Since I’m invested in PhD research on the topic of the Theology of Work and Manual Labor from 2010-2012, I though it might be helpful to others with a similar interest to share my bibliography as I go along. In my doctoral research, I’m quite keen to address some gaps in theological writing on work, and so I’ve pursued a particular focus on the subject of work in biblical studies and biblical theology. I’ll start with some of the major works of the twentieth-century that scholars are (still) responding to, and follow with some particular selections that may be a bit less mainstream.
In the meantime, please drop me a comment or email if you see something I’m missing or if you have feedback to share on any of the works I’ve got presented here, and thanks for checking the page out!
Index
1. Major post-war theological reflection on human work and labour (1948-2000)
2. Major pre-modern Christian sources for the theology of work
3. Contemporary Theological Reflection (2000-)
4. Biblical Critical Research and Biblical Theology of Work
5. Surveys and Bibliographies
6. Relevant Non-Religious Critical Reflection on Labour
Note: I will arrange works chronologically in most cases, with most recent publications at the top of each section and then others in descending order. On occasion, where the bibliography is particularly lengthy, I’ll place major works which deal directly with the topic in a significant and sustained way at the top so that they don’t escape your notice.
1. Major Post-War Texts in the Theology of Work
A. Joseph Pieper, Leisure : the Basis of Culture. First published, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1948. Original publication: Muße und Kult. München: Kösel-Verlag, 1948. [See the extensive treatment of this work in John Hughes, The End of Work, “Chapter 6″ (below)]. WorldCat•LibraryThing•Google Books•BookFinder
B. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics III/4: The Doctrine of Creation: The Command of God the Creator, §53 “Freedom Before God, The Holy Day” (1951).
_______. Church Dogmatics IV/2: Doctrine of Reconciliation: Jesus Christ the Servant As Lord, §65 “The Sloth And Misery Of Man”
_______. Church Dogmatics IV/2, §66 “The Sanctification of Man”
See commentary:
- Gordon Preece, ‘Barth’s Theology of Work and Vocation for a Postmodern World’, in Geoff Thompson and Christiaan Mostert (eds.), Karl Barth: A Future for Postmodern Theology? (Adelaide: Australian Theological Forum, 2000) and The Viability of the Vocation Tradition in Trinitarian, Credal, and Reformed Perspective : The Threefold Call. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1998, chapters 4-5.
- John Hughes, End of Work (see below), pp. 11-15
C. Dom Rembert Sorg, Holy Work, 1951 [Review]
D. Marie-Dominique Chenu, The Theology of Work: An Exploration (Dublin: Gill and Son, 1963).
E. Laborem Exercens and Roman Catholic Social Teaching
Because the twentieth century legacy of theological reflection on work is one area in which the threads of Roman Catholic and Protestant thought tend to converge and cross paths, I hesitate to categorize works in this bibliography. One exception is for the legacy of Roman Catholic social thought which begins with “Rerum Novarum” by Leo XIII (1891) and has found its most recent expression in “Laborem Exercens” by John Paul II (1981). There are distinctions between the two approaches, but JP-II goes to great lengths to demonstrate how his reflection is in continuity with what preceded him. Both encyclicals can be found with critical summary and introduction in:
Charles, Rodger. The Modern Social Teaching: Contexts, Summaries, Analysis. Christian social witness and teaching: the Catholic tradition from Genesis to Centesimus Annus 2. Leominster, Herefordshire: Gracewing, 1998.
F. Volf, Miroslav. Work in the Spirit : Toward a Theology of Work. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. [Review]
Volf’s book serves as one of the primary reference points for most contemporary Protestant studies in the theology of work. He draws a great deal on the work of his teacher Jürgen Moltmann. Along these lines see:
Moltmann, Jürgen. “Sinn Der Arbeil.” In Recht Auf Arbeit, Sinn Der Arbeit. München: Kaiser, 1979.
Other relevant works by Volf include:
Volf, Miroslav. “Human Work, Divine Spirit, and New Creation : Toward a Pneumatological Understanding of Work.” Pneuma 9, no. 2 (1987): 173-193.
———. “On Human Work : An Evaluation of the Key Ideas of the Encyclical Laborem Exercens.” Scottish Journal of Theology 37, no. 1 (1984): 65-79.
———. “Work and the Gifts of the Spirit.” In Christianity and Economics in the Post-Cold War Era. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.
