Rich Christians In An Age Of Hunger

Rating:
Summary: A Solid Foundation
Review: Ron Sider's work will surely shake the very foundation upon which we all stand. It is not simply a book about hunger, but a book which speaks to the heart of christian affluence and complacency - calling us all to the higher standards of all humanity (being a world christian), as opposed to self-focused living. Even more, Rich Christians calls us to examine our lives by Biblical standards, taking seriously the challenges of the Law, Prophets, and Christ, Himself. Unlike so many discouraging works, Sider also deconstructs answers, provides suggestions, and locates resources. This book is a must read and critiques Western culture by a Biblical standard.

Rating:
Summary: Read Chilton's Refutation!
Review: This is a classic piece of Christian socialist propaganda. Readers who are interested in learning the truth from Scripture will find David Chilton's refutation helpful, "Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators: A Biblical Response to Ronald J. Sider." Published by the Institute for Christian Economics, it may be accessed free in its entirity, here: http://www.freebooks.com/docs/21b6_47e.htm. Chilton's brilliant analysis includes the following observation (p. 20):

"Sider's blueprint calls for socialistic redistribution of wealth and government intervention - a blue-print not countenanced by Scripture, but which Sider claims to find in the fact that 'biblical revelation tells us that God and his faithful people are always at work liberating the oppressed, and also provides some principles apropos of justice in society.'

"In plain translation: where the Bible is straightforward on economic issues, it is not valid; where the Bible states a general principle that can be redefined in terms of 'liberationist' specifics, it is valid. In Sider's hands, the Bible becomes no more than a ventriloquist's dummy. Or, to put it another way: 'The hands are Esau's hands, but the voice is the voice of Jacob.' Sider's thesis looks biblical, on the surface; but the voice is the voice of Ronald Sider.

"Detailed documentation of this charge will appear in the following chapters. For the present, we will examine an outline of the biblical laws on economics and government. There is 'a comprehensive blueprint' for economics in Scripture, but it is not the kind Sider wishes to implement. Therefore, he has to deny that such a blueprint exists."

Read Sider if you wish, but be sure to read Chilton's clear refutation of all that Sider propounds in this antibiblical treatise, "Rich Christians."