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Adam Russell Taylor Three weeks ago, it seemed impossible that this Congress and this president would be able to get anything significant and lasting done to confront climate change. But this week, President Joe Biden signed major climate legislation — the Inflation Reduction Act — into law. It’s a bittersweet moment. The sweet: In late July, more than seven months after Sen. Joe Manchin III (D.-W.Va.) publicly opposed a major climate bill, Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) caught me and most of Washington by surprise with the news they had reached an agreement. The act contains the largest investment Congress has ever passed to combat climate change. Experts estimate that by 2030, the act will have helped reduce U.S. carbon pollution to 40 percent below 2005 levels. The bill will also lower health care and drug costs for seniors and about 13 million low- and middle-income Americans. The bill will be paid for by taxing more large corporations and wealthy individuals, ensuring they pay closer to their fair share in taxes. These are meaningful, hard-won accomplishments, especially for advocates and faith leaders who kept pressuring Congress, even when hope seemed lost. Then the bitter: To overcome political stalemate and partisan opposition, lawmakers cut out much of the bill’s original vision — a vision that would have transformed some of our nation’s most vulnerable families and communities. The original Build Back Better package, which had been significantly shaped by the Congressional Black Caucus, would have put in place some of the most pro-family and racially and economically just policies within a generation, creating an economy in which all American families would better be able to flourish. From the expansion of the Child Tax Credit to guaranteeing parental medical leave to child care, pre-K education, housing assistance, maternal health, and more. Weeks like these call for two underrated spiritual disciplines: lament and thanksgiving.
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Our Latest “The little one was brave,” Pope Francis said, smiling at the fact that he had just been talking about exchanges between youth and the elderly. Katelyn Beaty Explores the Underbelly of Christian Celebrity Culture (by Greg Williams) Celebrities for Jesus brings a journalist’s eye to branding, celebrity, and power in faith spaces. ‘The Sandman’ Grapples with a World Full of Terror and Grace (by Brandon Grafius) Neil Gaiman’s Netflix adaption has constructed a sort of theodicy — an apologetics for how the universe works. The Distorted Gospel of the Charlottesville Rally Keeps Spreading (by Amanda Tyler) Christians must confront the poisonous ideology of white Christian nationalism in our churches and politics. |
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From the Magazine Christians Should Resist Single-Issue Voting (by Adam Russell Taylor) The 2022 midterm election must be a referendum on protecting and strengthening our rights. |
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Exploring evangelicalism's predominantly white cultural identity and history Dr. Soong-Chan Rah joins the PEACE TALKS Podcast to talk about the persistent narrative of white superiority and the dangers of Western cultural captivity. A well-known pastor, author and speaker, Dr. Rah explores how Christians are called to give up our historical cultural dominance and embrace a greater mutuality, equality and reciprocity. Listen now. Designated Mission Co-worker in El Salvador Our Sister Parish in the Presbytery of Des Moines, IA, is seeking a full-time designated mission co-worker in Berlin, El Salvador. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. The position description, "Seeking New Mission Co-Worker," can be accessed in the Our Sister Parish Stories section. |
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