PULSE 5

A COLLABORATION OF ADVENTIST ACTIVISTS

AUGUST 2024 ISSUE 5

FOUR QUESTIONS (BEFORE THE CONVERSATION) TRUMP RALLY PRAYERS EXAMINED COSTCO ODE WADJDA IS IT HOT IN HERE?

Action Creates Hope

CONTENTS INSPIRATION COLLECTIVE

3-4

THE PULSE

15-16

5-6

ORIGINALS

17

GO TO HEALTH

7

INTERACT

18

SPECIAL MUSIC

20

THE PULSE

21-22

REVIEW

8-9

path of the just /\ the age we live in

costco ode

what can be recycled?

HEART AND MIND four questions to ask before conversing

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WHO WE ARE

11-12

THE PULSE

13

REVIEW

14

INSPIRE

our brazen correspondents

gaza families /\ trump rally prayers

wadja rides through riyadh

yas queen! /\ power for change /\ snatched

podcasts we just love

walk for life /\ media warning time

right around the uncomfortable corner

humility and inclusion /\ engrafted

saving us and water bottle activism

23

GRATITUDE

24

STAY IN THE KNOW

Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5 Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5

PATH OF THE JUST But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

—Proverbs 4:18, KJV

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THE AGE WE LIVE IN —Edward R. Murrow, journalist (Written in 1951)

We hardly need to be reminded that we are living in an age of confusion. A lot of us have traded in our beliefs for bitterness and cynicism, or for a heavy package of despair, or even a quivering portion of hysteria. Opinions can be picked up cheap in the marketplace, while such commodities as courage and fortitude and faith are in alarmingly short supply.

Around us all is an enveloping cloud of fear.

The Pulse

Around us all—now high like a distant thunderhead, now close upon us with the wet choking intimacy of a London fog—there is an enveloping cloud of fear. There is a

physical fear, the kind that drives some of us to flee our homes and burrow into the ground in the bottom of a Montana valley like prairie dogs to try to escape, if only for a little while, the sound and fury of . . . whatever may be coming.

There is a mental fear, which provokes others of us to see the images of witches in a neighbor’s yard and stampedes us to burn down his house. And there is the creeping fear of doubt—doubt of what we have been taught, of the validity of so many things we have long since taken for granted to be durable and unchanging.

It has become more difficult than ever to distinguish black from white, good from evil, right from wrong. What truths can a human being afford to furnish the cluttered nervous room of one’s mind with when one has no real idea how long a lease one has on the future?

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COSTCO ODE

And they did all eat and were filled: and they took up the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full.

—Matthew 14:20, KJV

Today, my people—the people Jesus loves— are shopping at Costco.

Membership checked, we’ve entered the light-drenched Kingdom of More.

We’re sampling Finger Lake Champaign Cheddar morsels nested in tiny paper cups. We’re watching golden chicken carcasses ride a Ferris wheel to nowhere.

Our carts are full to overflowing with applesauce squeezes and shrink-wrapped Siamese twin Nutella jars. Take. Eat. Take some more. But it’s not enough.

Here you can buy a theme park for your master bath, on credit.

You can buy buckets of pain killers, boxed sets of princesses, a Rebel 4-pack of Star Wars Bobble Heads.

The crushed ice battlements of the seafood kiosk bear Wild Cooked Red King Crab legs so big it looks as if a dragon has been dismembered by retirees in hairnets and aprons.

If abundance assumes satisfaction, this is a place of famine.

But why shouldn’t a miracle happen at Costco? Up the frozen food aisle now comes a woman on her electric “Amigo Value Shopper” with a cow catcher-sized basket up front and an orange safety flag in back.

It’s been six months since her husband died, so she’s parking at the “Human Touch Massage Chair” Center. Tamara in Ugg boots knows this won’t be a sale. Still, defying risk managers everywhere, she’s hugging the widowed shopper from behind to help her swing one leg over the seat of the “Amigo” before

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hoisting her to the iJoy Active Wholebody chair for “plus sizes.” The woman lays back, as if suspended in a jar of honey shot through with afternoon light.

And if you sink into the chair next to her just to be closer, you will hear her telling Tamara how he brought her tea to bed and how he stayed up with the sick kids, no matter how late.

