Ending Hunger Now
A Challenge to Persons of Faith

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Current global health statistics show that nearly a sixth of the world’s population is malnourished. And former senators George McGovern and Bob Dole have a plan to, in their words, “make hunger history.” They present their ideas in the book Ending Hunger Now, a collaborative work with Donald E. Messer, President Emeritus of Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. McGovern and Dole
 

Ending Hunger Now consists of five chapters, two from Messer who is currently a professor of practical Theology at Iliff. The two senators each contributed a chapter, McGovern’s  being adapted from one of his earlier works while Dole’s comprises a reformatted version of a speech he delivered before Dakota Western Seminary, December 2, 2002. The fifth chapter in Ending Hunger Now consists of an interview that Dr. Messer simultaneously conducted with both former senators. Presented in an interview format, the chapter takes on a conversational feeling that is easy to understand.
 

In making the case for eradicating global malnourishment, McGovern and Dole draw upon their experience as advocates for the hungry both in the United States and around the world. While serving in the United States senate, the senators were integral in establishing a school lunch program as well as a plan to supplement the women, infants, and children (WIC) who have trouble providing for their household.
 

Although Ending Hunger Now encourages all people of faith to participate in the battle against global malnourishment, the plan of action that Messer, McGovern, and Dole present seems to rely too heavily upon the United Nations for completion. While the writers support the work of such private organizations as World Vision and Food for the Hungry, they feel that the goal to stamp out hunger can only be achieved through the agricultural arm of the U.N. In Ending Hunger Now, McGovern and Dole repeatedly emphasize the need for a global school lunch program as well as a worldwide WIC that is funded by the taxpayers of United Nations constituent countries. 

Even though some governments a poised to assist impoverished individuals, the Scriptures do not indicate that a political organization like the United Nations should oversee such ministry. While lamenting the reality that government-based food programs are largely under-funded, former senator Dole says that a conglomeration of governments is necessary to eradicate hunger in our world. 

Over a century ago, missionary and humanitarian Hudson Taylor noted that God’s work, done in God’s way, would never lack His provision. Sadly, the ideology underlying Ending Hunger Now encourages people of faith to do God’s work in man’s way. And the fact that such programs lack necessary financial backing may be an indication that the incompatibility between Dole’s and McGovern’s food strategy and the Scriptural mandate to feed the hungry. The reality that many are starving is a great motivator to supply their material needs in the love of Christ. But it remains to be seen whether a multi-governmental agency is a necessary means for achieving that goal. 

Review contributed by: Shawn Cohen. When he is not reading or writing, Shawn teaches Biblical Greek and enjoys the rolling hills of Tennessee

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