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Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America
Just Generosity calls Christians to examine their priorities and their pocketbooks in the face of a scandalous tendency to overlook those among us who suffer while we live in practical opulence. This holistic approach to helping the poor goes far beyond donating clothes or money, envisioning a world in which faith based groups work with businesses, the media, and the government to help end poverty in the world's richest nation. This updated edition includes current statistics, policy recommendations, and discussions covering everything from welfare reform, changes to Medicade, and the Social Security debate."Sider's most important book since Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger."Jim Wallis, author, God's Politics "Sider knows how to lift up people in need. . . . [An] important and challenging book."John Ashcroft, former Attorney General of the United States
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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181 people want to read
About the author
Ronald J. Sider
77Ìýbooks62ÌýfollowersRonald J. Sider (PhD, Yale University) is the founder and president emeritus of Evangelicals for Social Action and distinguished professor of theology, holistic ministry, and public policy at Palmer Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. He is the author of numerous books, including The Early Church on Killing, the bestselling Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, and The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 3, 2020
I kind of hate to give a negative review to a Ron Sider book. I have a lot of respect for him and I was significantly impacted by Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger and I know many people who would say the same.
However, this was a more difficult book to appreciate. A big part of it is that the book is very specific in policy recommendations to do with combating poverty in the U.S., but that means that it dates itself in the policy and data details. While I feel like the problems that he describes are all still true today, I'm not certain that the specifics of the policy recommendations - of which there are a lot - still make sense now. It's not that I know they don't - but I don't know that they do.
I also feel like he tries to cover way too much ground. Very complex issues that then require very complex solutions are reduced to a chapter when they could be a whole book or more than one book in and of themselves. With that problem of scope, I feel like things like the arguments around school reform get reduced to something that doesn't fully recognize all of the issues involved. I don't think that Sider himself would make the issues simplistic, but with the amount of space in the book that's allotted, it can feel that way.
However, this was a more difficult book to appreciate. A big part of it is that the book is very specific in policy recommendations to do with combating poverty in the U.S., but that means that it dates itself in the policy and data details. While I feel like the problems that he describes are all still true today, I'm not certain that the specifics of the policy recommendations - of which there are a lot - still make sense now. It's not that I know they don't - but I don't know that they do.
I also feel like he tries to cover way too much ground. Very complex issues that then require very complex solutions are reduced to a chapter when they could be a whole book or more than one book in and of themselves. With that problem of scope, I feel like things like the arguments around school reform get reduced to something that doesn't fully recognize all of the issues involved. I don't think that Sider himself would make the issues simplistic, but with the amount of space in the book that's allotted, it can feel that way.
April 15, 2020
Excellent book! Sider methodically walks through every major issue that leads to long term poverty and injustice while giving practical and biblical ways to bring about justice. The book can be dense in some places and some of the stats and concluding chapter (written in 2007) are starting to show their age. This is a must read for any person who cares about the pursuit of holistic justice.
June 14, 2022
what causes poverty - combination of personal decisions, structural causes, sudden catastrophes, and permanent disabilities
This is a Christian based look at poverty. Liked that religion perspective is added to conversation, disappointed in the limit perspective of religion in conversation.
This is a Christian based look at poverty. Liked that religion perspective is added to conversation, disappointed in the limit perspective of religion in conversation.
November 2, 2024
There were some good points in here, but overall I thought the focus on personal decisions leading to poverty was unfair as it didn’t account for trauma or how poverty limits your choices. Also, single moms were called out without any mention of the fathers who left them. Very disappointing.
May 9, 2013
First off, I gave this book 3 stars based on my enjoyment factor. (4 stars indicated I really liked it, which I wouldn't go that far) This isn't a "fun" read but it's content would be rated much higher. This is a book I think all Christians should read. I felt Sider did an excellent job of giving a Biblical foundation of how to view poverty and a comprehensive strategy for combating it. He argues for a holistic approach to ending poverty, one in which all the different societal institutions - civil society, government, media, businesses, unions, religious bodies - play a vital role. I also thought, overall, he was fair in his criticism and praise of both liberal and conservative approaches to the problem of poverty. This book was published in 1999. I would like to see a reissue with updated statistics and where he sees the issue of poverty 14 years later.
May 21, 2007
Ron Sider presents his vision for ending poverty in America, and it is a very compelling vision. The book is essentially a call to action and asserts that the responsibility to end poverty starts with the church.
March 30, 2008
Sider presents a plan to relieve poverty from an evangelical standpoint. His plan wasn't as informed or detailed as is necesary when producing national policy. Regardless, Sider's idea in itself, is an attempt to do something rather the status quo - nada.
December 27, 2014
I was looking for a book with helps and new proposals. Instead what I found was a book with commentary and lots of statistics. All be it informative it was just kind of not what I thought. I did however gleam a few ideas and I jointed the evangelicas for social action network.
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January 18, 2010bluffton univ (oh)
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