THE GOAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: GOD'S WILL ON EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN A COLLECTION OF WILLIAM CAREY INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY FACULTY AND STUDENT WRITINGS EDITED (original) (raw)

Agents of International Development and Shalom

This edited book is a collection of stories by and about men and women—some well-known, others not so well-known—who have chosen to let God work through them as his change agents in the world. Their stories each demonstrate something of what God’s will looks like within their spheres of influence.

The Service of Faith: Christian Entanglements with International Development

The past decade has witnessed a surge of scholarly interest into the relationships between religion and development with significant attention being given to Christian actors. Recent studies have examined the vast array of ‘development‐type’ activities carried out by Christian organisations in health, education, poverty alleviation, refugee services, disaster relief etc. Transnational Christian service is a powerful dynamic shaping social imaginaries and development outcomes. Anthropology has been at the forefront of this emerging scholarship, helpfully illuminating the deep histories of Christian involvement in development and furnishing textured analyses of diverse Christian missionary and non‐governmental actors. Also of direct relevance is the widely‐heralded ‘return of theology’ in which theological concerns are again being located at the centre of academic enquiry. Various approaches to analysing the theological, including particularly ‘political’ and ‘practical’ concerns, are making incisive interventions into development debates. This symposium builds upon emerging anthropological and theological research on the entanglements between Christianity and development. It seeks to further expand the horizons of scholarly debate by attending to both theologies and practices. We aim to open new lines of enquiry by asking: How have interactions between Christianity and development reshaped each other? What are the genealogical and historical connections between various Christian traditions and the values, formations and practices of mainstream international development? What tensions have arisen between Christian and development (and within Christian development) actors and what do these reveal about the nature of development today? What directions should anthropological and theological analysis take in future research on development? Short provocations by leading scholars from anthropology and theology will help facilitate a broad‐ranging interdisciplinary conversation which will open new spaces for rethinking analytical frameworks and move the debate about Christianity and development into new questions and arenas.

Biblical Foundations for 21st Century World Mission: 69 Theses Toward an Ongoing Global Reformation

World of Theology Series, 2018

God was the first missionary. He spoke of judgment, but also of grace. Immediately after the Fall of man, when humanity’s history already appeared doomed, God did not leave things as they were. Rather, in his grace he himself came into the Garden of Eden to search for Adam and Eve and to ask, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). Like every good missionary, God was not deterred by the fact that humanity did not want to hear the good news. He proclaimed judgment to them, and then he proclaimed the coming redemption (Genesis 3:14–21). If a missionary is someone who brings the message of judgment and God’s gracious answer for that judgment to people, not all of whom want to hear it (John 1:11: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him”), then God himself is and was the firrst missionary. (Thesis 1)

Adopting a human rights based approach to international Christian development

It is only in the past decade that religion has been recognised as critical to ensuring sustainable international development efforts. This is due in large part to the failure of the dominant development paradigm of Western secularism in the global South. This article focuses on the significant historical contribution of evangelical Christianity in international development and explores some of the ideological tensions that challenge partnership with secular organisations. The resulting separate and parallel efforts of evangelical Christianity and the international non-governmental organisations (INGO) sector are costly and counter-productive in serving the poor. Recently, many INGOs have adopted the human rights-based approach underpinned by its commitment to social justice and solidarity with the poor – values also central to the Bible. It will be argued that this shared approach could provide the necessary bridge to facilitate deeper engagement in the form of social action between secular development actors and evangelicals. The critical role of evangelical Christianity in addressing poverty as a human rights issue in South Africa is also dealt with briefly.

The Role of Religion in International Development

2011

In part, this failure can be blamed on the continued rapid explosion of the human population. The sheer fact that global famines and government collapse have not taken place more widely is testimony to the fact that significant gains have been made in food production and in the establishment of stable governments. But these gains have not been experienced by the poor and the oppressed. If anything, inequality between the privileged few and the marginalized many has increased. In countries and between countries the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few continues. What has gone wrong? And what role does religion, or the lack of it, play in this failure?

International development and belief in progress

Journal of International Development, 2009

Though interest in religious faith is growing in development studies, more needs to be done to show how faith commitments shape approaches to development. This paper models for non‐specialists ways in which the content of one particular faith tradition, the Christian tradition, might be brought to bear on development theory and practice. The particular issue explored is the belief in progress implicit in development. The paper argues that belief in the capacity of human beings to effect their own progress sits uneasily with the Christian tradition. It concludes that an authentically Christian account of hope may lead to a richer Christian understanding of the good of development. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Looking at human development through the lens of Christian mission

In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi, 2016

Approximately one billion people live in extreme poverty, with another two billion people surviving on less than $1 per day. Many of them, living in abject poverty, struggle with ill health, limited access to clean water, hygienic sanitation, poor quality housing, hunger, illiteracy and premature death. However, improving the lives of the poor is a complex undertaking with often little agreement as to how can this be best achieved. The intrinsic goal of development is to advance human dignity, freedom, social equity and self-determination. Moreover, there is no univocal definition of development. In this article my own understanding will be discussed more extensively. My conviction that development, in general in the context of Christian mission, finds its roots in Christian empathy with people in dire need will be stated.

Finding global balance: common ground between the worlds of development and faith

2005

The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of the World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.