Plough Quarterly No. 36 – Money

Main Description: This issue opens with the story of Melania and her real estate-magnatehusband, who decide to divest themselves of their entire wealth. These earlyChristians, who sold off their many estates and freed eight thousand slaves,were only exceptional in the amount they gave away. Jesus, after all, hadadvised a rich man, “Go, sell yourpossessions, and give the money to the poor.” And he emphatically warned thatyou cannot serve two masters: you cannot serve God and money. What does thatmean for Christians today, in a society and economy premised on theaccumulation of capital? How can we resist and subvert the power of money?On this theme:- Clare Coffey looks at how multilevel marketing commodifiesfriendship.- Sharon Rose Christner describes what happens when a Vatican palacebecomes a homeless shelter.- Alastair Roberts writes in praise of Mary of Bethany’s extravagantlove.- A photojournalist asks what’s left of the Cuban Revolutionseventy years after it began.- Jack Bell revisits William Cobbett’s spirited defense of thevanishing British commons.- Maria Weiss finds pain and friendship in the forced community ofa leper colony.- Maureen Swinger reveals the joys and pitfalls of owning twenty-twocars (collectively).- Robert Lockridge describes what he’s learned running a pay-as-you-cancafé.Also in the issue: - The winning poems in the 2023 Rhina Espaillat Poetry Awardcontest- An excerpt from Eugene Vodolazkin’s new novel, A History of the Island- Reviews of Kerri ní Dochartaigh’s Thin Places, Lydia Millet’s Dinosaurs,and Jennifer Banks’s Natality- Readings on Christianity and money from Eberhard Arnold, Peter Riedemann, Nicolai Berdyaev, Basilof Caesarea, Maria Skobtsova, C. S. Lewis, and Dorothy DayPlough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to apply their faithto the challenges we face. Each issue includes in-depth articles, interviews,poetry, book reviews, and art.