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xvi Foreword sacred, an extension of the divine, creatio ex deo rather than an ex nihilo cre- ation. Religious people who have regarded the earth as expendable may have contributed to the climate crises that confronts us today as well as to wealth inequality caused by how resources have been controlled by the few at the expense of the many. How we view and treat the earth is an area where some Christians have openly drawn on Eastern concepts to rethink the nature- human-divine relationship. For example, Teilhard de Chardin’s notion of evolving toward the development of a planetary consciousness was deeply indebted to his long interest in Chinese religion, in which he saw the seeds for a reform of Christian thought.18 The concept of world theology informs this book. Initially proposed by Wilfred Cantwell Smith (1981), this argues that, when we articulate our vision for life and for the human future in today’s pluralistic context, those of us who are religious should express this in ways that also do justice to our neighbor’s faith. Humanists, too, when they articulate their values and vision, should recognize that, up until now, the majority of people have understood their humanity in ways that are “religious.”19 In the end, we should all try to answer the question, “What does it mean to be human?” by speaking together about all of us rather than individually about only ourselves. Paul Tillich argued that a characteristic of the present time was the “increasingly significant exchange between the historical religions, depend- ent partly on the need for a common front against the invading secular forces and partly on the conquest of spatial distance between different centers.” He continued, “I must say that a Christian theology which is not able to enter into a creative dialogue with the theological thought of other religions misses a world-historical moment and remains provincial.”20 This book aims to move thinking about what happens when religions meet poverty beyond the provincial while recognizing the importance of the local for any meaningful progress. Tillich frequently wrote about “Kairos moments.” These are rare and can easily be missed, but cumulatively they “determine the dynamics of history in its transcendence” and enable “extreme creativity” and actions that move us beyond captivity to tradition.21 Think Global, Act Local Solutions to poverty and other major issues that confront humanity may be best implemented when initiated and managed at the local level. Yet, the ultimate aim is to impact the globe. Global thought, though, may be better implemented from the bottom up, as more people in every locality take dir- ect responsibility for improving their communities and their lives. Thinking globally while acting locally transforms us into actors who no longer pas- sively wait for top-down policies or programs to give us a helping hand.