This book explores the theological and moral significance of practices once familiar to many Christians and Jews, such as Sabbath, vigil-keeping, Shmita (the sabbatical year for the land), and fiesta in relation to the twenty-first century economy. Blosser draws primarily on the Christian theologian, Jurgen Moltmann, and the prominent rabbi and religious thinker, Abraham Joshua Heschel in making the argument that humanity’s obsession with material production has led to three interrelated evils: the exploitation of workers, status anxiety among the middle and upper-classes, and climate change. Blosser’s proposed solution includes returning to “rituals of inoperativity” that will help us “change our understanding of what it means to be human.” “In this thought-provoking volume, Andrew Blosser draws readers into an “odd investigation:” reconsidering our culture’s false equation of “work” with “life;” and re-centering ourselves, personally and collectively, on an opposite conviction: “that the point of life is to observe the goodness around us in charitable communion with others.” In fact, our work and social-economic policies ought to enable and serve the higher values of inoperativity, rest, and Sabbath. Far from promoting sloth or passivity, Blosser shows how a critical, theologically grounded “ethics of doing nothing” is essential for animating the “rest-focused activism” and practical changes that addressing systemic challenges like poverty and climate change will require. Insightful, enlightening, readable; highly recommended.”-- Christine Firer Hinze, Professor of Theological Ethics, Fordham University . “Blosser's book offers a rich and sophisticated analysis of rituals of rest that couldn't be timelier or more thought-provoking for us exhausted, overwhelmed moderns.”-- Jonathan Schorsch, Universität Potsdam, and Founding Director of the Green Sabbath Project “In this insightful, compelling, and timely book, Blosser examines the importance of ‘doing nothing’ as a subversive force that reveals the fundamental nature of the human in a society that would reduce the human to the instrumental and productive. He draws out the (literally) universal implications of this critique, especially for the crisis of climate change. The richest resources for such an ethical critique, he argues, are found in the worship and rituals of religion, particularly those of marginalized groups." --Roberto S. Goizueta, Margaret O’Brien Flatley Professor Emeritus of Catholic Theology Boston College RELIGION / Christian Theology / Ethics RELIGION / Christian Rituals and Practice / General RELIGION / Christian Living / Social Issues US$26.00 Andrew Blosser The Ethics of Doing Nothing: Rituals, and the Modern World Andrew Blosser has taught religion and ethics at Carthage College and Loyola University Chicago. He is currently visiting assistant professor in the theology department at Marquette University. While completing his PhD in theology at Loyola University Chicago, Blosser worked as a minister and advocate for the homeless community in Chicago. Introduction Justifying an Odd Investigation What Is the Value of Doing Nothing? The above question is not often contemplated by most politicians, scientists, businesspersons, activists, or even philosophers. Largely, the modern world consists of a summons to do―to make, invent, restore, and alter. We want to earn new degrees, go places, and find ways of being more productive in our jobs. When we are not actively working at our careers, we strive for self-improvement through physical exercise, mental cultivation, hobbies, and family investment. We dread gaps in activity, such as periods of unemployment, canceled dates, or long lines at the amusement park. Younger generations chafe with a type of anxiety often given the acronym FOMO (fear of missing out). Our lives our consumed with kinetic and spiritual forward momentum. Of course, doing is good. “Six days you may labor and do all your work,” the Pentateuch says (Ex 20:9). The ancient Jewish sage Qoheleth concurs: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your strength” (Eccl 9:10). Disciplined, focused action has brought us tremendous benefits in the modern world. The industrial revolution―notwithstanding its pollutions and oppressions―created efficient technologies, scientific advancements, and medical wonders that have made living in the twenty-first century a relative luxury for many of earth’s inhabitants. The prolific researcher and statistician Steven Pinker has shown that by almost every metric of health and socioeconomic security, the current time in earth’s history is the most comfortable for the greatest number of people.1 A few simple contrasts establish this point beyond doubt. No more than two centuries ago, a toothache could be a death sentence; today, it requires only ibuprofen and a quick trip to the dentist. In the 1800s, wash day for a medium-sized family meant lite