truthdig - by Chris Hedges The greatest moral failing of the liberal Christian church was its refusal, justified in the name of tolerance and dialogue, to denounce the followers of the Christian right as heretics. By tolerating the intolerant it ceded religious legitimacy to an array of con artists, charlatans and demagogues and their cultish supporters. It stood by as the core Gospel message—concern for the poor and the oppressed—was perverted into a magical world where God and Jesus showered believers with material wealth and power. The white race, especially in the United States, became God’s chosen agent. Imperialism and war became divine instruments for purging the world of infidels and barbarians, evil itself.  Details here.

Church & State -  By J.C. Weatherby  I have said for years, the Christian Right is really seeking to establish a theocracy in the US - at least throughout the deep south.    Story here.

UN warns of a "massive humanitarian tragedy." The partial lifting of the blockade of Yemen’s Red Sea ports by the Saudi-led coalition in recent days is allowing humanitarian organizations to resume the provision of life-saving assistance to people in desperate need. Given the massive scale of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, however, all this does is slow the collapse towards a massive humanitarian tragedy costing millions of lives. It does not prevent it. Without the urgent resumption of commercial imports, especially food, fuel and medicines, millions of children, women and men risk mass hunger, disease and death.

Below is a letter I submitted to the weekly newspaper, the Neepawa Banner today. =============== Dear Editor, I am puzzled by a recent column in the weekly newspaper, the Neepawa Banner by Rev. Neil Strohschein, entitled “A Christian response to natural disasters.” I find your conclusion that God loves the victims of such storms, cries out for further explanation.  Who or what is making these storms in the first place, then? Is it not God? Because the faithful believe God is all-powerful, do they not?   If it is not Him, who/what is it, then? Does He not have the power to prevent such calamities? If He does not, does that not make Him less than all-powerful?   And if it is Him, please explain to me how raining down such massive misery and destruction on his flock can possibly be an act of love?   While you do not address this following point in your column, it is one which, IMHO, also cries out for a response from the religious. It is customary in the fa

by Larry Powell Did you hear them interview Walt Cobb on CBC Radio this week about the BC wildfires?  They asked him if he thought, as the world's leading climate scientists do, that wildfires have become "the new normal." Here's his response. “I don’t necessarily agree with that. There’s always been changes…Like my wife said the other morning…this is in somebody else’s hands… God has lined up what’s going to happen. And we’ll have to live with that." So who is Walt Cobb, you ask? Some ordinary guy off the street? Not exactly. He is the Mayor of Williams Lake, B.C. (l.) That's a city of 10 thousand - now almost a ghost town. It was ordered evacuated due to unprecedented fires burning in the region. Does he strike you as a guy who has a clue about the science? I can't really see him being on the front lines of efforts to wean ourselves off fossil fuels toward more sustainable, renewable energy sources. Can you? If that is the most h

ALTERNET In deep-red white America, the white Christian God is king.  Story here.

by Larry Powell The publisher of the weekly newspaper, "The Banner" in the Town of Neepawa, Manitoba, Ken Waddell, printed an editorial before Christmas, denying a human cause for climate change. He also criticized methods proposed by federal and provincial governments to tackle the problem as "certifiably nuts." This prompted a letter of my own which challenged his conclusions. I found it odd that a person of faith, as he is often proud to communicate, could find it possible to believe in the truly fantastic stories of the Bible, yet could not find it within his own personal powers of reasoning to accept the now well-proven science of climate change. To his credit and that of the papers, my own letter appeared in the January 22nd edition, below.  Ken, I suspect that publishing this was not easy for you, as it was not the kind of letter you deal with often - touching, as it does, on both climate change and faith, the latter obviously being of great, personal

by Larry Powell  Do you ever wonder why so many people of faith, especially on the Christian right, still deny the science of climate change? There was yet another example of this in Ken Waddell's editorial, "Assessing change," before Christmas. It appeared in his newspaper, "The Neepawa (MB) Banner." As we all know, Ken has been a respected leader in our community for a long time, in journalism, politics and religion, sometimes adorning his articles with passages from the Bible. In his editorial, he refuses to accept the conclusion now long endorsed by an overwhelming consensus of scientists - that  the burning of fossil fuel by we humans is the major culprit behind our planetary climate crisis.  He even calls the federal and provincial governments "certifiably nuts" for the ways in which they've embraced the recent Paris climate accord.  No one could ever fault Ken for "beating around the bush!" And I don't ei

  inside climate   news Faith-based shareholder groups have begun filing resolutions, as Exxon faces a NY probe and rising calls for federal prosecution of its climate duplicity.   Story here.

NATIONAL OBSERVER Beginning in 2008 — at the height of the global financial crisis — the federal government spent over $20 million on Christian religious groups and schools, including $495,600 for the Wycliffe Bible Translators in Langley, B.C. and $3.7 million transferred from federal funds to “Youth for Christ” in Winnipeg. It also set up…. STORY HERE.

THE T YEE How an apocalyptic strain of Christianity guides his policies and campaigning. Story here.

KAIROS Canada Canada is a prime example of a country that is putting short-term economic interests above what is needed to achieve a livable future for all who dwell on Earth, our common home. Story here.

The Guardian Social activist ‘surprised but delighted’ to join top cardinal in high-level environment conference at the Vatican. Story here.

CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK NGOs have today welcomed Pope Francis’ strong moral case for people and leaders to tackle climate change delivered in today’s historic Papal Encyclical . Story here.

Sustainable Pulse Pope Francis slams both GMOs and pesticides in a draft of his major environmental document that was leaked Monday. He has also called for the financing of independent and interdisciplinary research to study GMOs. Story here. ALSO, READ THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER,  LAUDATO SI’  OF THE HOLY FATHER,  FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME . HERE.

World Resources Institute This week Pope Francis issues his long awaited Encyclical on Climate Change. The Pope’s message should galvanize support for climate action for the Catholic community and well beyond. It will speak not only to the 5,000 Catholic Bishops, nor only to the 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide, but to all people of goodwill who are open to the moral context of climate change. Story here.

the guardian The Koch Bros. fertilizer plant in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. PinP photo. The most anticipated papal letter for decades will be published in five languages on Thursday. It will call for an end to the ‘tyrannical’ exploitation of nature by mankind. Could it lead to a step-change in the battle against global warming? Story here.

TheGuardian The Church of England has pulled its money out of two of the most polluting fossil fuels as part of what it calls its moral responsibility to protect the world’s poor from the impact of global warming. Story here.

The Guardian Pontiff hopes to inspire action at UN meeting in Paris in December after visits to Philippines and New York. Story here.

Fossil Free Geneva, Switzerland - 11 July - The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches ( WCC ), a fellowship of over 300 churches which represent some 590 million people in 150 countries, endorsed fossil fuel divestment this week, agreeing to phase out its own holdings and encourage its members to do the same. The WCC Central Committee is made up of dozens of influential religious leaders from around the world, meaning the decision could resonate far and wide. Full story here.