The Carpenter and the Rich Man

In sharp contrast to today's brand of "God wants you to be rich" spirituality, religious figures a century ago were asking the opposite question: Does Jesus frown on material wealth? One of the most outspoken voices so wondering was Bouck White, a Congregationalist minister in New York City, and in 1914, he was actually arrested for disorderly conduct for daring to pose this query to the privileged of Manhattan. Here, in this 1914 volume-a companion to his Call of the Carpenter (1911), a biography of Jesus as a workingman-White explores the Biblical Parables from the perspective of a deep understanding of the economic life of Jesus and the industrial conditions of his day. White's fiery passion reminds us of a time not so long ago when popular champions of the poor and working class were vocal, fervent, and unafraid to raise the ire of the moneyed elite. American minister and author BOUCK WHITE (1874-1951) also wrote Quo Vaditis (1903), The Book of Daniel Drew (1910), The Mixing (1913), and Letters from Prison (1915).