Sabbath economics

{{short description|Christian economic system}}

{{Economic systems sidebar}}

{{Mergeto|Ched Myers|date=April 2025}}

Sabbath economics is an economic system championed by Christian theologian Ched Myers.{{cite book

| title=The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics

| year=2002

| publisher=Church of the Saviour

| author=Ched Myers

}} The model is an application of the economic aspects of the Biblical Sabbath to modern socioeconomics. In the introduction of his book introducing this model, Myers states that "God's people are instructed to dismantle, on a regular basis, the fundamental patterns and structures of stratified wealth and power, so that there is 'enough for everyone.' " This statement contains two of the core principles of Myer's socioeconomic vision:

1. The focus on voluntary redistribution of wealth
2. A foundation of abundance as opposed to scarcity in other modern economic models.{{cite journal

|title = The Liturgy of Abundance, The Myth of Scarcity

|author = Walter Brueggemann

|journal = Christian Century

|publisher = Christian Century Foundation

|year = 1999

|url = http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=533

|accessdate = 2006-08-12

|url-status = dead

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060722083551/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=533

|archivedate = 2006-07-22

}}

The Biblical concepts from which Sabbath economics draws are:{{cn|date=August 2016}}

• Sabbath day, particularly during the journey through the wilderness as described in Exodus 15–17
• Sabbath year, described in Exodus 23, where the land was not cultivated, and Israelite slaves were released every seventh year
• Year of Jubilee every 50th year, when all debts were cancelled and all property returned to the original owners

Others have since sought to explore the ideas of a Sabbath economy in practical ways.{{cite web

| title=Jubilee Economics Ministries

| url=http://www.jubilee-economics.org/

| accessdate=2006-08-12

}}{{cite web

|title = Sabbath Economics Collaborative

|url = http://www.sabbatheconomics.org/content/index.php

|accessdate = 2006-08-12

|url-status = dead

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060818053915/http://www.sabbatheconomics.org/content/index.php

|archivedate = 2006-08-18

}} Sabbath economics and related concepts of jubilee economics have also received attention from the liberation theology community, and other Christian thinkers who focus on social justice, gender equality and other humanitarian issues.{{cite journal

| title=Jubilee – the Biblical Vision

| author=Ross Kinsler

| journal=The Catholic Agitator

| volume=28

| issue=2

|date=March 1998

}}