Focused on the 2004 presidential election, God’s Politics is a sweeping commentary on the two-party American political system. Jim Wallis believes that American leaders have a vision problem: a basic lack of vision. Therefore, Wallis recommends adopting a vision of justice borrowed from the pages of the Old Testament prophets. He believes, as I do, that our political system spends too much time, energy, and money on partisan bickering, acknowledging that every important social movement in American history (abolition, suffrage, civil rights) has started with a cause and vision capable of unifying diverse community and political leaders. Moreover, these movements were led by godly men and women who sought to live out the biblical mandate for justice in all areas of life. Wallis calls for “a new vision for the common good that could inspire us all to live lives of service and to a whole new set of public…priorities” (pg. 28).
In answering the question of how our faith should influence our political activities, Wallis writes that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans, the left or the right, have embraced a holistic vision for domestic or international justice and morality. While often focusing justly on social issues, too many Democrats have espoused a faith that is separate from their private lives and shy away from using moral or spiritual terminology. On the other side of the aisle, Republicans have often attempted to co-opt religious issues for political gain. This was particularly evident in George W. Bush’s campaigns, during which the religious right was heavily courted through appeals to a very narrow spectrum of morality issues (abortion and gay rights). Christians on the Right have many healthy things to say about personal morality, but their social decisions show a lack of commitment to the common good in terms of economics and international diplomacy. Wallis calls for a new option that would combine the more conservative moral values of the Right with the social concerns of the Left. (I would like to see this as well.)
Recently, I have been thinking about the continued disenfranchisement of America’s poor, so I am particularly interested in Wallis’ discussion of poverty and the “Burger King Mom” (pg.. 221), who is working hard and still struggling to pay rent each month. I must admit that I had never considered the context of Mark 14.7 in the way he describes it – the disciples have the poor precisely because they are followers of Christ. Concern for the poor must be a plank (or several planks) in the platform of each Christian politician, for true religion is to help the needy and powerless (James 1.27). Wallis challenges both conservatives and liberals to stop placing blame, start developing creative solutions, and take leadership responsibility for the poverty-perpetuating policies they create. Similar to Paul Marshall in Thine Is the Kingdom, Wallis calls on large corporations to move away from simple profit toward the idea of common good and highlights the connection between racial prejudice and poverty. I agree that our country has a very long way to go toward economic righteousness and that we have a great deal to learn from the legacy of leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. about how we can unite our diverse politic under a common banner of integrity and justice.
While I found God’s Politics to be a bit self-indulgent at times, I basically resonated with much of Wallis’ critique of the American political system. Many of my peers share my sense of disillusionment with our current two-party system, which seems to so often present a choice between the lesser of two evils instead of a choice for the common good. I am a bit uncomfortable with the way in which Wallis sometimes places the ideals of democracy side-by-side with God’s mandates, but I do believe that we have a useful system by which we can affect a great deal of positive change through a vision of holistic justice.

Jim Wallis' major new book is a scathing indictment of the way that conservative evangelicals in the US have self-righteously attempted to co-opt any discussion of religion and politics. And, while the Right argues that God's way is their way, the Left pursues an unrealistic separation of religious values from morally grounded political leadership. God's Politics offers a clarion call to make America's religious communities and its government more accountable to key values of the prophetic religious tradition - pro-justice, pro-peace, pro-environment, pro-equality, pro-consistent ethic of life and pro-family. These are the values of love and justice, reconciliation, and community at the core of what many people believe, whether Christian or not.

I like Jim Wallis' stories. The stories illustrate his efforts to create a shared vision. In the past few weeks since the election, I've been repeating, like a mantra, the title of Chapter 21, "The Critical Choice: Hope versus Cynicism." It's essentially a spiritual choice, but one with some structure, so let's call that religious, because unless we do this together, there is nothing left. We do this in community, with a certain shared vocabulary; it is not possible in a private spiritual bubble. I'm grateful for his persistent prophetic voice, calling us together.

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God's Politics offers a clarion call to make both our religious communities and
our government more accountable to key values of the prophetic religious
tradition.

A bit dated, but still a good perspective on what we need American politics. A worthy read for any Christian American. ( )