of Generosity
- ✓ Explore Christianity and economics
