 QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
When I feed the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why so many people are poor they call me a communist.
- Dom Helder Câmara, late archbishop of the Brazilian diocese of Olinda and Recife. Wednesday, Oct. 13 was the 10th anniversary of his death. (Source: Guardian)
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Put Poor People on the Climate Change Agenda
Last week, a group of senators, many in the leadership of the majority Democratic Party, asked for a meeting with a small group of interfaith religious leaders. Their topic: climate change. The Senate now has a bill that will soon be up for a vote and the 10 senators wanted our feedback -- and also our support. I was asked to say a few words. Here is what I said:
Thanks for the invitation. You have, I am sure, heard us speak about creation care as the commitment we have to the environment. Most of us believe that human-caused climate change is a threat to God’s creation. Religious leaders actually do listen to scientists, and they are telling us that the pace of climate change is all happening even faster than expected. A good climate bill could signal a whole new direction and could even be a “three-for.”
- It could protect the environment and begin to slow and eventually even reverse the dangerous and deadly impact of climate change.
- It could create important and meaningful green energy jobs, many of which could be an opportunity for low-income and undereducated people, and also be good paying work.
- It could change our foreign policy, which has been dominated by successive wars over oil. This could begin to decrease our dependency on foreign oil.
But here is the heart of the moral issue for many of us. Simply put, those around the world who have contributed least to global warming and climate change will be the most and first to be impacted by the consequences of it all. Sadly, it’s an old story. We, the affluent, create the problem, and the poor pay the price for our sins. It is wrong, and it is a sin -- ours.
Yet the amount of money to help poor people and countries mitigate or adapt to climate changes being proposed in this legislation is not nearly enough (through the emissions “cap and trade” penalties that wealthy countries would have to pay). The numbers are not clear yet in your bill, but the amount of funds directed toward “adaptations” for the poorest countries in the House bill (which came before the Senate bill) is pitiful -- really pitiful. It is wholly and woefully inadequate.
This is such an important issue for us that some in the faith community are considering not supporting this bill at all. They have called me to say that they might not support the final bill unless you do much better in the Senate. So if you hear anything from us today, hear that. Your Senate bill must do better -- much better -- for the poorest of God’s children.
There are always concessions and money for other important constituencies -- all more powerful than poor people. The bill is full of those concessions to other special interests. I know you say you don’t have the votes. And we know that the global poor are not on the agenda of U.S. domestic politics. But they are on God’s agenda, and therefore on ours. And we ask you today to put the global poor back on the agenda of this climate bill.
If you do, we will help you commend it to the American people -- including the people in our faith communities. But the poorest of God’s children will have to be included in the results of any bill worthy of our support.
After expressing concern and some consternation, and after giving advice to “not make the perfect the enemy of the good,” the senators said they would immediately go back to their offices and staffs to try and do “better.”
| BUILDING A MOVEMENT |
Bring an End to Genocide
After the horrors of the Holocaust, the world said, “Never again.” But the blight of genocide remains in our world today. In Darfur, estimates of the death toll at the hands of the Sudanese government-armed militia range from the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. And the conflict continues.
Can’t stand one more report of mass killings? Then come to Washington, D.C., in three weeks, and join Save Darfur Coalition, The Enough Project, and more than 1,000 students, activists, and community leaders for Pledge2Protect, a conference dedicated to empowering people to lead in the fight against genocide around the world.
Even if you can’t come to D.C., visit Pledge2Protect to learn how you can make a difference in bringing peace to Sudan and stopping genocide around the world.
| ON THE GOD'S POLITICS BLOG |
+ See what's new on the blog of Jim Wallis and friends
A Moral Mandate for Financial Reform
by Rachel Anderson
After all the financial turmoil that 2009 has already brought, one would think that it would somehow be logical and practical to bring accountable reforms to the same banking institutions whose reckless practices brought about our current recession.
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Adam Smith Meets the Rich Young Ruler: Health Care and the Common Good
by LaVonne Neff
All other developed nations have set up systems that insure all their citizens, that spend less per capita than we do, and that have better outcomes in almost all categories. Why are Americans still lagging behind? Ethicist Daniel Callahan diagnoses our problem in the most recent issue of Commonweal magazine and comes to this conclusion: we suffer from "the absence in this country of a solid common-good tradition."
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Love Casts Out Fear, Not Immigrants
by José Morales
I am convinced that "white" is a political designation, not a cultural one. I am even suspicious of the intention of some white liberals who, by using "diversity" and "multicultural" language, are really attempting to maintain cultural control in the guise of diversity "management." This cultural control avoids the real task at hand: de-white-supremafication.
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'Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion': Interview with Frank Schaeffer
by Becky Garrison
It seems to me that the various New Atheist priests, prophets, and gurus have one thing in common with religious fundamentalists: They are old-fashioned literalists. There must be a better way than navigating between an indifferent universe and a Disney "god" of canned, happy evangelical endings.
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Dan Brown's Lost Symbol and the Lure of Secret Knowledge
by Phil Haslanger
Among the early Christians, there were groups that thought only they had access to the true message of Jesus. It's not only Christian groups that like to latch on to secrets. But what struck me is how antithetical that is to the way the Gospels describe Jesus' work.
