Rich Christians In An Age Of Hunger

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9780849945304
• ISBN10: 0849945305
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-04-12
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson Inc

Summary

When Ron Sider's Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger first appeared twenty-eight years ago, it shook readers to the core. Informed about the issues of world hunger and poverty, they could no longer ignore the plight of their global neighbors. This thoroughly revised edition of Sider's best-selling book outlines the progress that has been made in the last three decades-and the work that is still left to do. Every day 30,000 children still die of starvation and preventable diseases, and 1.2 billion people live in relentless, unrelieved poverty worldwide.

Author Biography

Ronald J. Sider, Ph.D., Yale, is professor of theology at Eastern University

Table of Contents

Preface to the Fifth Edition	xiii
Acknowledgments	xix
PART ONE: POOR LAZARUS AND RICH CHRISTIANS
1. A Billion Hungry Neighbors	1	(22)
New Economic Divisions in the World	4	(1)
Uneven Distribution	5	(3)
Famine Redefined	8	(2)
Poverty's Children	10	(4)
Making Progress	14	(3)
Population	17	(3)
Limits to Growth?	20	(1)
The Future and Our Response	20	(3)
2. The Affluent Minority	23	(18)
Promises, Promises	24	(1)
Where Did It All Begin?	25	(1)
How Affluent Are We?	26	(6)
Poverty at $50,000 a Year?	32	(1)
How Generous Are We?	32	(2)
Rationalizing Our Affluence	34	(7)
PART TWO: A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE POOR AND POSSESSIONS
3. God and the Poor	41	(24)
Pivotal Points of Revelation History	42	(6)
God Identifies with the Poor	48	(2)
God's Special Instruments	50	(2)
Why Does God Cast Down the Rich?	52	(4)
God's Concern and Ours	56	(6)
Is God on the Side of the Poor?	62	(3)
4. Economic Fellowship and Economic Justice	65	(24)
Capital in an Agricultural Society	66	(1)
The Year of Jubilee	67	(3)
The Sabbatical Year	70	(2)
Laws on Tithing and Gleaning	72	(1)
Models to Follow and Avoid	73	(2)
Jesus' New Community	75	(2)
The Jerusalem Model	77	(4)
Economic Koinonia	81	(5)
How Then Shall We Live?	86	(3)
5. Thinking Biblically About Property and Possessions	89	(18)
Private Property	89	(4)
The Danger of Riches	93	(4)
The Ring and the Beloved	97	(1)
Righteousness and Riches	98	(4)
Carefree Living	102	(5)
6. Social Evil: Sin Embedded in Societal Systems	107	(14)
The Old Testament	109	(5)
The New Testament	114	(2)
God's Response	116	(5)
PART THREE: WHAT CAUSES POVERTY?
7. Poverty's Complex Causes	121	(12)
Sinful Personal Choices	121	(1)
Unbiblical Worldviews	122	(1)
Disasters	123	(1)
Lack of Technology	124	(1)
Great Inequalities of Power	124	(5)
Western Colonialism	129	(4)
8. Structural Injustice Today	133	(50)
Evaluating Market Economies	135	(8)
International Trade	143	(4)
The International Debt Crisis	147	(2)
Destroying the Environment and the Poor	149	(1)
How Are We Harming God's Creation and the Poor?	150	(10)
Eating Food from Hungry Nations	160	(4)
Multinational Corporations in Developing Countries	164	(5)
Discrimination and War	169	(8)
Repentance	177	(6)
PART FOUR: IMPLEMENTATION
9. Toward a Simpler Lifestyle: The Graduated Tithe and Other Modest Proposals	183	(22)
The God of North America	185	(1)
Some Examples	186	(1)
The Graduated Tithe	187	(3)
Communal Living	190	(1)
Guidelines for Giving	191	(1)
Some Practical Suggestions	192	(2)
Evaluating Organizations	194	(4)
How Generous Are We?	198	(3)
The Sabbath and Our Lifestyles	201	(1)
A Call for Loyalty	202	(3)
10. Watching Over One Another in Love	205	(14)
A Sociological Perspective	207	(2)
New Patterns of Christian Community	209	(1)
A Congregation of House Churches	210	(4)
The Individual House Church	214	(1)
"All Things in Common"	214	(1)
Glass Cathedrals in an Age of Hunger?	215	(1)
The Triple Five Plan	216	(3)
11. Making the World More Fair	219	(50)
Ambulance Drivers or Tunnel Builders?	220	(3)
Who Will Be Helped?	223	(2)
A Change in Foreign Policy	225	(2)
Social Change and Conversion	227	(2)
Correcting Weaknesses of Market Economies	229	(11)
Making International Trade More Fair	240	(4)
Reducing Unmanageable Debt	244	(2)
Preserving the Earth and Empowering the Poor	246	(10)
Does Foreign Aid Help?	256	(6)
Bombs, Bread, and Illusions	262	(1)
Organizations That Make a Difference	263	(2)
Let Justice Ring	265	(4)
Epilogue	269	(2)
Appendix A. Works Cited	271	(12)
Appendix B: Organizations	283	(4)
Endnotes	287	(46)
Index of Persons and Topics	333