In Rethinking Charity, Ismael Hernandez explores the theoretical foundations of charity and applies person-centered insights to the practical work of poverty relief. The result is a compelling vision of the poor not as nameless victims but as free, responsible, and creative image-bearers who possess a value far greater than their need. Too much of the conversation about poverty, whether in government, among social service providers, or in churches, is animated by highly emotional conventions, trite melodramatic comparisons, and comfortable ideological cliches. Rethinking Charity offers an exciting alternative and opportunity to engage and walk alongside those in need.
"If we are to effectively engage the perennial problems of poverty in its full dimensions-spiritual and relational as well as material-then we need those who see clearly and are willing to speak the truth that they see. Hernandez sees clearly, and he is courageous enough to proclaim the truth that he sees. We would all do well to listen to him."
Jordan J. Ballor
Director of Research
Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy at First Liberty Institute
"In his enlightening new work, Hernandez masterfully challenges the conventional emotive approach to poverty with a refreshing and intellectually rigorous exploration of Catholic Social Teaching... A must-read for anyone serious about the real solutions to poverty that respect the dignity and potential of every human being."
Andreas Widmer
Director of the Arthur & Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship
The Catholic University of America
Hernandez, Ismael: - Ismael Hernandez is the founder and president of the Freedom & Virtue Institute. He worked in an inner-city ministry in Florida for fifteen years before he founded the Freedom & Virtue Institute in 2009. He regularly lectures for the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has lectured for the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Foundation for Government Accountability, and the Foundation for Economic Education. His writings have appeared in Religion & Liberty, Crisis, World, The Vital Center, the Washington Times, and Schweizer Monat in Switzerland. He is the author of *Not Tragically Colored: Freedom, Personhood, and the Renewal of Black America* and of an essay in the forthcoming *A Pathway to American Renewal: Red, White, and Black (vol. 2)*. He holds an MA in political science from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Miller, Michael Matheson: - Michael Matheson Miller is Senior Research Fellow and Chief of Strategic Initiatives at the Acton Institute . He is the Director and Producer of the award-winning documentary, Poverty, Inc. He was the founding director of PovertyCure, which promotes access to justice and entrepreneurial solutions to poverty in the developing world. He is the founder of Kallos Media, production and consulting firm, and a Distinguished Fellow at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America. He is host of the Moral Imagination Podcast and is the author of *Excluded: How the Poverty Industry Excludes the Poor from Justice and Prosperity* forthcoming from Crossroad/Herder Press in 2025.
