Humanitarian Jesus

The interconnected world in which we live today is absolutely amazing. It is possible to drink a cup of coffee grown in Uganda with a chocolate bar sourced from Brazilian cacao beans while ordering a sweater made in Bangladesh. This entanglement with the rest of the world is not without its shadows, however. The items that we so easily buy and throw out exploit laborers and resources from the farthest corners of the world. Even deeds that we feel are good for the disadvantaged people in the US and abroad, such as donating to Goodwill or providing monetary aid to Africa, have their own drawbacks as well. Living as a Christian in this globalized world presents challenges to Biblical values and requires thinking deeply about how our decisions affect ourselves and others.

Fay, William, and Linda E. Shepherd. Share Jesus Without Fear. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

In our book “American Jesus” by Stephen Prothero, the chairman of the religious department at Boston University, has published an engaging book that explains how the Son of God “Jesus Christ” became the nation’s most known and forming celebrity figure. While the United States of America was founded on religious freedom, Prothero explains to us that America has more active Christians than any other nation in history. And while this nation has been somewhat of a hedonistic society, Americans are more interested in the figure of Jesus than their Puritan forefathers, who were, as Prothero writes, "a God-fearing rather than Jesus-loving people." But that’s no surprise; Prothero warns us that Jesus may rule the country, but the people in the country

When I was reading the book Jesus Made in America by Stephen J. Nicholas, I came across a very interesting chapter titled “Jesus on Vinyl”. This chapter discussed in detail the state of the use of Jesus in contemporary music from the 1950s up to the current times. Back 3in the 1950s there were contemporary artists who putting out albums of hymns, like Johnny Cash’s Hymns of Johnny Cash. Not surprisingly, the most significant time for Christian gospel music was during the hippie era in the 1960s. During that time, gospel, youth, and music had merged together into songs that preached about Christ and love. Many people became Christians during that time to protest the ongoing war in Vietnam so it would make sense that they would start to make that a main topic in the music of that time.

UPMC Mercy’s Mission and Values statement clearly illustrates the principles of Gaudium et Spes, Part II, Chapter III, Section II: 72, “Christians who take an active part in present-day socio-economic development and fight for justice and charity should be convinced that they can make a great contribution to the prosperity of mankind and to the peace of the world.” (VI, 1965)

Jesus is like the water a person drinks, it is a must to survive. I believe, that everyone has their idealized image of a social figure he or she does not know such as Martin Luther King, John F, Kennedy, and Malcolm X to name a few. Each of these people at one point has been portrayed in entertainment and people do not know if what is being portrayed is true. According to Yancey (1995), he described “Jesus as thin, handsome, skin waxen and milky white man” (p.13). However, after Yancey attends college, he begins to ponder, who is the real image of Jesus, aside from what is being portrayed in movies, or other entertainment? Sometimes, in life, people can go off what they have seen or heard about a person and not really understand the person. While, I am a granddaughter, of a minster, I have been told stories about who Jesus is, but have I seen him as the person he is deep down? The purpose of this paper is seeking to discuss the summary of the book, The Jesus, I Never Knew. I will be talking about Philip Yancey’s take on what he thinks of Jesus. I also will be discussing, some of Philip Yancey strengths and weakness about his book.

In Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just, Tim Keller uses the bible as a focal point in connection to social justice. Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Acts, and the Gospel were all used to associate Jesus’ teachings to today’s world. He does this to prove the importance of social justice. He uses several instances in today’s world and how society needs to do better for our neighbors. Keller shows the importance of social justice by not only using Jesus’ sacrifice, but he also shares the struggles that the poverty stricken and marginalized go through. In the end, Keller calls for all Christians and non-believers to look within themselves and do what is right to provide social justice for all.

