Wallis, God’s Politics

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Jim Wallis. God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and Left Doesn’t Get It. Harper San Francisco, 2006.

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LifeandLeadership.com Summary

Jim Wallis writes in a very clear and reasonable manner to confront liberals and conservatives and challenge the illusion that either political party occupies the moral high ground. He points out that the Right tends to preach religious values only selectively on issues such as abortion and gay marriage, while muting the moral dimensions of poverty and war. The Left, on the other hand, champions issues such as social justice but disdainfully separates religious and moral values from the public square. As an alternative, Wallis argues that Democrats and Republicans, and the country they love, the United States, should be careful to acknowledge the “logs in their own eyes,” and allow the full wealth of biblical teaching to convict, challenge, and inform public policy. This will result in a holistic link between personal ethics, civic morality, and social justice. He discusses the difference this makes on issues such as terrorism, war, foreign policy, religion, peacemaking, the environment, poverty, abortion, capital punishment, gender equality, race relations, and family values. Those who are staunchly aligned with political platforms will frequently disagree with Wallis. Although he leans socialist left and is more aware of the shortcomings of the capitalist right, on most issues he fails to fit any neat political categorization – conservative on some issues and progressive on others (thus “progressive evangelical”). But those who are not as party loyal and wish to be more transcendently informed by kingdom values will appreciate his attempt. One may not always agree with all Wallis. But one will see how an enlightened and holistic interpretation of scripture reveals a Divine will that rises above any present political agenda. At the very least, readers will be encouraged to move beyond partisan politics and wrestle with the full range of biblical witness on the issues.

From the Publisher

Conservative evangelicals have hugged their Bibles, worn their flag pins, and self-righteously attempted to co-opt any discussion of religion and politics. Liberals are embarrassed to discuss their religious beliefs in public and attempt to avoid the subject altogether. Is there an appropriate way Christians and other morally concerned people can express their faith and values in the public debate while still supporting the constitutional separation of church and state?

We’ve become great at pursuing our individual “spiritualities,” but in the process may have lost sight of the power of religious belief for motivating social reform. What we need is something akin to the social politics of Jesus: speaking out for peace, justice, the poor and disenfranchised, while speaking out against oppressive government and rampant commercialism.

Drawing on his experiences with the poor, with preachers, and with presidents, Wallis points a way for every person to draw on their faith and spiritual tradition to do their part, offering practical tips for how one can enact the spiritual ethic in their own public lives.

Wallis finds the current conservative, liberal, and libertarian options out-of-step with the desires of most Americans untenable. Wallis offers a fourth option, “The Common Good,” that would represent those who are traditional on issues of moral character, personal responsibility, sexual integrity, and family values (without scape-goating any group like single parents or homosexuals), while being very progressive on issues like poverty and racial justice. This option affirms good stewardship of the earth and its resources, supports gender equality, and looks first to peacemaking and conflict-resolution when it comes to foreign policy questions. At the spiritual heart of this option is linking one’s personal ethics to social justice.

A prophetic book, it provides a scathing indictment of American society and the skewed values our government seems to endorse and implement. A hopeful book, it offers a platform for bringing the spiritual and political together, offering an alternative to the conservative, liberal, and libertarian options currently available to Americans.

About the Author

Jim Wallis is the author of the New York Times bestseller God’s Politics, which electrified Americans disenchanted with how the Right had co-opted all talk about integrating religious values into our politics by offering an alternative voice. Wallis is a leading figure at the crossroads of religion and politics in America today, the author of eight books, and the founder of Sojourners, a global faith and justice network. He is a public theologian, an internationally renowned speaker and preacher, a faith-based activist, husband, and father to two young boys, and a Little League baseball coach.

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