2. Major Pre-modern Christian Sources for the Theology of Work
Stay tuned for more here…
3. Contemporary Theological Reflection (2000-)
Cosden, Darrell. A Theology of Work: Work and the New Creation. Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2004. [Review]
Jensen, David Hadley. Responsive Labor : A Theology of Work. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006.
Hughes, John. The End of Work: Theological Critiques of Capitalism. Illuminations: theory and religion. Blackwell Publishing, 2007.
3. Contemporary Non (or just less) Academic Theological Reflection (2000-)
For an exhautive list, see: Hammond, Pete, R Paul Stevens, and Todd Svanoe. The Marketplace Annotated Bibliography : A Christian Guide to Books on Work, Business & Vocation. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2002. This survey of marketplace theology, includes mostly non-academic reflection within the Protestant vocation tradition. It is startling and intructive to see how many books have been published in the past several decades on the subject. I highlight several exemplary examples (some are lay-oriented versions of the above):
Schuurman, Douglas J. Vocation : Discerning Our Callings in Life. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 2004.
Cosden, Darrell. The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006.
Reed, Esther D. Good Work : Christian Ethics in the Workplace. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2010.
4. Biblical Critical Research and Biblical Theology of Work
A. Broad Surveys
Geoghegan, Arthur Turbitt. The Attitude Towards Labor in Early Christianity and Ancient Culture. Washington, D.C., The Catholic university of America press, 1945.
B. Old Testament Studies
Jackson, John Robert. Enjoying the Fruit of One’s Labor: Attitudes Toward Male Work and Workers in the Hebrew Bible. PhD Dissertation: Duke University, 2005.
Aberbach, Moshe. Labor, Crafts, and Commerce in Ancient Israel. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1994.
Cahnman, W. “Role and Significance of the Jewish Artisan Class.” The Jewish journal of sociology (1965): 207.
Davis, Ellen F. “Slaves or Sabbath-Keepers: A Biblical Perspective on Human Work.”83, no. 1 (2001): 25-40.
Mendelsohn, I. “Guilds in Ancient Palestine.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research , no. 80 (1940): 17-21.
Safrai, S, M Stern, D Flusser, and W C van Unnik. The Jewish People in the First Century: Historical Geography, Political History, Social, Cultural and Religious Life and Institutions. Uitgeverij Van Gorcum, 1974.
Wischnitzer, M. A History of Jewish Crafts and Guilds. Jonathan David Publishers, 1965.
Sulzberger, Mayer. The Status of Labor in Ancient Israel. Philadelphia: Dropsie University Press, 1923.
C. New Testament Studies
i. Surveys
Agrell, Göran. Work, Toil, and Sustenance: An Examination of the View of Work in the New Testament, Taking Into Consideration Views Found in the Old Testament, Intertestamental, and Early Tabbinic Writings. Translated by Stephen Westerhold. Lund, Sweden: Verbum, Håkan Ohlssons, 1976.
ii. Jesus and the Gospels
iii. Paul and Manual Labor
Alexander, Loveday. “Luke’s Preface in the Context of Greek Preface-Writing.” Novum Testamentum 28, no. 1 (1986): 48-74.
Ascough, Richard S. “The Thessalonian Christian Community As a Professional Voluntary Association.” Journal of Biblical Literature 119, no. 2 (2000): doi:thessalonian.
Barclay, John M G. “Poverty in Pauline Studies: A Response to Steven Friesen.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 26, no. 3 (2004): 363-366.
Bruce, F F. “The New Testament and Classical Studies.” New Testament Studies 22, no. 03 (1976).
———. Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free. Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Paternoster Press ; Grand Rapids, Mich. : Eerdmans, 2000.
Deissmann, Adolf. Paul; A Study in Social and Religious History. 2nd ed. New York, Harper, 1957.
Engels, Donald W. Roman Corinth : An Alternative Model for the Classical City. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1990.
Friesen, Steven J. “Poverty in Pauline Studies: Beyond the So-Called New Consensus.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 26, no. 3 (2004).
Furnish, Victor Paul. “On Putting Paul in His Place.” Journal of Biblical Literature 113, no. 1 (1994): 3-17.
Hock, R F. “Paul’s Tentmaking and the Problem of His Social Class.” Journal of Biblical Literature 97, no. 4 (1978): 555-564.
Hock, Ronald F. The Social Context of Paul’s Ministry : Tentmaking and Apostleship. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980.