And you know she’s only romanticizing, that she’s forgotten the abandoned diabetic hypodermics on TV trays, his rage at her interruptions while telling stories in which he always starred. But Tamara doesn’t care.

She’s undoing the Velcro straps of the woman’s orthotic shoes with little tearing sounds like the husking of a coconut. Let it all go with your breath, Sweetie. And somewhere deep in the interior of the iJoy Active Wholebody a motor answers a remote and starts to whir, pushing its energy outward through meshes of gears until the leather pads begin squeezing and releasing.

But the woman is holding tight to Tamara’s hand.

Don’t let me go, she’s saying, until I can’t take no more.

—Craig van Rooyen. This poem first appeared in New Ohio Review and in the San Luis Obispo Adventist Church bulletin

InterAct

Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5

LET’S TALK RECYCLING Agreed: We all want to live on a cleaner, more sustainable planet (country, community, home). One of the keys to sustainability is recycling. Check your knowledge of recycling by answering the following questions. bit.ly/PulseEarthDay

Anything can be recycled.

TRUE/ FALSE FALSE. Don’t try to recycle anything smaller than a credit card. That includes straws, coffee pods, plastic forks or spoons, bottle caps. Such items are too small to be sorted and often jam sorting equipment. Hint: put plastic bottle caps back on the bottle and—voila!

—larger than a credit card.

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Know your plastics. The higher the resin code, the easier it is to recycle.

TRUE/ FALSE FALSE. Yes, in the United States plastics have “resin codes,” often found somewhere on the container.

Rigid plastics (codes 1 through 7) are recyclable.

Codes 1 and 2 are easiest. The higher the number, the more time and energy it takes to recycle. That means no “clam shells,” cracker bags, chip bags, or cereal bags. They go in the trash.

SUGGESTION: Check your community’s website for the types of plastics it accepts for recycling.

SUGGESTION: Think before you throw.

When in doubt, recycle.

TRUE FALSE

In order to be recycled, plastic have to survive the “poke test.”

TRUE/ FALSE TRUE. Plastic grocery bags, bubble wrap, food bags, plastic wrap, are too flimsy to be recycled. They should be trashed. That means that recyclables should not be placed in plastic bags for pickup. Put recyclables in the appropriate recycling bins.

FALSE. A lot of us make the mistake of “wishcycling,” optimistically putting non-recyclable items into recycling bins. Plastic-coated coffee cups, laminated paper, and bubble-wrap envelopes can’t be separated. They’re trash.

SUGGESTION: Try to avoid buying non-recyclable materials. That may mean shopping locally instead of using “next-day shipping.”

SUGGESTION: Buy a couple tote bags and use reusable containers to store leftover food.

—Stephen Chavez

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By now you have likely experienced at least

You’re a lawyer, so let’s talk law. Jesus always

one. A conversation concerning our rainbow friends, a dialogue begun with halcyon hopes and noble intentions, left you frustrated, stunned, puzzled, and disappointed.

meets us where we are. That’s the prime cause of Incarnation. In typical Jewish fashion, Rabbi Yeshua answers a question with a question to hear and confirm what is brought to the table.

Wow, you thought afterward, they really weren’t interested in listening at all. I was tossing words against a brick wall.

As a sad result, you may be tempted to abandon future discourse about LGBTQ+

The Adventist Church is not against “homosexuality.”

matters. Take heart, I’ve been there. But that was then, this is now.

Of course, the grace-filled preamble to any conversation should be, Am I more eager to be

Four on the floor We each bring our truths to the conversation

understood or to understand? How interested

table. Regarding my rainbow friends, I carry

am I in listening?

certain truths about humanity, God, justice, and

Establishing personal contexts is paramount.

love. I hold these truths to be self-evident. To

In my favorite biblical passage, Jesus is being

create common ground, these truths must be

cross-examined by a lawyer. “And behold, a

mutually acknowledged. As a result, I draw upon

lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying,

the following questions before the

‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’

conversation.*

He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? How do you read?’” (Luke 10:25, 26).

Until people recognize and resolve these four questions, they will not be free to

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discuss LGBTQ people (this is really about people—not “issues” or “problems”) with anything approaching authentic, open,

considered sinful. The official Adventist Church stance is against same-sex marriage —that’s what it comes down to. Everything

substantive depth. They will not be ready to discuss Scripture—not clobber texts, slavery, eunuchs, literalism, metanarrative, or women talking in church.

