James 1:27 has long been a central biblical text from which our podcast community has drawn from. But to what extent have we delved into the depths of the Jewish context in which James wrote? To help us go deeper on this text and the social implications of true religion, we've invited Dr. Andrea Siegel to the show. Dr. Siegel has years of experience in humanitarian work, Hebrew studies and counseling and brings that to the text as the curriculum writer on Helping Children Worldwide's most recent orphan care resource. If you want to hear some things about James 1:27 that you've never heard before, this is a podcast to check out.

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Podcast Sponsors

The M.A. in Global Development and Justice program at Jessup University prepares students to work across the nexus of justice, community development, and peacebuilding.

Learn More About The MAGDJ Online Program

Alliance for Children Everywhere is on mission to bring vulnerable children into secure families, schools, and communities.

Visit Alliance for Children Everywhere Online

Resources and Links from the show

One Twenty-Seven by Dr. Andrea Siegel and Helping Children Worldwide

Conversation Notes

• The Old Testament backdrop of caring for orphans and widows
• The collective nature of James 1:27 and what it means to be guarantors of one another in caring for the vulnerable in society
• The connection with Exodus 22:21-23 and parsing out singular and plural pronouns for collective responsibility
• Not forgetting what we look like in the mirror and how that keeps us aware of our Genesis-selves
• A number of different Hebrew words and applications that enrich the understanding of the passage

Theme music Kirk Osamayo. Free Music Archive, CC BY License

War. Famine. Poverty. Violence. Natural Disasters. Working in humanitarian spaces puts us up close and personal with some of the worst kinds of evil and suffering. In the face of it all, we follow a God who is both all good and all powerful. How do those two realities compute? It's a quandary that has been around a long time and we've invited Southeastern University's Dr. Chris Palmer onto the show to help us think biblically and theologically when we're faced with the problem of evil. From the killing fields in Polpot's Cambodia to earthquakes in the Middle East, we wrestle the reality of pain while clinging to God's goodness and embracing the mystery.

Support the Show Through Venmo - @canopyintl

Podcast Sponsors

The M.A. in Global Development and Justice program at Jessup University prepares students to work across the nexus of justice, community development, and peacebuilding.

Learn More About The MAGDJ Online Program

Join Camino Quest for a spiritual pilgrimage with other pilgrims on the ancient and amazing Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Visit Camino Quest Online

Resources and Links from the show

Dr. Palmer's Bio at Southeastern University Online

Conversation Notes

• Chris being confronted with the evil of the killing fields in Cambodia
• How do we describe and define what evil is substantively
• Juxtaposing suffering that takes place in the natural world with the suffering caused by human agency
• The differing theodicies in seeking to understand God's justice
• The imperative of prayer to have our hearts conformed to God's heart

Theme music Kirk Osamayo. Free Music Archive, CC BY License

The most effective approaches to doing justice will acknowledge nuance and there is wisdom in maintaining tensions in the work God has called us to. Central to the work of global development is how we work among at risk children and youth and there are a lot of principles to balance in that space. In this solo episode of the podcast, Brandon Stiver breaks down a number of paradigms that children's rights advocates and practitioners operate within as we hope to find the right balance that will allow children to flourish and be fully who God created them to be.

Support the Show Through Venmo - @canopyintl

Podcast Sponsors

The M.A. in Global Development and Justice program at Jessup University prepares students to work across the nexus of justice, community development, and peacebuilding.

Learn More About The MAGDJ Online Program

Alliance for Children Everywhere is on mission to bring vulnerable children into secure families, schools, and communities.

Visit Alliance for Children Everywhere Online

Resources and Links from the show

Childhood in a Global Perspective by Karen Wells

Freeing Congregational Mission by B. Hunter Farrell and S. Balajiedlang Khyllep

Conversation Notes

• Understanding the paradigms of child saving and child's rights
• Child sponsorship as a child saving approach to raising funds
• The irony of supporting child rights while also promoting war that takes life
• Maintaining the balance between child protection and family preservation
• The role of child participation in decision making and advocacy

Theme music Kirk Osamayo. Free Music Archive, CC BY License