Spiritual Economics

Hello My Fellow EB Bloggers!

I have been away for awhile having blogfreezeitis. That's my attempt to follow the lead of EB in coining new words that fit the topic of discussion or situation at hand. My situation at hand has been the self inflicted syndrome of blog-panic/paranoia/freezeitis. In other words, I've been unable to write on my blog since the very beginning or approximately four weeks ago. But now, I'm getting unfrozen due in significant measure to meeting with the lead blogger - Dr.Tom. Today after class he pretty much said "get over it Hawkins!" (smile) Okay, so he didn't really say that. He did, however, provide me with advice from Hemingway. Thank you, Dr.Tom.

Now, on with the real topic of this entry - Spiritual Economics. Spiritual Economics, the seventh book in the prolific Butterworth legacy of books, has been one of my all time favorites. Perhaps this is so because I read this book during one of the defining points in my spiritual awareness journey. However, I believe everyone on this journey of spiritual awakening to who she/he is in Truth comes to a certain place where she can be open to hearing other points of view that will have a profound impact on how she approaches life from that point forward. I was at that place more than a dozen years ago when I read this book for the first time.

Spiritual Economics provided me with a more holistic approach to prosperity. Chapter by chapter Butterworth builds his case for how to approach one's life consciously. However, his theme is not a new one. It is not new from the perspective of his writings on spiritual consciousness and it is not new from the perspective of the whole "prosperity self-help book industry." Re-reading this book from the standpoint of a theologian, however, has a different and in many ways a richer (pun intended) meaning for me.

Reading the book now as a theologian, I am more interested in his theology; how his theology informs his arguments about money, success, work and the factors involved in addressing economic conditions from a personal and global perspective; and whether he is consistent in applying his theology to the principles stated in his book.

From a theological perspective, the book assumes that the reader is religious, liberal/progressive, New Thought with Christian leanings. From the beginning of the book EB conspicuously provides a quote from 1Corinthians 2:9 NRSV "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him." And in his quote by H. Emilie Cady, "God is the allness of ever-present substance in which we live, move, and have our being," says to me that EB is a panentheist.
If others following this blog disagree with this view, please chime in.