Missiology: An International Review 2014, Vol. 42(4) 386–398 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0091829613488468 mis.sagepub.com “Occupying” Genesis 1–3: Missionally Located Reflections on Biblical Values and Economic Justice Michael Barram Saint Mary’s College of California Abstract Chronic economic disparities are painfully evident throughout the world, and in this context challenging questions of missional hermeneutics, formation, and practice arise. This article seeks to tease out some noteworthy economic implications of Gen 1–3, implications that are both theologically and missionally evocative and often at odds with widespread anthropological assumptions, market-centric values, and conceptions of socio-economic justice. Drawing together insights from Gen 1–3, the Babylonian Enuma Elish Creation Myth, neoclassical and contemporary economic perspectives, and Catholic Social Teaching, the article highlights key anthropological and socio- economic values that can contribute to a biblically authentic missional hermeneutic. Keywords Mission, hermeneutics, economic justice, Genesis 1–3, values, creation, the fall, theological anthropology, biblical myth For several years now, the Gospel and Our Culture Network has sponsored the “GOCN Forum on Missional Hermeneutics” at the Annual Meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature—scholarly sessions devoted to exploring, articulating, and assessing what is being called a missional hermeneutic. 1 Discussions are ongoing, but there seems to be a fundamental consensus that a missional hermeneutic would involve an approach 488468MIS 0 0 10.1177/0091829613488468MissiologyBarram 014 Article Corresponding author: Michael Barram, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, California, USA. Email: mbarram@stmarys-ca.edu