Coalesce Episode 3: Criticisms of Tactics (A viewer feedback show)

This week we take on some viewer feedback as we discuss last week’s episode.  Matt and Jason look deeper into the ideas of poverty and criticisms of both Christian and non-Christian tactics.

Among the comments addressed were ones coming from the “believing” side. One comment Matt received seemed to indicate that personal religious conversion would bring an end to suffering and poverty. This was subsequently criticized.

We also addressed comments about big organizations, wasting money,  are petitions useless, and grassroots efforts are the only ones that work.

Finally, we took some time to discuss the ideas that Beth Seremet, our guest last week, brought to the table regarding poverty and Maslov’s hierarchy of needs.

The free audiobook being offered this week is N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope, a reexamination of the Christian afterlife and why Christians should be engaging in social action and not sit on the sidelines waiting for a land “far, far away.”

Jason recommended, “Dancing with Dynamite by Benjamin Dangl.  (Available as a physical book or e-book)
In the past decade, grassroots social movements played major roles in electing left-leaning governments throughout Latin America, but subsequent relations between the streets and the states remain uneasy. InDancing with Dynamite, award-winning journalist Benjamin Dangl explores the complex ways these movements have worked with, against, and independently of national governments.

From dynamite-wielding miners in Bolivia to the struggles of landless farmers in Brazil and Paraguay, Dangl discusses the dance between movements and states in seven different Latin American countries. Using original research, lively prose, and extensive interviews with workers, farmers, and politicians, he suggests how Latin American social movement strategies could be applied internationally to build a better world now.

Matt recommended going to the website of Call & Response  and checking out the action steps they provide.

Websites recommend by Jason are Toward Freedom and Upside Down World

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