Joe Carter

Joe Carter is a senior writer for The Gospel Coalition, author of The Life and Faith Field Guide for Parents, the editor of the NIV Lifehacks Bible, and coauthor of How to Argue Like Jesus: Learning Persuasion from History’s Greatest Communicator. He also serves as an associate pastor at McLean Bible Church in Arlington, Va.

Posts by Joe Carter

October 24, 2017

Unemployment and the making of career criminals

For the past several years I’ve had a near obsession with trying to get Christians to recognize the devastating effects of unemployment. It’s not that believers don’t recognize unemployment as harmful, it’s that we often underestimate just how destructive not having a job is to the individual and their community. Continue Reading...
October 24, 2017

The marginal product of labor

Note: This is post #54 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. How are wages determined? Why do most Americans earn so much by global standards? What exactly is meant by ‘human capital’? Continue Reading...
October 23, 2017

What Pope Francis needs to say about wealth

In his most recent homily Pope Francis said that amassing wealth—both money and land—while children suffer and die is a morally unacceptable form of idolatry. There’s an “idolatry that kills,” said Francis, that makes “human sacrifices” by those who are hungry of money, land and wealth, who have “a lot” in front of “hungry children who have no medicine, no education, who are abandoned.” Continue Reading...
October 19, 2017

An evangelical manifesto on wealth creation

Earlier this year two evangelical groups, the Lausanne Movement and BAM Global, met in Thailand to “discuss various aspects of wealth creation, including justice, poverty, Biblical foundation, wealth creators, stewardship of creation and the role of the church.” Continue Reading...
October 18, 2017

Protectionism is economic suicide

The most charitable assumption you can make about people who support tariffs and other forms of protectionism is that they are economically illiterate. But if they are able to demonstrate they understand the economics of protectionism and still support such policies, then we are justified in assuming they don’t care about harming their neighbor. Continue Reading...
October 17, 2017

How close are we to ending extreme poverty?

Today is the 25th anniversary of the declaration by the UN General Assembly designating October 17 as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than $1.90 per person per day. Continue Reading...
October 16, 2017

Christian education is not safe

“Each generation needs to re-own the rationale for Christian education,” says philosopher James K.A. Smith, “to ask ourselves ‘Why did we do this?’ and ‘Should we keep doing this?’” In answering such questions, Smith notes, “it might be helpful to point out what Christian education is not”: First, Christian education is not meant to be merely “safe” education. Continue Reading...