In 1889, Jane Addams founded Hull House, a Chicago charity that prided itself in the absence of religious affiliation. This product of Social Universalism became the inspiration of governmental social work programs of the 1930s and community action programs of the 1960s. The nation’s first major political attempt at a
Horace Greeley was America’s leading journalist of the 19th century. A Universalist, Greeley believed that people were naturally good and that every person has a right to both eternal salvation and temporal prosperity. While Greeley considered himself a Christian, he rejected the biblical idea that a man’s sinful nature leads
It has been said that cultures build systems of charity in the image of the God they worship. In other words, the foundational belief systems of a society will inevitably determine the culture of that society, which, in turn, will shape its institutions and programs—including those dedicated to poverty fighting.
The Apostle Peter, in his first epistle, writes to the persecuted church, believers suffering for their faith in Jesus Christ at the hands of Roman authorities and the pagan world. Peter acknowledges that suffering and instructs them how to deal with it in a redemptive way. The Apostle Paul, in
In considering the problem of racism in America we would do well to study our history. Three Black men, brilliant and articulate contemporaries whose lives spanned the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s, were great leaders in America: W.E.B. Dubois (1868-1963), Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), and George Washington Carver (1864-1943).
Even in the so-called Dark Ages, one plus one equaled two. But today, Critical Race Theory scorns that reality as “White Math.” Mathematics dates its discovery and articulation as a discipline to Pythagoras of Samos (569 – 475 BC). Historians recognize Pythagoras as the father of mathematics. Princeton mathematician Sergiu
Genesis chapter 3 records the rebellion and consequent fall of humans. The creation fell under a curse, and a vicious cycle of human poverty began. People worshiped gods of their own imagination, small family gods, tribal gods, capricious gods of nature with limited power. These gods were unpredictable, they ruled
One of the most profound stories in the scriptures is that of Joseph in Egypt. It tells us a valuable lesson about leadership. In Genesis 41 the Pharaoh had a dream no one could interpret. Then he was told of an imprisoned Hebrew who could interpret the dream. Which Joseph
Cultural relativism asserts that all truth claims are relative to particular cultures or societies. This worldview poses one of the greatest challenges to human flourishing in our generation. As taught in the “soft sciences” of psychology, sociology, and anthropology, it holds that the values in one culture are no better
What’s the place of work in God’s economy? Thailand’s economy has experienced a remarkable transformation over the last four decades, “Poverty has declined substantially over the last 30 years,” the World Bank reports, “from 67% in 1986 to 7.2% in 2015 during periods of high growth and rising agricultural prices.”
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