This series is Christian economist Gary North’s lifetime work. He’s been working on it for 39 years, putting out a new volume almost annually. It’s quite readable and very accessible for the average person interested in economics and the Bible.
Although he says it’s not necessarily designed to be read straight through, I do recommend starting with Genesis to understand what he’s going to do with the series. That particular volume obviously tackles some of the key issues in economics since it deals with beginnings. I’ve not read even a fraction of the entire commentary, but what I have read I’ve certainly enjoyed.
Be forewarned that North does not pull any punches with what he’s saying, and that it’s likely he’ll shoot a few of your sacred cows in the process of reading him. But the truth is that as controversial as he can be in spots (and, to be honest, there are far fewer than some people would give him credit for), he has done the church an extraordinary service in being the first to process through the entire Bible from an economic perspective. He explore many important things that are well worth thinking through.
North has set out to be as epistemologically conscious of what he’s doing as possible, which means he’s endeavored to show how economics, when it’s pursued properly, necessarily builds on Christian presuppositions. One more caveat: Gary North writes clearly, but he has a range of knowledge far outside the normal reader’s ken. He can suddenly shift from talking about the Bible to discussing the merits (or demerits) of various philosophical, historical, theological or economic ideas. But don’t worry: if you’re not sure what he’s saying, just keep on reading and you’ll come back to something you recognize. Here’s a snippet from the Genesis commentary:
“The starting point of Christian economics—and every other field of thought—is the doctrine of creation. This doctrine establishes that God is the only creator. Because God is the only creator, He is the original owner. We read in the Psalms that the cattle on a thousand hills belong to God. “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10).”
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