———. “The Workshop As a Social Setting for Paul’s Missionary Preaching.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 41, no. 3 (1979): 438-450.
Hock, Ronald F. “Paul and Greco-Roman Education.” In Paul in the Greco-Roman World: A Handbook. Edited by J. Paul Sampley. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2003.
Judge, E. A.. “St. Paul and Classical Society.” Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 15 (1972): 19-36.
Knust, Jennifer Wright. “2 Thessalonians and the Discipline of Work.” In Asceticism and the New Testament. New York: Routledge, 1999.
Malherbe, Abraham J. The Letters to the Thessalonians : A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. AB. New York: Doubleday, 2000.
———. Paul and the Thessalonians : The Philosophic Tradition of Pastoral Care. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987.
Martin, Dale B. “Tongues of Angels and Other Status Indicators.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 59, no. 3 (1991): doi:tongues.
Meggitt, Justin J. Paul, Poverty and Survival. Studies of the New Testament and its World. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998.
Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome. Paul : A Critical Life. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996.
Silva. “Eran, Pues, De Oficio, Fabricantes De Tiendas.” Estudios Biblicos 24 (1965): 123-134.
Still, Todd D. “Did Paul Loathe Manual Labor? Revisiting the Work of Ronald F. Hock on the Apostle’s Tentmaking and Social Class.” Journal of Biblical Literature 125, no. 4 (2006): 781-795.
Szesnat, Holger. “What Did the Skēnopoios Paul Produce?” Neotestamentica 27 (1993): 391-402.
Thiselton, Anthony C. The First Epistle to the Corinthians : A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000.
Winter, Bruce W. “”If a Man Does Not Wish to Work…” A Cultural and Historical Setting for 2 Thessalonians 3:6-16.” Tyndale Bulletin 40, no. 2 (1989): 303-315.
———. Seek the Welfare of the City : Christians As Benefactors and Citizens. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans ; Carlisle, Cumbria : Paternoster Press, 1994.
Wood, Edwin Jackson. United States — Texas: Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1995.
Zahn. Die Apostelgeschichte Des Lukas. Kommentar zum Neuen Testament. Leipzig and Erlangen: Deichert, 1921.
5. Surveys and Bibliographies
Lacoste, Jean-Yves. “Work: A. Historical Theology.” In Encyclopedia of Christian Theology. Edited by Jean-Yves Lacoste. Routledge, 2005, pp. 1729-1732. Short but remarkably insightful survey of Christian reflection on work. Very highly recommended reading.
Calhoun, Robert. “Work and Vocation in Christian History.” In Work and Vocation, a Christian Discussion. Edited by John Oliver Nelson. New York: Harper, 1954. Helpful companion to Lacoste as Calhoun offers a survey from a Protestant perspective at the mid-point of the twentieth century.
Michaelsen, Robert S. “A Bibliography on Work and Vocation.” In Work and Vocation, a Christian Discussion. Edited by John Oliver Nelson. New York: Harper, 1954. Lightly annotated, but nonetheless extremely useful bibliography. Covers primary sources of historical relevance and the contemporary scene (in 1954).
5b. Surveys, Dissertations, and Bibliographies on ‘Vocation’
From the beginning, a hallmark of Protestant thought has been the notion of ‘vocation.’ Given the prominence of this tradition, most of the works surveyed in 1-2 above have critical comments regarding the viability and consequences of this tradition, and so I offer this special section here to highlight surveys and theses focused on the notion of Vocation.
You absolutely need to start with the magisterial survey by Karl Holl, translated by Heber F. Peacock for Review & Expositor. As Calhoun rightly notes, Holl deals somewhat hastily with patristic and early medieval thought in his enthusiasm for the Protestant vocation tradition. Better attention to the patristic materials can be appreciated in the survey by Lacoste listed above.
Holl, Karl. “History of the Word “Vocation” (Beruf).” Review & Expositor 55, no. 2 (1958): 126-154.
Preece, Gordon R. The Viability of the Vocation Tradition in Trinitarian, Credal, and Reformed Perspective : The Threefold Call. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1998. Preece’s work is not strictly historical theology, but rather a systematic work, offering a critical appropriation of Barth, but he nonetheless provides a good deal of critical background.
6. Relevant Non-Religious Critical Reflection on Labour
There are several surveys that provide a good starting point. These can direct you to other resources, or at least get your appetite whetted to the possibilities:
Karl Marx, Capital
Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic
R.H. Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism
Ernst Troeltsch, The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches