How does faith affect how you see the poor?
This week, I’ve been thinking about faith. The Development Set’s ongoing Refugee Issue looked at, among other things, how Christians around the United States are supporting displaced people. This quote in particular has stayed with me: “Any time you can humanize an issue, it makes it not an issue. Take an issue and make it a person with a face and a name and you can’t help but care.”
One potential benefit about visiting a place of worship is that it often comes with a community — and sometimes, a community that you may have not sought out on your own, and one that may contain new ideas and perspectives. That’s what happened to several characters in Laura Rena Murray’s story.
We’d love to hear from you: how, if at all, does your faith guide your work and world view — particularly toward refugees and the poor?
(We’re also beginning to collect pitches for our next series: humor. Why does storytelling about social impact and health always feel so self-righteous and overly serious? We’d like to spotlight the lighter side of development, and make our readers laugh for once. Email me with the subject line “Humor pitch.” Any pitches with the British spelling of “humour” will go straight into the trash.)
With that, here are a few stories for the weekend that might help you keep the faith (or question it):
How Christians Across America Are Fighting Trump’s Refugee Ban
By Laura Rena Murray in The Development Set
Murray confirms what I’ve been thinking for a long time: some of the staunches advocates for refugees in the United States are Christian leaders across the country. Must read for anyone who equates “American Christianity” with “the religious right.”
And Jesus Said Unto Paul of Ryan…
By Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times
One of my favorite NYT columnists appears to also have faith on the brain this week. I just hope Pious Paul of Ryan takes a good, hard look at this column.
‘Huge advance’ in fighting world’s biggest killer
By James Gallagher in BBC
This is a game-changer — particularly if, like me, you come from a family that has a predilection for heart disease.
I Help Muslim Refugees Because I’m Christian
By Megan Gilbert in The Development Set
“As a Christian, I turn to the teachings of Jesus to guide my life. I believe we are all part of one family. That means welcoming the stranger, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and working for the good of all people.”
How Many Health Workers Have Been Killed In Syria?
By Marc Silver in NPR
This may have you question your faith for a bit. A minimum of 814 doctors, nurses, and other health workers have been killed in Syria since the war began six years ago.
