Not only does author Jonathan Barker want the world to clean up its act, he’s sure Jesus would, too. Thus his book, Jesus Would Demand a Green New Deal.
Two years ago, Barker, cleric and activist, made headlines when he went on a 12-day hunger strike in order to call attention to the push by members of the House of Representatives for the U.S. government to create a Green New Deal. (Vox sees this as “an ambitious climate change solution”; “more a list of ideas and ideals than an actual proposal,” CNN cautions.)
Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Barker explained: loving one’s neighbour is at the heart of the initiative and Jesus’ teaching. “Now is the time for…Christians to stand up for the Green New Deal so that our neighbours will be protected from fires, hurricanes, droughts, and destruction, caused by climate change.”
In its review, patheos.com calls his bantam book “a narrative of how the dramatic spiritual action of one person can radically centre and reorient a community.” Its topic and stance will resonate here, but so might this: Barker is the son of a longtime friend of Nancy Steeves—they were in seminary together.
Jesus Would Demand A Green New Deal
By Jonathon Barker
amazon.ca, 2020
