| Book
Review – God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left
Doesn't Get It |
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Author — Jim
Wallis
Published by Harper San Francisco
Review by Tom Gilbert
“God is not a Republican or a Democrat.” This is a statement that has
become a rallying cry for many Christians in the past year. The United
States has experienced a lot of contention over religion and politics (the
two topics we are supposed to avoid in so-called polite conversation).
In God’s Politics the author, Jim Wallis, boldly calls
for a new way to approach political matters and flatly states that there
is a moral responsibility for the Christian believer – in fact, any
person of faith – to look closely at the messages God has sent us,
through the Gospels and from people’s hearts.
The mistake too many of us make is to assume that God is only on the
side of those who hold righteous beliefs. We interpret the meaning of
those beliefs all too often with our narrow human understanding. The
religious right has the reputation for upholding family values. The left
is often viewed as more compassionate towards the poor and minorities.
However, both sides are flawed when it comes to a comprehensive approach
to life. If we raise the question “what would Jesus do?” we
have to be honest before finding an answer. Where in the teaching of
the Sermon on the Mount (chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew) does it
say it’s ok to have an inconsistent approach to being peaceful,
loving, considerate, pure and willing to be persecuted for staying true
to this way of life?
When one is actively involved in the political process the problems
of power, prestige and property can seduce you into pushing for those
agendas that fit your belief structure. The danger is forgetting that
God cares for everyone, and if we are to take the Gospels seriously,
He especially cares for those who live in the margins of society. The
poor, the oppressed and minorities of race and creed frequently get the
short end when it comes to attention, much less funding.
Unlike other books with similar themes, Wallis is calling for a compassionate
and responsible way to approach the dilemma. According to him it doesn’t
so much matter what your political affiliation is. Any person of character
and faith should be able to spot wrongs and power abuse. It takes everyone
to build a community and diverse opinions and philosophies must be allowed.
Stating that your position is God’s position can be a dangerously
arrogant one if you don’t take God’s entire message of love,
mercy and forgiveness and factor it into the equation.
In God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t
Get It, Jim Wallis lays out the problems as he sees them. More importantly,
he suggests some viable solutions. Even more important, he encourage
us and our society and political leaders to honestly work together to
find solutions that are not readily apparent.
Throughout the book the Gospel message is the standard we are called
to measure our actions by. I agree with Wallis that we cannot pick and
choose only those things Jesus preached that fit with our agendas. Indeed,
when did Jesus become pro-war, pro-rich or a selective moralist? These
are sections of the book that address whether our spiritual values are
truly being lived.
America does need a new vision for faith and politics. This book is
an important read for anyone who agrees with that. It is not condescending
or condemning, but it doesn’t shy away from hard facts and straight
talk. In that sense it is consistent with the prophetic voices from the
Bible who were rarely popular in their criticism but spoke with the authority
of a God that is personal, but never private.
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| Jim Wallis is an evangelist
and writer. Discover more at both Call to Renewal and
Sojourners. |
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Scripture taken from the
Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright ©
1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights
reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International
Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered
trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either
trademark for the offering of goods or services requires
the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton,
IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved.
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