Is the gospel good news for the poor?

It is certainly a distortion of the Christian message if it is primarily interpreted as a program for the material improvement of the human condition.

The core of the Christian message is the proclamation of a tectonic shift in cosmic reality inaugurated by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This proclamation radically relativizes all the empirical givens of this world, including all human institutions. Any reinterpretation of Christianity in terms of a this-worldly agenda, individual or collective, is a distortion.

Peter Berger

Peter Berger is the leading sociologist of our time. He is also a Christian.

In a this article he reflects on the impact of Pentecostal Christianity on the poor in Africa. You might be surprised by his findings.