Now, I generally start with, “Before we begin, let me ask four questions.”

“First, is sexual orientation a choice?”

The follow-up is, “Tell me, exactly when did you choose to be heterosexual?” (Be sure to wait for an answer.) I readily admit that I did not choose—and I know of no one who did.

“Second, can basic sexual orientation be changed?” Your follow-up is, “How difficult would it be for you to change so that you’re attracted only to members of your own sex?” (Wait for an answer.)

They really weren’t interested in listening.

In 2013, Exodus International, an umbrella organization for dozens of “change ministries” (aka “conversion therapy”) shuttered their doors forever after 37 years and apologized for being “imprisoned in a worldview that’s neither honoring toward our fellow human beings, nor biblical.”

“Third, is this mainly about sex?”

Follow-up with, “Is marriage mainly about sex?” (Wait, again.) Nope. Marriage is mainly about connection.

The Adventist Church is not against “homosexuality.” The Church is not opposed to any orientation or temptation, or else Christ, who was tempted in every respect as we are (Hebrews 4:15,) must be

else is window and salad dressing.

“Finally, how does same-sex marriage in any practical way diminish love?” Love is the reason for our existence, the sine qua non for life. “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). Jesus immigrated to this lost and bewildered planet to demonstrate what godly love looks like.

Follow-up: “How does two people of marriageable age committing themselves in love to one another in any practical way devalue love?” I haven’t heard a satisfactory answer to that question.

Asking these four questions establishes a “How do you read?” basis for shared understanding and growth. We could also add one consideration: Do I expect others to get in 30 minutes what took me 30 years to figure out?

Naturally, we can all learn something through discussion, particularly when we’re challenged. You and your conversational partner will not agree on everything.

However, by introducing four self-evident themes—choice, change, sex, and love—you will find yourself with a better dialogue companion than a brick wall. * I am indebted to Justin Lee for this overall concept

—Chris Blake is a former pastor and communications professor

Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5

WHO WE ARE Pulse is the monthly digital magazine of JustLove Collective.

This month’s issue is sponsored by two generous anonymous donors (thank you!), edited by Chris Blake, and designed by Jeffers Media.

Unless indicated otherwise all Bible references are from the New Revised Standard Version.

CHRIS BLAKE Taught Critiquing Film and Conflict and Peacemaking at what is now Union Adventist University. He also served as an editor and pastor.

STEPHEN CHAVEZ Retired after a career as a parish pastor, then as a staff member of Adventist Review. He is Director of Church Relations for Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International.

MARCIA NORDMEYER Lives and works in Lincoln, Nebraska, and can be found in the library of Union Adventist University. She is happily married to Jeremy. They are parents to two kids who are encouraged to read banned books.

CRAIG VAN ROOYEN Is a judge and a poet living in San Luis Obispo, CA. His poems have appeared widely in literary journals and he is a past winner of the Rattle Poetry Prize and the Neil Postman Award.

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Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5

In Australia, ADRA Victoria hosted 86 families of recent arrivals from Gaza at a Family Fun Day on July 14. According to Rebecca Auriant, director of ADRA in Victoria, the aim of the day was to “share love through food, games, music and social interaction”.

ADRA volunteers and members of local Adventist churches have been supporting the families with food, furniture, clothing, and bedding.

“The Family Fun Day was a highlight to spend time with these families,” said Ms Auriant.

Hosted at the Narre Warren campus of Heritage College—an Adventist school in south-eastern Melbourne—buses collected families from the south-eastern, western and northern suburbs of Melbourne. The Fun Day featured lunch provided by members of the Samoan Adventist community, live music, referrals to legal services, and art and games for the children, as well as household goods and food that the families could take home with them.

To humanize issues that are often so far away is powerful.

One of the local leaders of the Arabic community expressed her appreciation for “an enormously successful day . . . Your humanity and generosity of spirit in giving up your Sunday to make the lives of Palestinians that little bit brighter was a

The Pulse

11

truly Christian thing to do.”

