Christian Mission and Poverty

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Christian Mission and Poverty

This volume assembles a diverse team of voices from throughout the Christian tradition to talk with us about Christian mission and poverty. They come from different eras in history and various places around the world. Some are women and some are men. They are diverse ethnically and culturally. They come from different church denominations and traditions: Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical, Charismatic, and non-Western theological traditions that do not fall neatly in these categories. They have a diversity of convictions on a host of issues, but they are all united around Jesus Christ, the Scriptures and the church. While they each have different passions and focuses, what they have to say about Christian mission and poverty forms a surprisingly united narrative. Some may focus on justice more than charity; some may favor stewardship of resources more than selling one’s goods; some may be rich and some may be poor. However, all agree that to be a Christian involves thinking deeply about poverty and loving those affected by it. I have arranged the writings in roughly chronological order 7 so that we can see how Christian thinking about poverty has developed and how later Christian writers often utilized insights from earlier generations. We begin with the Didache , one of the earliest Jewish Christian writings after the New Testament. It explains that the way of life involves sharing resources with the poor. Next, in Who Is the Rich Man Who Is Being Saved? , the Christian philosopher Clement of Alexandria maintains that

7 Exceptions to this rule will be noted in the introductions to a couple thinkers. At these points, there were compelling thematic reasons for me to adjust the order slightly.