Grace or Money: Rediscovering the Gift of Grace in an Age of Greed

Grace or Money: Rediscovering the Gift of Grace in an Age of Greed

$19.95

by Justin Pack

Now Available in paperback and ebook

"Pack's perceptive, witty, and irreverent-in-all-the-right-ways book serves as a necessary criticism and course correction, revealing the foundational rot of contemporary society and how it has been absorbed and harmfully reflected through our own Restoration tradition." — Ryan D. Ward
"A refreshing, much-needed spiritual detox for your wallet and soul!" — Richie T
"Pack provides in this book a blistering rebuke of western consumer capitalism and the imaginaries that enable its persistence. . . . At the same time, Pack argues that a return to an order of grace is still possible." — Jeremy Flahert

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Book Description:

Justin Pack’s Grace or Money: Rediscovering the Gift of Grace in an Age of Greed is a provocative and timely exploration of two fundamentally different ways of understanding the world: the divine “order of grace” and the human-made “order of money.” Drawing from scripture, anthropology, and philosophy, Pack challenges the modern assumption that scarcity is natural, arguing instead that God created a world of abundance meant to be shared. Through engaging analysis of ancient societies, biblical teachings, and contemporary economic systems, he reveals how our obsession with meritocracy and wealth distorts relationships, erodes integrity, and blinds us to the generosity woven into creation. With wit and clarity, Pack exposes how money—far from being a neutral tool—breeds thoughtlessness and even “BS,” turning life into a game of status and calculation.

At once a celebration of grace and a critique of capitalism’s spiritual emptiness, Grace or Money calls readers to rediscover a more life-giving order rooted in gift and community. Whether reflecting on his own Latter-day Saint upbringing, unmasking the myths of progress, or examining the moral hazards of meritocracy, Pack offers a compelling vision of how rejecting the logic of money can heal our societies and souls. For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of faith, justice, and what it means to truly flourish, this book is a bracing, hopeful invitation to choose grace over gain.

Praise for Grace or Money:

"Justin Pack is a unique and necessary voice in contemporary Mormon studies. His books interrogate anthropology, sociology, and philosophy to deconstruct modern society and ask us to consider if it makes logical and moral sense. When the answer is a resounding “no,, he asks us why we’ve bought into this senseless moralism in our own religious tradition. His new book, Grace or Money: Rediscovering Grace in an Age of Greed, traces the failed moral foundations of contemporary society to the invention and use of money and all the “weirdness” that it produces—in contrast to the culture of grace that prevailed historically and in the scriptures, including our own Restoration scriptures. His insight and analysis leads to some surreal and uncomfortable conclusions, not least when he turns his lens on modern-day Mormonism. His perceptive, witty, and irreverent-in-all-the-right-ways book serves as a necessary criticism and course correction, revealing the foundational rot of contemporary society and how it has been absorbed and harmfully reflected through our own Restoration tradition." — Ryan D. Ward, author of And There Was No Poor Among Them: Liberation, Salvation, and the Meaning of the Restoration

"Justin Pack in Grace or Money: Rediscovering the Gift of Grace in an Age of Greed asks how humanity managed to find its way out of an age of abundance, grace, and egalitarianism and into an era of scarcity, meritocracy, and hierarchy. The answer, in short, is money. Money, rather than being a neutral tool, shapes how we think about our world and our relationships and encourages us to strive for the accumulation of more than our fair share. The resulting wealth inequalities demand a self-justifying moral narrative. Meritocracy supplies it, convincing us that outcomes—good and bad—are earned and therefore fair. This “order of money” justifies aporophobia—contempt for the poor and vulnerable.

"But it’s not only the poor who suffer. 'Honest work' is no advantage in a meritocracy. To get ahead, you often have to do work that generates far more money than it’s actually worth. Making a disproportionate income tends to mean taking a 'bullshit job'—and bullshit jobs demand bullshitting: learning to perform, to speak the right language, to meet the targets, to play along. Over time that trains a person to do things competently and efficiently without wondering too much about the moral consequences.
"Pack provides in this book a blistering rebuke of western consumer capitalism and the imaginaries that enable its persistence. His critique draws heavily from the literature in anthropology and philosophy, but it also reads straight from scripture, highlighting the contradiction of Christian participation in a 'murderous order of money.' At the same time, Pack argues that a return to an order of grace is still possible." — Jeremy Flaherty, PhD, Religious Studies Department, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, Indianapolis

"Tired of the endless hustle? Justin Pack’s Grace or Money exposes how the 'order of money' turns life into a game of status and 'BS.' With wit, he invites us to ditch the scarcity mindset for divine abundance. It is a refreshing, much-needed spiritual detox for your wallet and soul!" — Richie T from The Cultural Hall

About the Author:

Dr. Justin Pack teaches Philosophy at California State University, Stanislaus. He specializes in the study of the political, social, moral and environmental implications of thoughtlessness, especially with regard to exploitation and alienation. His work seeks to understand how the “technocratic paradigm” of modernity functions as an epistemology of ignorance that covers over the exploitation of the environment and human labor that are the foundation of our modern economy. His approach is genealogical and comparative, rooted in Arendt, Critical Theory, and marginalized traditions like Native American, Feminist and Environmental philosophy.

Dr. Pack has written articles for several publications and has authored seven other books, including Environmental Philosophy in Desperate Times (2022), Money and Thoughtlessness: A Genealogy and Defense of Traditions Suspicions of Money and Merchants (2023), and Meritocracy Mingled with Scripture (2024). After getting his MS in Sociology at Brigham Young University, he received his PhD in Philosophy at the University of Oregon.