Climate Justice Requires Christian Advocacy Climate change is already negatively impacting physical, biological, and human systems around the world. That we allow further greenhouse gas emissions is an injustice – especially since those most vulnerable to climate change are already socially and economically marginalized. Religious organizations have traditionally engaged climate care by promoting individual or…
In the past few months, an increasing number of Canadians have called for government action in response to the urgent Syrian refugee crisis. While communities and individuals are stepping up to assist by participating in private sponsorship, barriers remain, both in terms of the numbers of refugees coming to Canada and in the supports available…
From the Catalyst, Summer 2015
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate
By Naomi Klein
Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2014
Reviewed by Karri Munn-Venn
Author and activist Naomi Klein has done it again. This Changes Everything, is at once thick with academic research and deeply grounded in human narrative. It is a profoundly personal account of coming to understand that climate change is the issue of our time.
From The Catalyst, Summer 2015
Our Only World: Ten Essays
By Wendell Berry
Counterpoint, 2015
Reviewed by Janelle Vandergrift
Before reading it, I assumed Our Only World would focus solely on climate and environment issues. Instead, Wendell Berry weaves an analysis of today’s social and environmental issues as one in the same.
From The Catalyst, Summer 2015
Glorious and Free
By Bryce Dymond
FriesenPress, 2015
Reviewed by Naomi Kabugi
Bryce Dymond reminds the reader that poverty is not entirely an issue for developing countries nor does one need to travel outside Canada to see it. Child poverty is a reality in Canada. The cycle of child poverty is a result of, among many other things, abusive homes, addictions, bullying, and mental illness. The story of Glorious and Free invites the reader to contemplate child poverty with an action plan not just to raise awareness about it, but to also contribute to programs that work towards eliminating child poverty in Canada.
From The Catalyst, Summer 2015
Canada is known for its welcoming policy for newcomers, but with over 50 million displaced people around the world, private sponsors are taking on more work as the federal government starts backing away. Churches or church-connected organizations represent 72 per cent of Sponsorship Agreement Holders. This puts them in a position to advocate to the government on behalf of refugees.
From The Catalyst, Summer 2015
I wish everyone could have had the opportunity to visit those eight cities, participate in the 15 events, and meet with the hundreds of Christians and people of goodwill that came out to these events. I wish you all could have heard the creative ministry and passionate advocacy that is being done all across the country.
From The Catalyst, Summer 2015
Live Justly
By Jason Fileta, Ronald J. Sider, Eugene Cho, Kimberly McOwen Yim, Shayne Moore, Rene Padilla, Nicholas Wolterstorff, and Sunia Gibbs
Micah Challenge USA, 2014
Reviewed by Monique Verhoef
I grew up on a steady diet of the phrase “where the rubber hits the road.” I recall it being used to say “let’s get real” or “now we are talking about what really matters.”
Micah Challenge’s book Live Justly is a “rubber hits the road” kind of book for those seeking to find traction in how to live out biblical justice as an integrated part of their daily lives. It is deeply rooted in scripture and the core beliefs that God is sovereign over all and that God loves justice. This book engages diverse learning styles to move the reader to consider living justly as an integrated act and expression of the love of God.
From The Catalyst, Summer 2015
Resisting Structural Evil: Love as Ecological-Economic Vocation
By Cynthia Moe-Lobeda
Fortress Press, 2013
Reviewed by Joe Gunn
In May last year, I co-taught a week-long course from the CPJ offices in Ottawa on “public theology” (offered by Waterloo Lutheran Seminary). We took students to visit theAssembly of First Nations and environmental groups, organized panels of Parliamentarians, interviewed Senators, and brought in speakers on topics from ethical issues in healthcare to tax policies. Resisting Structural Evil would have been the perfect textbook from which to base all our sessions.
From the Catalyst, Summer 2015
Fighting Over God: A Legal and Political History of Religious Freedom in Canada
By Janet Epp Buckingham
McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2014
Reviewed by Kathryn Teeluck
In Fighting Over God, Janet Epp Buckingham offers a fascinating exploration of the historical role of religion in Canadian political life.
She begins her analysis by examining the status of religion before Confederation when religion, particularly Christianity, held a prominent role in every aspect of society.