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
Centuries after the gospel brought compassion to ancient Rome, the context of our world today is equally difficult. I have been told of places in Africa where twins are seen as an evil omen; at birth they are not allowed to live. The reality of people begging on the streets
Compassion as practiced by the early church serves as a contrast to that of the Romans and even the Jews at that time. Very often, the Jews at the time of Christ were merciless to sinners and Gentiles. Their law forbid helping a Gentile mother and her child even in
Neonatal Intensive Care offered in Bethlehem Measured in time, two thousand years separate the Holy Family Hospital and the birthplace of Christ. In space, the distance is just 1500 steps. The state of the art hospital exists to serve Palestinian and other women in childbirth with a Neonatal Intensive Care
In the midst of the Covid pandemic, as countries respond with different regulations, it’s hard to know how people and governments should react. Some countries lifted restrictions in areas of low infection rates, and increased them in the cities with high rates of infection. Restrictions include social distancing, wearing face
How should Christians and Christian churches respond to the global Covid-19 pandemic? I’d like to encourage us to see this crisis as an opportunity unlike any in our lifetime—an opportunity to love and serve our neighbors who are gripped by fear and anxiety, who are isolated, who need help. In
As the Coronavirus leaps around the globe we are probably watching the veritable tip of the iceberg. As of February 26, the disease had infected 81,600 people, at least 2,767 had died, and thirty-nine nations had reported confirmed cases of COVID-19, the official name for the Coronavirus (which first appeared
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