The pastor of one of the first mega-churches, Rick Warren, is also the best selling author of A Purpose-Driven Life. More recently he observed in a magazine article that even though he had studied the Bible his whole life and had several advanced degrees including a doctorate, nowhere did his studies highlight the fact that over 2,000 verses in the Bible refer to the obligation to care for the poor. I would add to that there are also thousand of verses directing believers to create a more just society. The prophet Amos chastised Israel for tolerating an economic system where the rich got richer and the poor remained poor. Without justice people can “search of the word of the LORD,
but they shall not find it.”
