Torch, Fall/Winter 2010

COVER: SCOTT HUCK | CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY For those who have a choice, it is not difficult to construct a life with almost no contact with the poor. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the material blessings God has given us, but when we allow our blessings to isolate us from those with deep needs — the very needs that perhaps we have been uniquely blessed to meet — we lose our ability to empathize. We become entirely unaware of those around us because they are not part of the world we have designed. The apostle James wrote that caring for the poor — helping the widows and the orphans — is an expression of “pure and faultless religion,” or exposes the depth of our faith. What made Jesus’ life and ministry so radical was the way He turned the social hierarchy on its head. Most of His time was spent among people who made up in faith what they lacked in material goods. These were His people. He touched their sick bodies and fed their hungry souls. Poverty is closer than we think. And we are more equipped than we know to meet others’ needs if we have ears to hear and eyes to see — and if we aren’t afraid of what we might find or how God might be calling us to respond. “The poor,” Jesus taught, “you will always have with you” (Matt. 26:11). So where should our response begin? What share of the load belongs to us and our families? What belongs to our churches? What belongs to government programs and nonprofit agencies to address? When God tells us to feed His sheep, what is He really asking of you and me? Cedarville explored biblical responses to poverty on March 11, as part of our semi-annual Critical Concern Series. Our faculty joined with leading evangelical thinkers, representing both conservative and progressive viewpoints, to wrestle with this topic. This edition of Torch expands on several important topics that guided our thinking, discussions, and scholarship this spring. The biblical mandate is clear, but the response is complex. Followers of Christ disagree about what solutions are most effective. You may disagree with some of the viewpoints presented here. Disagreement is okay as long as the dialogue causes us to search the Scriptures, examine our hearts, and take action. My prayer is that our wrestling through this complex issue leads us to greater compassion for others and greater awareness of our blessings. William E. Brown, Ph.D. President of Cedarville University Responding to Poverty Making Sense of Today’s Critical Issues From a Biblical Perspective