The Progressive Christian Center of the South

Joerg Rieger speaks about the widening gap between rich and poor

Posted on Oct 02, 2009 - 12:10 PM

Between 1975 and 1990, the wealthiest 1 percent of the U.S. population increased its share of total assets from 20 percent to 36 percent, while the number of people in the U.S. living below the poverty line continues to rise. The gap between poor and rich countries is widening even more dramatically. In seventy developing countries today’s levels of income are less than those reached in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The annual reports on the world’s wealthiest people, as well as the astronomical salaries of certain CEO’s, raise questions. A Dallas journalist recently announced on National Public Radio that she did not yet see the discrepancy of rich and poor last year until the pastor of a wealthy local Episcopal church pointed it out to his congregation. She does now. How many Christians and how many theologians see the discrepancy yet?”

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Joerg Rieger 'PCCS Scholar'

Dr. Joerg Rieger is the Wendland-Cook Endowed Professor of Constructive Theology at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX. His website is devoted to theological projects that take seriously the radical and hopeful alternatives that emerge in conjunction with the underside of history.

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FAITHANDREASON® SEMINAR for Progressive Christians

JOHN DOMINIC CROSSAN & JOERG RIEGER will educate and energize progressive Christians in a two-day seminar, October 8 and 9 at All Saints Church in Pasadena, California. Crossan and Rieger will confront crippling policies and misplaced national priorities - such as two wars and a bloated military budget - that have left millions of Americans struggling for jobs and hope.

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Joerg Rieger speaks about the widening gap between rich and poor