Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

A Place Of Mercy: Finding God On The Street, Thomas O'Brien Nov 2004

A Place Of Mercy: Finding God On The Street, Thomas O'Brien

Thomas W O'Brien

A Place of Mercy: Finding God on the Street What is it? • A series of roughly chronological snapshots reflecting theologically on experiences at the House of Mercy in Rochester, NY. The House of Mercy itself is an outreach to the homeless and poor in a medium-sized, rust-belt city. They engage in food distribution, emergency housing, advocacy and assistance with welfare, utility companies, landlords, chemical dependency, medical problems, veteran benefits etc. It was founded by Sr. Grace Miller who spontaneously began handing out surplus food to people out of the back of her car in 1985. She eventually received funding …


Options For The Poor In Twelfth And Thirteenth-Century Europe, Thomas W. O'Brien Dec 2003

Options For The Poor In Twelfth And Thirteenth-Century Europe, Thomas W. O'Brien

Thomas W O'Brien

This essay uses the lens of the "preferential option for the poor" to examine the unprecedented turn to poverty by religious movements in late twelfth and early thirteenth-century Western Europe. Three movements are selected from the many and various movements espousing poverty: the Humiliati, the Waldensians, and the Franciscans. The Humiliati developed a communal lifestyle that, in key ways, reflected the emerging urban working class. The Waldensians embraced a radical poverty that rejected all forms of property, but they were progressively marginalized from Catholicism and eventually became targets of the Inquisition. The Franciscans adopted a very similar sort of radical …


Sacred Fury: Understanding Religious Violence By Charles Selengut, Thomas W. O'Brien Dec 2003

Sacred Fury: Understanding Religious Violence By Charles Selengut, Thomas W. O'Brien

Thomas W O'Brien

No abstract provided.