An Historical Perspective on the Interplay of Christian Thought and Business Ethics
回顾了从早期基督教到启蒙运动期间商业与基督教的历史关系，考察了土地所有权、财富获取、工作态度、利息收取和贸易可接受性五个方面的观念变化，发现基于宗教的外部伦理原则难以有效约束商业对社会的负面影响。
To provide effective guidance for business decisions, a set of ethical principles must be stable over time, rather than responding to changes in the business environment for expediency sake. This article examines the ability of religious principles to maintain such stability by reviewing the historical relationship between commerce and Christianity, beginning with early Christianity and concluding with the Enlightenment.The changes in five constructs are examined: ownership of land, acquisition of wealth, attitude toward work, charging of interest and acceptability of trade. For each construct, the attitude evidenced in early Christianity was, at least to some degree, inimical to business as we view it today. That perspective changed over time, with the practice becoming at first acceptable and later even admired. The authors conclude that ethical principles based on referents from outside business are ineffective as a check on the undesirable effects of business on society.