Gandhi brought Satyagraha to India in 1915 and was soon elected to the Indian National Congress political party. He began to push for independence from British rule, organizing resistance to a 1919 law that gave British authorities the power to imprison suspected revolutionaries without trial. Britain responded by mowing down 400 unarmed protesters and killing […]
Read More...Satyagraha literally means “truth force,” “truth” meaning a right granted by nature and the universe that should not be impeded on by man. Satyagraha was a focused nonviolent resistance to a particular injustice. A person using Satyagraha would resist injustice by refusing to follow an unjust law. “In doing so, he would not be angry, […]
Read More...He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:7 Last Thursday’s devotional about following Jesus courageously might have left some of you feeling a bit […]
Read More...It’s obvious how Jesus had a big influence on Gandhi by the way he lived and the way he worked to overcome injustice. The radical changes Jesus brought into the world could only have been possible through his great love. In fact, generally speaking, probably the greater the love, the greater will be the justice […]
Read More...During Gandhi’s stay in Pretoria, he read about 80 books on religion. He came under the influence of Christianity and took Bible classes, but did not embrace it. [1] Gandhi underwent a gradual change, reducing his wants and expenses. He began to do his own laundry and clean out his own chamber pot, often his […]
Read More...When Gandhi arrived in South Africa he was appalled by the discrimination he experienced as an Indian immigrant. On a train trip to Pretoria, he was in a first-class compartment but told to leave because he was a non-white and not allowed in first-class. He protested, producing his first-class ticket, but was warned he would […]
Read More...MAHATMA GANDHI (1869 – 1948) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was admired the world over for his nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance. This later earned him the name “Mahatma,” meaning Great Soul. In 1894 he began his activism as an Indian immigrant to South Africa. After World War 1, he became the leading figure in India’s struggle […]
Read More...Imagine being a child or a young woman, being refused the opportunity for an education. Imagine growing to adulthood not having learned the basics of reading and writing. How would it affect your life? And looking at another of the many human rights violations: Imagine being a black person, not allowed the freedom of a […]
Read More...MALALA YOUSAFZAI (1997 – ) [1] [2] Malala was born in Mingora, Pakistan, located in the country’s Swat Valley. She became an advocate for girls’ education when she herself was still a child. She attended a school that her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, had founded. In September 2008, after the Taliban began attacking girls’ schools in […]
Read More...In February 2009 I heard a series of sermons that inspired me. We were asked if we were ever moved by something—gripped so deeply by something that bothered us that we wanted to do something about it. Or were our lives too busy to notice? Do we feel that our life counts for something? Do […]
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