Biblical Perspectives on Poverty and Transformational Development (DM2018W)

Content

According to some scholars there are more than 2,000 references to poverty and justice issues in the Bible, however the topic of poverty has had a history of neglect in many Protestant Christian traditions. In this unit students will explore the reasons for this omission and evaluate different ways of understanding poverty. Students will also explore empowering and sustainable means of addressing poverty in local, national and international contexts.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

This unit can be taken as part of an undergraduate award. A prerequisite is a foundational unit in the Hebrew Bible or in the New Testament.

Pedagogy

The ‘Circle of Courage’ framework will guide the delivery of this Unit where the teacher is a co-learner and facilitator and the whole class is involved in the process of teaching and learning. The Circle is made up of Belonging, Mastery, Independence, and Generosity and each of these components will be a part of the learning process.

Indicative Bibliography

• Barker, Ash. Make Poverty Personal. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009.
• _______. Risky Compassion. Birmingham: Urban Life Together Publishing, 2014.
• Christian, Jayakumar,God of the Empty-Handed. Rev. ed, Melbourne: Acorn Press, 2011.
• Corbett, S. & B. Fikkert. When Helping Hurts. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2012.
• Lupton, Robert, Toxic Charity. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2011.
• Myers, Bryant, Walking with the Poor. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2016.
• Payne, Ruby, De Vol, Philip, & Smith, Terri, Bridges Out of Poverty. Highlands, TX: aha! Process Inc., 2009.
• Sider, Ron, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson, 2015.
• Snyder, Howard, The Radical Wesley. Franklin: Seedbed Publishing, 2014.

Assessment