All the Lives You Can Change

All the Lives You Can Change, Dominic Roser, David Zhang and J. D. Bauman, foreword by Laura Buchak. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802885135) 2026.

Summary: Using the tools of effective altruism, focuses on how we may love neighbors near and far more effectively.

We want our lives to matter. And if we care deeply about that, we ask how our impact may be most effective given our time, talents, resources, and influence. That is the basic idea behind effective altruism. It is not only that we care deeply about others, but that we think carefully, even quantitatively, about our impact. For example, this book mentions the case of improving educational outcomes for African children. An agency wanted to give laptops with educational software to each child. As generous as that seems, an investment that goes much further at lower cost and greater impact is providing malaria netting to each child.

The idea of effective altruism was developed by secular ethicists. However, the authors of this book believe in many respects it reflects a Christian concern for wise and generous stewardship that loves our neighbors with both heart and mind. First of all, the authors argue that loving one’s neighbor means radical empathy. That is, we put ourselves in the neighbor’s shoes. Then, the radical part thinks beyond the normal boundaries of our compassion–across racial, economic and national lines. But the model of Christian effective altruism proposes not just giving more to more. It proposes giving better by loving with our minds. So, how do we do that?

A major concept in this book is the ITN framework. It is used to prioritize causes and select the best out of many good options. It stands for:

• Importance: the severity and scale of a problem
• Tractability: the likelihood of our actions having a positive impact on the cause area.
• Neglectedness: whether or not there are already has a lot of attention, funding and resources working on it.

The authors offer examples working through ITN for extreme poverty, climate change, religious persecution, human trafficking, AI safety, farm animal welfare, and heritage preservation. They then identify seven habits of mind by which reason and evidence become instruments of love. These include chasing after truth, relevance, numbers and evidence, and listening to empirical science, to the affected, and to God.

After addressing barriers to this kind of life, the concluding chapters of the book look at our finances, our careers, our influence, and our time. With regard to finances, they explore wise habits that free up funds to give. They note that we should not always despise “band-aid solutions.”. Sometimes a bandaid, like a malaria net, can be very effective. Strategic donations may have far more impact than ethical consumerism, which is still consumerism. Then, careers are important, 80,000 hours of our lives. They urge asking how pressing are the problems we focus on, how effective are the solutions we’re pursuing, how much leverage we can apply, and what our personal fit is. The chapter on influence offers a framework, which it illustrates with the work of Katherine Hayhoe as an environmental influencer.

There are several things I appreciate about this book. It takes living a generous lifestyle of radical empathy far more seriously than most Christians would take it. Likewise, it is not afraid to consider questions of effectiveness, and to allow decisions informed by data and not sentiment. It assumes Christians sold out on the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

One thing that isn’t addressed is Christian effective altruism and the local congregation. Many Christians devote significant investments of their time, talents, and resources to and through the local congregation. I wonder by the criteria the authors propose, whether this is effective. It’s striking that most examples in the book are outside the local congregational context. It certainly challenges congregations to think hard about their effectiveness and how it is measured.

Neither is much said about investing in the arts. It is striking how musical performances were critical to the life of prisoners of war and beseiged cities. In educational contexts, arts programs often are as important to academic motivation and success as STEM subjects. Yet these on their face may not appear “effective” and often are deprioritized for funding both in the church and the culture.

However, the book is a thought-provoking read. The personal stories at the end of each chapter put effective altruism practices in reach of all of us. It also poses challenging questions to organizations addressing various human needs. Are these utilizing the most effective strategies, or just the ones they love? Read this book at your peril. You may not look at your finances, your work, or your influence in the same way. On the other hand, Jesus says that only those who lose their lives will find them.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.