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New York Times bestseller God's Politics struck a chord with Americans disenchanted with how the Right had co-opted all talk about integrating religious values into our politics, and with the Left, who were mute on the subject. Jim Wallis argues that America's separation of church and state does not require banishing moral and religious values from the public square. God's Politics offers a vision for how to convert spiritual values into real social change and has started a grassroots movement to hold our political leaders accountable by incorporating our deepest convictions about war, poverty, racism, abortion, capital punishment, and other moral issues into our nation's public life. Who can change the political wind? Only we can.
Secular liberals and religious conservatives will find things to both comfort and alarm them in Jim Wallis's God's Politics. That combination is actually reason enough to recommend the book in a time when the national political and theological discourse is dominated by blanket descriptions and shortsightedness. But Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine, offers more than just a book that's hard to categorize. What Wallis sees as the true mission of Christianity--righting social ills, working for peace--is in tune with the values of liberals who so often run screaming from the idea of religion. Meanwhile, in his estimation, religious vocabulary is co-opted by conservatives who use it to polarize. Wallis proposes a new sort of politics, the name of which serves as the title of the book, wherein these disparities are reconciled and progressive causes are paired with spiritual guidance for the betterment of society. Wallis is at his most compelling when he puts this theory into action himself, letting his own beliefs guide him through stinging criticisms of the war in Iraq. In his view, George W. Bush's flaw lies in the assumption that the United States was an unprecedented force of goodness in a fight against enemies characterized as "evil." Indeed, although both the right and left are criticized here, the idea is that the liberals, if they would get religion, are the more redeemable lot. Wallis's line between religion and public policy may be drawn a little differently than most liberals might feel comfortable with, and while he pays some lip service to other faiths most of his prescription for America seems to come from the Bible. Still, for a party having just lost a presidential election where "moral issues" are said to have factored heavily, God's Politics is a sermon worth listening to. --John Moe
life changingReviewed by Kathie R. Mashni, 2010-01-14
this book was life changing for me! it was written under the bush
admin and some of the political issues are no longer current, but
the wisdom behind them is timeless.
recommended!
Don's opinionReviewed by Donald S. Weagle, 2009-12-08
Well thought out and factually documented. Does not answer the question of what to do about radical Islam. It does point out the hypocrisy of both political parties
A very flawed bookReviewed by David G. Moore, 2009-09-18
Jim Wallis has written a very important book that all Christians
must wrestle with. Christians who have discounted or diminished the
implications of the gospel for all of life need to hear what Wallis
is saying. Rightly, Wallis reminds us that the Scriptures have much
to say about taking care of the poor. Christians who have wanted to
protect the integrity of the gospel message have sometimes been
guilty of forgetting that the gospel speaks to all of life.
One ongoing frustration is the lack of clarity on what makes a
Christian a Christian. Wallis may retort that he is not writing a
systematic theology, but that would be a dodge. He is giving a
strong critique of Christians' lackluster involvement with the
poor. The least he could do is give us a clearer idea of what one
must believe about Jesus. There are times when it seems that there
is a merging of "people of faith" with Christian. Any generic
"faith" cannot be properly called Christian.
This is a needed issue Christians must address, but Wallis confuses
things rather than providing needed clarity.
Politics and SpiritualityReviewed by Stephen V. Riley, 2009-08-18
Book review on GOD'S POLITICS by Stephen V. Riley
In the book God's Politics, Reverend Jim Wallis challengers
American Christianity to a new vision for America, a prophetic
vision powerful enough to change our national direction. It is a
vision of hope that can be embraced by all faiths because it meets
an increasing national hunger for a fuller, deeper, and richer
conversation about religion in public life, about faith and
politics.
In God's Politics, Jim Wallis provides many thoughts that are worth
extracting.
"God's politics is never partisan or ideological, but it
challengers everything about politics. God's politics reminds us of
the people our politics always neglects-the poor, the vulnerable,
the left behind. ...Gods politics challenges narrow national,
ethnic, economic, or cultural self-interest. ....God's politics
reminds us to be good stewards of a rich environment, not mere
users, consumers, and exploiters. .....The values debate should be
a more complete debate about the future of our bitterly divided
nation. ........The deepening injustice of America's domestic
priorities is increasingly impossible to justify. It is becoming a
religious issue".