Culturally speaking, Walter Rauschenbusch may have been years ahead of his time. From the very first chapter of his most famous work, Rauschenbusch’s passion for social justice is quite evident. He certainly had his finger on the pulse of his current generation, noting the compelling movement of the college students of his day to social service (3). It could be argued that the current generation shares this passion and perhaps even his theology. Unfortunately, while as believers we are called to “act justly and love mercy” (Micah 6:8), Rauschenbusch’s system of theology to uphold this love for social justice

The Social Gospel is the idea of social problems being looked and fixed with a Christian point of view. The Gospel will always stay the same and we should refer the Social Gospel as living out the Gospel. The goal of the Social Gospel Movement was to tie salvation and good work together. They thought people should live the life of a Jesus Christ. Classes, counseling, job training and libraries were provided by churches to act according to the Social Gospel. The origins and issues of the Social Gospel Movement, how the Social Gospel related to a Progressive Era, the work of Walter Rauschenbusch, and how Social Gospel relates to the Gospel will be covered in this essay.

One of the many things that puzzle people even today; is how Jesus was portrayed and how he became a part of history throughout the centuries. Fortunately, within the book Jesus Through the Centuries, written by Jaroslav Pelikan, readers are able to get a sense of what societies viewed Jesus as and how he was/is important to many aspects of the world such as; the political, social, and cultural impact he had left. As Pelikan discusses this very topic and theme in his book, we see how there’s a connection between his audience in this book and Jesus’s are closely similar. When he got his motivation to write about Jesus through the Centuries, Jaroslav had an open audience, which was intended for anyone of all ages, races, and beliefs to read

History has told us that violence has never been the solution to more violence. Nowadays, actions of violence are everywhere, in movies, television serious, in our daily life. We live in a world where power is often established through violence. But for a truly Christian, the form of violence the world chooses is always surpassed by the truth of the Scriptures. Violence is never the solution to resolve conflicts, because violence generates more violence. For many years, violence has been the answer to conflicts in many Latin American countries. According to Jon Sobrino, “Latin America is an extremely violent continent.” The option for the poor has arisen in Latin America, a continent that is mostly poor and Christian. Latin America has always been characterized by the difference of social classes and by the oppression of the poor. The option for the poor has arisen in Latin America, a continent that is mostly poor and Christian. As a result of these characteristics of injustices, the oppressed raised their voice to ask for their rights to be respected. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that, “The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God.” Moreover, the demanding for basic respect for any individual no matter what social class someone belongs to, has always generated conflicts where violence seems to best the answer. As a better result, anyone could think that seeking dialogue would be the

Because mankind was made in God’s image, Christians aspire to follow the footsteps of Jesus as he leads the pathway to the Kingdom of God. So just as Jesus, “healed the leper, the paralyzed, the blind, the deaf, and many who suffer from many diseases,” followers of the gospel are called to “pass through this world doing good.” Not only did Jesus heal, but he turned it around and allowed the once sick to heal. They became “agents of healing and invited to be agents of their own destiny” (Saying and Showing, pg. 31). And as Christians, the gospel calls them to do the same, focusing their attention to the “most abandoned and mistreated” and help bring them to be a part of society.

Luke’s Gospel is a portrayal of Jesus as a model of social justice. Hence, the reader is empowered and influenced by the Gospel to be actively involved in social justice issues. The Catholic Church has sought to reach out to those in need, and Luke’s Gospel demonstrates this through injustices that Jesus challenged. In addition, mental illness, which is a current social justice issue reflects and appeals to problems that Jesus faced and reacted to in his time.

Throughout this paper we will be talking about one of the three principles that are explained in Globalization, Spirituality and Justice. The principles we read about in chapter two are the Galilean, Jerusalem, and Resurrection. I will be discussing the way that the church attempts to relate these principles help teach the church members of charity and justice. I will be relating the Resurrection principle to lives of society and how God wanted us to be fair and just to all no matter their social status. Throughout the readings and class discussions we have talked about how the world should act and what we can do as individuals to help the people of the world and the Resurrection principle gives us a good start of how God wanted “the Christian

The Catholic Mission is to bring about the fullness of life for all people in all places and times as Jesus desired. For decades, Meals on Wheels has helped feed those who cannot cook for themselves, but what no one had thought of was creating a mobile laundry to wash the clothes of the homeless. This is what Nick Marchesi and Lucas Patchett did when they founded Orange Sky Laundry in 2014. In the Bible Jesus is recorded many times providing help to the disadvantaged and less fortunate and his call to help others remains as part of living a faithful life today. This essay will explore what Orange Sky Laundry do, how their work relates to scriptural passages in the Bible, the mission of Jesus and Catholic Social Justice Teachings.