The thesis starts from an examination of the present state of personal debt in the UK, drawing out the issues raised in current research. These issues are further examined through a questionnaire and interviews with creditors, debtors and advisers, the results of which are reported and analysed. This investigation is then treated as the context for reflection, first, on the Biblical material regarding debt, which is found to treat debt within a consideration of justice; the reflection therefore continues by examining (particularly in the work of Miranda and other liberation theologians) a Christian understanding of social justice. This concept is then subjected to challenge through a critique of the assault on social justice from the left (Marx) and right (principally Hayek). A Christian case for and understanding of social justice having been established, the theology of justice, justification and forgiveness is explored, building a case for forgiveness as part of the way towards justice rather than an alternative to it. This theological case is then translated into a social context, discussing recent work on the politics of forgiveness. Finally, this theoretical discussion is re-grounded in the original context of debt problems, allowing the theological and contextual elements to interact and inform Christian contributions to public policy discussion.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:641736 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Blount, Graham Keith |
| Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/18736 |
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