{"id":29877,"date":"2016-09-19T08:45:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-19T12:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=29877"},"modified":"2016-10-20T12:39:45","modified_gmt":"2016-10-20T16:39:45","slug":"supporting-solving-inequities-economic-system-moral-choice-says-shane-claiborne-partnering-jubilee-usa-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/supporting-solving-inequities-economic-system-moral-choice-says-shane-claiborne-partnering-jubilee-usa-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporting or solving the inequities of our economic system is a moral choice, says Shane Claiborne, partnering with Jubilee USA Network"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is not often we are challenged, head on, to rid the world of suffering by taking the words of Jesus literally. Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) students, faculty, and Harrisonburg community members faced this challenge in the Lehman Auditorium on Wednesday, Sept. 14. EMU was the place where Christian activist Shane Claiborne announced a partnership with the non-profit financial reform organization Jubilee USA Network<\/a>. He joined with Andrew Hanauer, Jubilee\u2019s campaign coordinator, to speak at chapel, and give a two-hour lunchtime discussion, an evening lecture and a late-night residence hall discussion.<\/p>\n

Claiborne is co- founder, with Tony Campolo, of the Red Letter Christians<\/a> movement, which encourages Christians to pay attention to Jesus’s teachings and combine those words with justice. Claiborne, a native of Tennessee, lives in a community in Philadelphia. He speaks widely and has written several books relating to radical Christianity, most recently \u201cExecuting Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It’s Killing Us<\/a>\u201d (HarperOne, 2016).<\/p>\n

\"20160914-chapel-jubilee-usa-andrew-hanauer-004-1000px\"<\/a>
Andrew Hanauer, campaign coordinator for Jubilee USA Network, addresses an evening audience in Lehman Auditorium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his role as campaign director for Jubilee USA Network, Hanauer meets with Congress members, non-government organizations, and the World Bank to represent Jubilee\u2019s advocacy efforts. He also leads Jubilee\u2019s grassroots efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to recognize that the problem is deeper than \u2018Someone is hungry\u2019,\u201dHanauer says, \u201cThe question is \u2018Why are they hungry\u2019?\u201d Jubilee wants to solve the poverty crisis at its root, not just its symptoms.<\/p>\n

The idea behind Jubilee based on Leviticus 25, The Year of Jubilee was designated for canceling debt, freeing slaves, and resting the fields. This type of freedom language is also used in Isaiah 61:1-2 and Luke 4:16-30 to talk about Jesus\u2019 coming to release captives and restore sight to the blind.<\/p>\n

‘Return what we have stolen’<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Claiborne\u2019s message is that Christians are called to shake off complacency and alleviate the unequal distribution of wealth around the globe. Hanauer spoke on the efforts of Jubilee to cancel debt for impoverished nations. In 2015, Jubilee won over a billion dollars in debt relief in Chad, Grenada, Ethiopia, and West Africa.<\/p>\n

Money plays a role in alleviating suffering across the globe, but Claiborne says relationships are the important part of making change. He says one shouldn\u2019t be afraid to ask questions about what to do locally. Claiborne suggests pushing for transparency with the organizations that handle donations. Some of his own funds go toward Jubilee\u2019s debt cancellation efforts.<\/p>\n

Claiborne points out that sharing excess is necessary to reducing inequality. \u201c[Saint] Basil the Great said, \u2018If someone steals a person\u2019s clothes, we call them a thief. But shouldn\u2019t we say the same thing of the Christian who has extra clothes in their closet while another goes naked?’\u201d<\/p>\n

He used Saint Basil\u2019s words as a reminder that holding on to excess is selfish. \u201cThere is enough for everyone\u2019s need, but not enough for everyone\u2019s greed,\u201d Claiborne said.<\/p>\n

Charitable giving is not a lofty virtue, Claiborne continued. \u201cIt\u2019s returning what we\u2019ve stolen … God didn\u2019t create one person rich and another person poor. We\u2019re actually just participating in the economy of God,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Audience challenged<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Claiborne\u2019s message resonated with several students in the audience. Senior Isaac Dahl, recalled an anecdote about a child in India who was given an ice cream cone and immediately knew he had to share it with his friends. \u201cI realized that this child\u2019s innocence and culture had taught him the beauty of sharing. This is far different from the message we get, which is from the Western assumption of entitlement,\u201d Dahl said.<\/p>\n

Most of the attendees were EMU students, but some members of the community spoke during the question-and-answer period. Most of the questions were about applying Claiborne\u2019s message on a daily basis, and staying passionate about the words of Jesus. For example, Ruthie Beck, a 2016 EMU alumna and a current eighth-grade civics teacher, wanted to know how to maintain her fire for ending poverty and pass on Claiborne’s message.<\/p>\n

\u201cEMU does a good job of applying many of the things that Shane advocates for, but we can always do better,\u201d said junior Caleb Schrock-Hurst. \u201cShane says that love is about relationships, and I think we could do a better job of being in relationship with the poor and needy here in Harrisonburg.\u201d<\/p>\n

This challenge to do better is echoed by junior Rachel Shenk. \u201cI don\u2019t see tonight\u2019s message as a guilt trip or a crisis point,\u201d Shenk said, \u201cInstead, I believe it\u2019s an opportunity for all of us here at EMU to proclaim jubilee by inviting others to join us as we work towards faithful stewardship of God\u2019s gifts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shenk appreciated that Claiborne brought into sharp focus the widening gap between the rich and the poor, \u201cI\u2019m challenged to realize that our current economy is not a reflection of God\u2019s original vision.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is not often we are challenged, head on, to rid the world of suffering by taking the words of Jesus literally. Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) students, faculty, and Harrisonburg ... read more about Supporting or solving the inequities of our economic system is a moral choice, says Shane Claiborne, partnering with Jubilee USA Network<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5589,5591,14184,409,17562,14145],"tags":[6795],"feature":[17427,17424,17241],"class_list":["post-29877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-and-religion","category-business-and-leadership","category-campus-guests","category-chapel","category-digest","category-peacebuilding-and-development","tag-diversity","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-featured-graduate","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nSupporting or solving the inequities of our economic system is a moral choice, says Shane Claiborne, partnering with Jubilee USA Network - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/supporting-solving-inequities-economic-system-moral-choice-says-shane-claiborne-partnering-jubilee-usa-network\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Supporting or solving the inequities of our economic system is a moral choice, says Shane Claiborne, partnering with Jubilee USA Network - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is not often we are challenged, head on, to rid the world of suffering by taking the words of Jesus literally. 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