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Happy Anniversary, Afghanistan
by Sheldon C. Good
President Obama is considering an increase of 40,000 troops, as Gen. Stanley McChrystal has recommended. According to House Appropriations Committee Chair David Obey (D-WI), an increase would propel the cost of the war to almost $1 trillion over the next decade.
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The 'Other' Chicago: A New Tale of Two Cities
by Helene Slessarev-Jamir
We cannot look at the horrible video footage of Derrion's beating without acknowledging that it is symptomatic of the anger and frustration in the hearts of young people who remain trapped behind the invisible barriers that run through many of America's cities.
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A Nobel Prayer
by Jim Wallis
Even if those are all just words so far, they are very hopeful and very welcome words to most of the world. But ah -- not to Obama's critics! You see, it's not that they just think the award is premature, because he has only offered words and not many deeds; it is that they are totally against the intent and commitments of Obama's words.
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Surprises in Zimbabwe
by Nontando Hadebe
My brief visit to Zimbabwe had a few surprises, such as availability of basic foodstuffs instead of empty shelves in supermarkets.
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What Does Big Government Have to do with Jesus?
by Lisa Sharon Harper
"I'm here to stand up for Jesus," said the anti-health reform protester to a CNN correspondent. "Government is getting too big." What does big government -- or small government, for that matter -- have to do with Jesus?
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Speculating on Obama's Peace Prize Perspective
by Edward Gilbreath
It's a great honor and all, but I really don't need this right now. I've got wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- not to mention nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea. Man, don't they know I've still got health-care reform and the economic downturn to figure out at home? And on top of that, this will just be more fodder for all the haters who want to see me fail no matter what.
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Columbus in Reverse: 'Travel as a Political Act'
by LaVonne Neff
Steves's message is simple: Go to other countries. Listen to the people who live there. Learn other ways of seeing and doing that you might not have considered before. Some of these ways are better than the ones we're used to. Some could help us make our country a better place.
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Video: Why Are We Working on Columbus Day?
by Ed Spivey Jr.
Of course, the Cubans at the time didn't feel they needed to be discovered, since they were pre-existing and were just going about their business until this little man with a little sword walked ashore and declared them all Catholic. This surprised the natives, most of which were Presbyterians.
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Growing the Beloved Community in Spite of Sinful Soil
by Efrem Smith
This reality of the segregated church continues for two reasons. One reason is, many are in denial that the Christian church in this country was planted in a soil of race and racism.
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Why Celebrate Columbus Day?
by Randy Woodley
So why do Americans celebrate Columbus Day? Perhaps it is because this holiday is foundational to establishing the American myth that Western European exploration, technology, science, governance, religion, etc. are all superior to the cultural contributions of the rest of the world -- but that is just not true.
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Critics on Our Left, Meet the Critics on Our Right
by Ryan Rodrick Beiler
Every now and then someone to our right or left posts an article excoriating Sojourners or Jim Wallis for not being _____ enough, infuriated that we still claim to be _____ even though we're really just _____. You may want to play along with this Mad Libs game at home. The comments on this blog often do, filling in those blanks with terms like "conservative," "liberal," "evangelical," "progressive," "pro-life," "pro-abortion," "anti-abortion," "pro-gay," "anti-gay," "radical socialist," "closet conservative," "Obama shill," and "White House hijacker" respectively, depending on whether it's the right or left wing that's doing the flapping.
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Video: Colbert on Conservapedia's Bible Translation Project
by Ryan Rodrick Beiler
Stephen Colbert, "a huge fan of the Bible," offers a conservative update of Matthew 5:5, "The meek shall inherit the earth if we can repeal the federal estate tax. Seriously. 45 percent for estates over 3.5 million? Spareth me."
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Is Obama's Peace Prize Premature?
by Valerie Elverton Dixon
The Nobel Committee awarded its 2009 Prize for Peace to President Barack Obama. He had been in office for only a few weeks when the nominations for the prize closed. He has been in office less than a year upon receiving this honor. The question: Is the prize premature?
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| SOJOURNERS IN THE NEWS |
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Top Stories:
Justice Revival's Dallas effort could affect many
The Dallas Morning News
On Tuesday, the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners Fellowship in Washington and Dallas religious leaders announced plans for a November "revival." This isn't an altar call affair, the kind with a tent in a park. Rather, the effort will be sustained over time by people of faith who want to deal with poverty in Dallas without partisan divides sidetracking them. +Click to continue
Point Person: Our Q&A with Jim Wallis
The Dallas Morning News
I got excited about Justice Revival after reading more about the social movements led by William Wilberforce and other religious leaders and how they shaped their times. Social movements are a way to engage the issues of justice without engaging in partisan politics. And they have not succeeded without the support of religious folk. Charles Finney used altar calls to sign people up for the anti-slavery campaign. +Click to continue
Christians response to Obama's win of the Nobel Peace Prize
Examiner
"Sojourners in the news" articles are the most recent news clippings that mention Sojourners in any way - whether favorably or unfavorably. Though we provide the text on our site for your convenience, we do not necessarily endorse the views of these articles or their source publications. |
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