According to Pastor Moe Stiles, who worked with members of the Crosswalk Melbourne Church she pastors to organise and volunteer at the Fun Day, the opportunity to spend time with the families from Gaza was mutually beneficial. “To be able to humanise issues that are often so far away is powerful!” she said. “To engage in conversation, to hear stories of their journey, to sit and share a meal is a privilege. For Australians—whether by birth or migration—to show up like this is another way to say, ‘You are welcome here.’”

—This condensed article written by Nathan Brown appeared in the July 19, 2024 Adventist Record

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Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5

A Close Reading of MAGA Prayers To understand the evolving psychology and beliefs of Trump’s religious supporters, I attempted to review every prayer offered at his

purposes even though he lacks the faith and character of a true believer.

But this analogy seems to have outlived its

campaign events since he announced in

usefulness to the religious right: A 2020 Pew

November 2022 that he would run again.

Research Center survey found that 62 percent

Working with a researcher, I compiled 58 in

of Republicans viewed Trump as “morally

total, the most recent from June 2024. The

upstanding,” and in a Deseret News poll

resulting document—at just over 17,000 words

commissioned last year, 64 percent said they

—makes for a strange, revealing religious text:

believed he is a “person of faith.” The former

benign in some places, blasphemous in others;

president no longer needs to be described as a

contradictory and poignant and frightening and

blunt, utilitarian tool in God’s hand. “Cyrus was a

sad and, perhaps most of all, begging for

way of acknowledging, ‘I know this is an immoral

exegesis. . . .

person, but he could still do some good,’ ”

Early on in the Trump era, it was common to

Russell Moore, an evangelical theologian and the

hear conservative Christians compare him to

editor of Christianity Today, who has been

Cyrus the Great, the sixth-century-B.C.E.

critical of Trump, told me. “I haven’t heard Cyrus

Persian king who, though he did not worship the

language in at least five years.”

God of Israel himself, liberated the Israelites

The prayers at Trump’s rallies reflect this

from Babylonian captivity and helped them

shifting perception. Cyrus isn’t mentioned, but

build their temple in Jerusalem.

Trump does get compared to righteous,

The subtext was not subtle. Here was a handy biblical precedent for the “unlikely

prophetic heroes of the Bible, including Esther, Solomon, and David.

vessel”—the man God uses to fulfill his

The Pulse

—McKay Coppins, excerpted from The Atlantic online July 29, 2024, special preview of the September 2024 issue

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ReView

Wadjda (2012) 98 minutes. Drama/comedy

and a scream, but just to create a story where

(99% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) Rent/buy

people can laugh and cry a little.”

on Prime Video or Fandango at Home. Written and directed by Haifaa al-Mansour

Wadjda herself is a free-spirited 10-year-old girl. In a culture that does not approve of girls riding bikes, she longs to own her own, an

Sure, it’s the first feature-length film written

expensive green model showcased in the local

or directed by a Saudi woman. Yes, it’s also the

store. The Wadjda character is based on one of

first shot entirely in Saudi Arabia because, as

al-Mansour’s nieces and on her own

writer-director Haifaa al-Mansour pointed out,

experiences when growing up. Women’s

“in Saudi there are no movie theaters, there is

subjugation and empowerment are boldly on

no film industry to speak of.”

display throughout the film.

To stay authentic, al-Mansour insisted on

In addition, viewers experience “visual and

filming in the capital city of Riyadh. Because she

textural details of modern life in Saudi Arabia, a

could not publicly mix with the men in the crew,

place of dun-colored monotony, cruelty, and

she directed while hidden in the back of a van,

hypocrisy, as well as prosperity, deep devotion,

communicating via walkie-talkie as she watched

and poetry” observes Ann Hornaday of The

the actors on a monitor.

Washington Post.

Critics are universal in their praise.

No feature-length film had ever been made by a Saudi woman.

“Determinedly non-preachy, non-bitter and rapturously uplifting” (Larushka Ivan-Zadeh).

“With impressive agility, Wadjda finds room to maneuver between harsh realism and a more hopeful kind of storytelling” (A. O. Scott).

“Waad Mohammed as the protagonist gives

Yet those are not the only ways Wadjda is

a great performance. She’s sarcastic, funny,

exceptional. It’s a coming-of-age story about

mischievous, and sweet depending on what the

freedom and identity. It carries traditional

situation calls for” (Mae Abdulbakl).

values of growth, love, and hope. Al-Mansour notes that the original version of her screenplay

“For years, aspiring feminists had Jo March; now, we have Wadjda” (Alex Heeney).

was much darker than the final product: “I decided I didn’t want the film to carry a slogan

—Chris Blake

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InSpire

The truth needs so little rehearsal —Barbara Kingsolver

REVOLUTION

YAS QUEEN! Without community, there is no liberation.

