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.
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
Reality has a way of showing up in the least expected places. Two researchers, Moran Gershoni and Shmuel Pietrokovski from the Weizmann Institute’s Molecular Genetics Department in Israel recently published the results of their research: The Landscape of Sex-differential Transcriptome and Its Consequent Selection In Human Adults. They summarize their
A recent post at Breakpoint— From Obergefell to Surrogacy —struck me for how powerfully it points to a lamentable change in our culture and laws, a change motivated by “compassion.” In this case, compassion towards infertile couples. Who of us can argue against being compassionate to a couple who wants to have and care
Religious liberty can coexist with compassion Life is full of choices, but sometimes what appears to be a choice is actually a false dichotomy. “Why is food either good for you, or delicious?” (Some nutritious food is very tasty.) “Is the Christian life a matter of being faithful, or fruitful?”
Christians care! That’s the gist of a recent editorial from the New York Times, “A Little Respect for Dr. Foster” by Nicholas Kristof/ @NickKristof. Kristof begins by referencing polls that indicate “gays and lesbians” are viewed more favorably than “evangelical Christians.” But he admits that Christians care: “I’ve been truly awed by [the
Recently we published a post about the crisis on the Mexico/US border. Since then I came across a very helpful article by Erick Erickson, “Moral Clarity at the Border.” Erickson is an American political commentator and blogger. Christians tend to divide into two streams of thought around this crisis. One
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