• Directories
    • Business Directory
    • Church Directory
    • Organization Directory
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Help
  • Log In
MENUMENU
  • Learning
        • Leader’s Edge
          • Author Interviews
          • Book Summaries
        • Book Reviews
          • Book Look
          • EMQ Book Reviews
        • Publications
          • Anthology
          • Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ)
          • Missiographics
        • Podcasts
          • The Mission MattersNew
          • Missio Nexus
          • People First HR
          • Members Only Feed
        • Blogs
          • Global Issues Updates
          • Member Highlights
          • Mission Advisors
        • Topics
          • COVID-19 ResourcesNew
          • Diaspora Missions
          • Mobilization
          • Muslim Missions
          • Support Raising
        • Media Library
          • Conferences
          • Global Issue Updates
          • On Mission
          • Thought Leader Briefings
          • Webinars
          • Workshop
          • View All
  • Programs
    • Accreditation
    • Alliance for Benefits
    • Bible CertificateNew
    • Church Missions Coaching
    • Cohorts
    • Cybersecurity
    • ImproveNew
    • Mission Jobs
    • RightNow Media
    • The Mission App
    • Women’s Development
  • Events
          • Calendar
          • In-Person Events
          • Virtual Events
          • Event Recordings
          • Awards
        • Upcoming Events

          • Webinar: Through the Wall
            Thu Jan 28 2021, 02:00pm EST
          • Three Easy Ways to Drive Innovation
            Thu Feb 11 2021, 02:00pm EST
          • Three Steps to Kickstart Your Fund Development Program
            Tue Feb 16 2021, 03:00pm EST
        • View All Events
  • Research
          • Missiographics
          • Mission Handbook
          • Research Reports
        • Popular Research
          • Compensation Reports
          • COVID-19 ResourcesNew
          • Field Attrition Report
          • View All Reports
        • Contribute
          • Current Research Projects
          • Submit Data for Mission Handbook
          • Volunteer
  • About Us
        • Who We Are
          • Our Contribution
          • Meet the Team
          • Board Members
          • History (1917–present)
        • Our Beliefs
          • Statement of Faith
          • Community Standards
        • Awards
        • Partner with Us
          • Advertise
          • Donate
          • Sponsorships
          • Volunteer
        • Help
          • Contact Us
          • Advertising Specs
          • Branding Guidelines
  • Join
        • Learn
        • Learn what you cannot learn anywhere else.

        • Meet
        • Meet people you otherwise won’t meet.

        • Engage
        • Engage in a community like none other.

          • Benefits
          • Benefits for Churches
          • Pricing

Sponsored Content

Upcoming Events

  • Webinar: Through the Wall
    Thu Jan 28 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Three Easy Ways to Drive Innovation
    Thu Feb 11 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Three Steps to Kickstart Your Fund Development Program
    Tue Feb 16 2021, 03:00pm EST
  • Webinar: Innovating Theological Education: How BibleMesh can Prepare your Staff for Ministry
    Thu Feb 25 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Association Leaders Gathering
    Tue Mar 2 2021, 08:30am EST

View all events »

Topics

author interview Canada CEO Church Church Missions Church Mission Team Church Planting Coaching Conference Proceedings COVID-19 Cross Cultural Skills Diaspora Evangelism Focus Future Globally Engaged Churches Islam Justin Long Leadership Management Missiology Missionaries Mission Finance and Administration MLC2019 MLC2020 Mobilization muslim Muslim Diaspora Networks Partnership Personal Productivity Podcast Presenter Research Security Short-Term Missions Spirituality support raising Training Trends Unengaged Unreached unreached people groups Weekly Roundup Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Freeing God’s Children:The Unlikely Alliance for Global Human Rights

Posted on July 1, 2005 by July 1, 2005

by Allen D. Hertzke

Allen Hertzke brings us a readable and interesting account of a recent and surprising phenomenon: conservative evangelicals engaging in the traditionally liberal arena of international humanitarian and human rights advocacy.

Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MA 20706, 2004, 440 pages, $27.95.

—Reviewed by Bryant L. Myers, vice president for World Vision International, adjunct professor at the School of Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary, author of Walking with the Poor (Orbis, 1999).

Allen Hertzke brings us a readable and interesting account of a recent and surprising phenomenon: conservative evangelicals engaging in the traditionally liberal arena of international humanitarian and human rights advocacy.

Growing out of the emergence of advocacy on behalf of a persecuted church around the word, these folks are now addressing slavery in Sudan, trafficking of women and the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in North Korea—issues that have been somewhat marginal to secular groups, the international press and the American foreign policy establishment.

The book provides an account of the nature and impact of this movement as it emerged in the 1990s. Hertzke roots the development of this movement in the shift of the center of gravity of the Christian church to the Global South. Hertzke argues that the underlying conditions of this new movement are “the revival in religion around the world, the globalization of Christianity, an enduring human rights crisis and the shift toward a more faith-friendly intellectual climate in the United States.”

The movement is buoyed by the new scholarly enquiry into the contribution of Christianity to global democracy and freedom. The Christian emphasis on the dignity of the human person, the equality of all souls before God and the autonomy of churches from state control fosters a vibrant civil culture and society in which this social engagement finds nourishment.

Hertzke sketches the effectiveness and history of this movement through three principal stories. First, he includes an account of Nina Shea, a Catholic human rights lawyer at Freedom House, who became instrumental in religious rights campaigns. Second, Michael Horowitz, a Jewish activist, who is described by Charles Colson as God’s wake-up call to evangelicals slumbering while their brothers and sisters around the world were being persecuted. Both figures serve to illustrate Hertzke’s strong belief in the importance of human agency in history. Finally, there is a thorough chapter on the delicate strands of human rights activism targeted at Southern Sudan.

Hertzke alerts us to the changing nature of the religious landscape as these human rights issues are addressed. Liberals and conservatives, Protestants and Catholics, Jews and Christians are finding common cause in the face of sex trafficking and religious persecution. Hertzke closes with an interesting chapter that shows how this new religious activism is filling a void in international affairs and contributing to a new architecture for human rights.

—–

Copyright © 2005 Evangelism and Missions Information Service (EMIS). All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMIS.

GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll PostsBook ReviewsEMQSectionVolume 41 - Issue 3

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Keep up to date with our community.

Menu

  • Join
  • Directories
  • Events
  • Donate

About

  • Who We Are
  • Statement of Faith
  • Awards
  • Resources

Help

  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Cookies Policy

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Google+

PO Box 398
Wheaton, IL 60187-0398

Phone: 770.457.6677
678.392.4577

© Missio Nexus.
All Rights Reserved.

Membership website powered by MembershipWorks