—Audre Lorde

In a time of deceit, telling the

POWER FOR CHANGE

truth is a revolutionary act.

—George Orwell

There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.

—Margaret J. Wheatley

GAB SKILLZ

You can never hope to become a skilled conversationalist until you

STRENGTH TRAINING We are stronger when we listen and smarter when we share.

—Rania Al-Abdullah

learn how to put your foot tactfully through the

SNATCHED The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was

television set.* —M. Dale Baughman *(Update technology as needed.)

when one asked me what I thought and paid attention to my answer.

—Henry David Thoreau

—Compiled by Chris Blake

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INSPIRATION COLLECTIVE Podcasts We Just Love

A House on Fire: This Adventist Peace Fellowship podcast series is based on the excellent book on race and racism

Adventist Voices: Weekly podcast and companion to Spectrum designed to foster community through conversation

The Social Jesus Podcast talks about the intersection of Jesus, faith, and social justice today

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INSPIRATION COLLECTIVE

Red Letter Christian Podcast: Christian commentary on the way of Jesus in the world today

Adventist Pilgrimage: A lively monthly podcast focusing on the academic side of Adventist history

Just Liberty: A fresh, balanced take on religious liberty—where justice and liberty meet

Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5

Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International sdakinship.org

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Go to Health

WALK FOR LIFE

The speed at which you walk can be eerily predictive of health status. In a study of nearly 35,000 people aged 65 years or older in the Journal of the American Medical Association, those who walked at about 2.6 feet per second over a short distance —which would amount to a mile in about 33 minutes—were likely to hit their average life expectancy. With every speed increase of around 4 inches per second, the chance of dying in the next decade fell by about 12 percent. (Whenever I think about this study, I start walking faster.)

—James Hamblin, M.D.

WARNING TIME “It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.”

—U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, in June 17 New York Times

Special Music

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RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER No one can follow God and be comfortable for long.

An attractive young woman on the fast track toward a lucrative business career decided she wanted to delay her career plans to work with inner-city young people. God had been working on her heart, and she felt a real sense of calling. She was hired by a church where the ethnic mix was changing, and within weeks she was working with gang members. She successfully convinced a few of them to attend a Bible study at the church.

The church should have invited the gang members downstairs.

One night she was talking about Matthew 6:33 (“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”), explaining that if you want to be a disciple of Jesus, nothing can be more important than Him. Her words were, “If the gang is more important than Jesus, then the gang has to go. If your girlfriend is more important than Jesus, then the girlfriend has to go.”

One of the gang members was so into what she was saying that, after hearing those words, he reacted violently by throwing his arms back, yelling, “Dude, it’s hard to be a disciple!” and his elbow crashed through a window. When the church found out, they were very upset at having to pay twenty-six dollars to fix the window, and they restricted the gang members from using the room.

Here was a young woman teaching gang members about Jesus, and they

were listening. She was doing such a good job that her students understood how costly faith is. What a teacher! But all the church could think about were broken windows.

But it gets worse.

A few weeks later, the pastor accidentally interrupted one of the Bible studies. He sat down and spent a few minutes talking with the gang members. After he left, one of the guys said, “Hey, I like that guy. Let’s go to church this Sunday.” The youth worker decided to seat them in the balcony rather than with the congregation downstairs. When the minister came out and announced the giving of the peace, one of the gang members spontaneously stood up and yelled, “Hey, dude, you are cool!” The congregation turned around in shock.

After the service, the youth worker was told not to bring the gang members back to the church until they learned how to behave inside a church.

The church should have turned around and invited the gang members downstairs. They should have applauded a woman who was doing an amazing job of evangelism. Instead, the youth worker was fired. Apparently this church was more concerned about comfort than it was about a group of gang members’ discomforting search for spirituality.

Seek the spiritual life, admit your messiness, follow Christ wherever He leads you, and discomfort is right around the corner.