Jim Wallis speaks of "a political and media culture that squeezes
everything into only two options of left and right, religious
people must refuse the ideological categorization and actually
build bridges between people of goodwill in both liberal and
conservative camps. We must insist on the deep connections between
spirituality and politics while defending the proper boundaries
between church and state that protect religious and nonreligious
minorities and keep us all safe from state controlled religion. We
can demonstrate our commitment to pluralistic democracy and support
the rightful separation of church and state without segregating
moral and spiritual values from our political life."
........."Neither religious nor secular fundamentalism can save us,
but a new spiritual revival that ignites deep social conscience
could transform our society, Movements do change history, and the
strongest ones are those with a spiritual foundation. Most
important of all is the spiritual power of hope, which may be the
only thing that can finally overcome our too characteristic
cynicism. Hope versus cynicism is the key moral and political
choice of our time. This book is about the politics of hope."
Jim Wallis refers to Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi as
the great practitioners of real social change. "They knew that you
don't change a society by merely replacing one wet-fingered
politician with another. You change a society by changing the
wind".
"Change the wind, transform the debate, recast the discussion,
alter the context in which political decisions are being made, and
you will change the outcomes. Move the conversation around a
crucial issue to a whole new place, and you will open up
possibilities for change never dreamed of before, And you will be
surprised at how fast the politicians adjust to the change in the
wind. ........that's what people of faith and conscience are
supposed to be: wind changers"
Jim Wallis states there are "two ways that religion has been
brought into public life in American history. The first way - God
on our side- leads inevitably to triumphalism, self-rightiousness,
bad theology, and, often, dangerous foreign policy. The second way,
as Abraham Lincoln did, asking if we are on God's side -leads to
much healthier things, namely,......humility, reflection, and even
accountability. We need much more of these, because these are often
the missing values of politics."
Jim Wallis raises some serious questions. "How did the faith of
Jesus come to be known as pro-rich, pro war, and only pro American?
What has happened here? And how do we get back to a historic,
biblical, and genuinely evangelical faith recurred from its
contemporary distortions? How do we live a faith whose social
manifestation is compassion and whose public expression is
justice?"
........."Is fear the best foundation for foreign policy, or is
there a better response, even a moral response, to terrorism? How
do we judge matters of war and peace by theology and faith, and not
by just politics? Is there a theology of empire emerging in
America, and how dangerous is that?"?
In an era aflame with war, Wallis emphasizes that "the gospel
vocation for peacemaking has never been more important. Jesus says
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children
of God". The hardest saying of Jesus and perhaps the most
controversial is "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute
you". Let's be honest Wallis exclaims! "How many churches have
heard sermons preached from either of these Jesus texts in the
years since September 11th? Shouldn't we at least have a debate
about what the words of Jesus mean in the new world of terrorist
threats and pre-emptive wars?"
In reference to the war on terrorism, Jim Wallis reminds the reader
that "Christ commands us to not only see the splinter in our
adversary's eyes but also the beam in our own, which often
obstructs our own vision. .......To name the face of evil in the
brutality of terrorist attacks is good theology, but to say they
are evil and we are good is bad theology that can lead to dangerous
foreign policy. ......Self-reflection should provide no excuses for
terrorist violence, but it is crucial to defeating the terrorists'
agenda. Christ instructs us to love our enemies, which does not
mean a submission to their hostile agendas or domination, but does
mean treating them as human beings also created in the image of God
and respecting their human rights as adversaries and even as
prisoners"
........"The words of Jesus are either authoritative for
Christians, or they are not. And they are not set aside by the very
real threats of terrorism. They do not easily lend themselves to
the missions of nation-states that would usurp the prerogatives of
God. The threat of terrorism does not overturn Christian
ethics".
Jim Wallis asks, "Whatever became of the common good?" He answers
that common good must be a constant religious refrain directed to
political partisans whose relentless quest for power and wealth
makes them forget the "Commonwealth" again and again. That common
good should always be constructed from the deepest wells of our
personal and social responsibility and the absolute insistence to
never separate the two".