—Excerpted from Messy Spirituality: God’s Annoying Love for Imperfect People by Mike Yaconelli, pp. 60-61

Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5

If you belong, you don’t expect everyone to

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strong view, but being a community means

agree with you—and you understand that

open arms to people of diverse views, not

change sometimes comes slowly. Fifty years

cocooning oneself with like-minded people.

ago, hardly anyone in the church would have

Don’t forget that many Africans say, “A century

gone along with same-sex marriage. Now some

ago you came here and told us gay sex was

of the same people who used to oppose it are

wrong. Now you’re coming here telling us gay

saying we should have no time for those who

sex is right. The thing that hasn’t changed is you

still do.

still think you know better than us.” . . .

There are three ways to seek justice. One

It’s important to let people change their minds without being humiliated.

is to change the world through legislation and trust the rule of law and equality and equity and procedure and propriety. Another is to protest and denounce and march and upturn unjust prosecutions. But a third, which no one makes movies about, is to try to foster a community

I think it’s important to let people change

that models what good might look like.

their minds without being humiliated. I often say our congregation shouldn’t call itself an inclusive church if it won’t include people who disagree on this and other such issues. I myself hold a

—Samuel Wells, excerpted from “What Does It Mean to Be an Inclusive Church?” in The Christian Century (July 2024), pp. 35-36.

ENGRAFTED

“It is not your church to kick us out of–this is God’s church, and God has called us and engrafted us into it.”

—Christian Matson, first openly transgender diocesan hermit in the Catholic Church

The Pulse

Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5

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ReView

Kids and their water bottles, amiright? Visit

comparing collective attitudes about climate

any school lost and found and find a rich

change to those of the recent COVID

diversity of insulated, flexible, and spill proof

pandemic. Global beliefs about climate change,

varieties. You will also encounter every cartoon

across 56 countries in fact, found that political

and anime character and sticker-worthy creed

affiliation and ideologies were a stronger

known to humankind. The bottles seem to

indicator of opinions on the matter than

breed; opening a certain cupboard in the

education, experiences, or values.

Nordmeyer family kitchen involves a hardhat advisory. Linus had his blanket. We have our water bottles.

When my brother and I were young, I think we had a sip of water every other day and were pretty okay most of the time. If we did use a

The rest of us, on a spectrum of Alarmed to Doubtful, can be won over.

water bottle, it usually meant we were spending all day at the beach or going on a hike. Today, you won’t catch anyone in my family out and about without at least 24 ounces of potable

The author does not categorize people as

water on hand in something stylish and

climate “believers and deniers”–rather, she

refillable.

discourages such polarizing labels. She also

As I pick up the book I’m currently reading, I

reassures her readers that the loudest, angriest,

wonder if our chronic thirst and appreciation for

and most dismissive voices (Internet trolls)

the reusable is yet another side-effect of

make up a mere seven percent of the

climate change.

population. No one will change their minds

Katharine Hayhoe’s Saving Us: A Climate

about the realities and facts of climate change.

Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a

Not even her. The rest of us, on a spectrum from

Divided World opens with a discussion

Alarmed to Doubtful, can be won over.

Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5

Katharine Hayhoe’s expertise in all things

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Hayhoe shares tips and examples of how to

climate intersects with her Christian faith.

meet people where they are, find common

Having feet firmly planted in both worlds

ground, and share facts about the realities of

qualifies her to confidently confront climate

climate change without being a condescending,

theories from far-right Evangelicals who insist

elitist prick. And shouldn’t that be our goal?

that “since God is in control, people cannot

Grab a copy from the bookstore or your

possibly cause something as big as global

favorite library and give it a read, alongside your

climate change” or the absurd idea that

favorite water bottle.

“international climate cooperation is a huge step towards One World Order, so any climate change talk is a conspiracy in disguise.” Because she understands the Bible so well, she is able to use Scripture to gently provide a clearer picture of our role in stewardship over the Earth.

—Marcia Nordmeyer

Marcia's water bottle

Pulse / JustLove Collective / August 2024 / Issue 5

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Gratitude As we launch, we are particularly grateful for every contribution to JustLove Collective. Donations are tax-deductible. Though we are a global movement of volunteers, we do need to pay for expenses related to this magazine and to the Summit. For more information, please see our website at justlovecollective.org

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Heart, Soul & Mind

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