Jim Wallis pleads for a new vision in America. "When we move toward
our prophetic and democratic visions, slaveries are ended, civil
rights achieved, freedom established, and peace made. When we
neglect the vision, greed triumphs, selfishness erodes common life,
our divisions increase, our weapons expand, and our conflicts
proliferate".
"When we come closer to the vision, our practice of citizenship is
always enlivened; when we move away from it, apathy and withdrawal
grow like a cancer in the body politic. Perhaps most importantly,
when we embrace our best spiritual and political visions, the
renewal of hope is the result. When we forget the moral visions
that nourish our public life, cynicism abounds".
Jim Wallis raises the current distinction between the Republicans
and Democrats as an opportunity for an alternative prophetic voice.
"With the Republicans offering war overseas and corporate dominance
at home, and the Democrats failing to offer any real alternatives,
who will raise a prophetic voice for social and economic justice
and for peace? Never has there been a clearer role for the churches
and religious community. We can push both parties toward moral
consistency and their best-stated values and away from the
unprincipled pragmatism and negative campaigning that both sides
too often engaged in during the recent election".
........"The courage many church leaders showed in opposing the war
with Iraq is an early sign of that prophetic role. So is the
growing unity across the spectrum of the churches on the issue of
poverty. The truth is that there are more churches committed to
justice and peace than belong to the religious Right. It's time the
voice of those congregations be heard and their activism be
mobilized to become the conscience of American politics in a time
of crisis".
........"In a bitterly divided nation, we face historic challenges.
But the political "Tie" that the nation is caught in might be a
moment of opportunity. It shows that the old options and debates
have created a deadlock. This very crisis could open the way for
some new creative thinking and organizing. And that could be very
good news indeed. Our political leaders must learn the wisdom that
the way to reach common ground is to move to higher ground. And we
citizens should start by showing the way".
Jim Wallis also speaks of the blasphemy of theology being used to
bolster an ideology of U.S. moral supremacy. "The Bush theology
that is emerging deserves to be examined on biblical grounds. Is it
really Christian, or merely American? Does it take a global view of
God's world, or does it just assert the newest incarnation of
American nationalism in an update of "manifest destiny? How does
the rest of the world view America's imperial ambition? Most
important, how does the rest of the church worldwide see it? For
when the White House waxes theological, its theology will be viewed
as representative of the church".
I believe God's Politics can be best summarized in Jim Wallis'
words: "Who will sound the call to justice?"
"What if the calls for economic justice were made in the name of
Jesus- or Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah-instead of from more
ideological sources and causes? What if a more "religious populism"
began to emerge? What if behavior in the economic spheres of our
lives became the substance of adult Sunday school curriculums and
Bible study groups? And what if the hard political questions about
corporate responsibility, tax benefits, trade policies, budget
priorities, and campaign financing were coming from religious
congregations that political leaders couldn't afford to
ignore?"
Yes, I believe more Christians should be reading and discussing
"God's Politics".
Somewhat repetitive and dated, but still worth a readReviewed by Arthur Digbee, 2009-06-28
Wallis is a politically-active pastor whose work emphasizes peace,
social justice, and serving the poor. As a result, he's mostly on
the Left in political debates. Clearly, the 2004 election annoyed
him, associating religious values with the Right. This book is the
result, and it's clearly stamped by the events of 2004.
Wallis makes good points. Generally speaking, the first half of
each chapter lays out his general principles and connects concerns
for social justice to the gospel. Unfortunately, the second half of
each chapter degenerates into riffs, with repetition of earlier
themes, the wholesale inclusion of editorials or ecumenical
statements on topics, some name-dropping and stories about speeches
that Wallis has given or people he's met.
Indeed, the titles set the tone for the volume as a whole. Wallis
gave the book three titles: "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it
Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It: A New Vision for Faith and
Politics." Each title is fine by itself, but there are too many of
them. I submit that two of those would have sufficed, and that even
the third one could stand alone without loss. Much of the book is
like that - - a strong editor willing to cross out large chunks of
text would have made it better.
This would have been twice the book with half the words.
