Has anyone read "God's Politics" by Jim Wallis? It is an excellent book and very thought provoking. I highly recommend it.
I'd like to hear your thoughts both for and against.
Thanks,
Tim
"God's Politics" by Jim Wallis
Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by tenor, Sep 20, 2005.
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Sound's interesting.
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It's a fascinating book that carries the subtitle: "How the right gets it wrong and the left doesn't get it."
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LOL
No I haven't read it but it does sound interesting. -
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Let me give you a breif summary: A lesson to liberals Democrats on how to convince Jesusland that they don't really hate Christians and that they have some sense of morality. I predict that this book may catch on eventually with the Democrats, but not anytime soon with the majority from the looney left.
Joseph Botwinick -
Regards,
BiR -
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Is this because Wallis actually believes the Bible is about justice and not political control?
Wallis also takes the teachings of Jesus literally and believes that morality is mainly about how we treat "the least of these" and not following a set of legalistically applied rules.
Hope you enjoy the book when you read it.
Tim
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I heard Wallis on C-SPAN's Washington Journal a while back. I would categorize him as a member of the Religious Left.
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You are defining him by your politics. I too am the Religious Left when compared to some on this board. You should read the book, Ken.
Regards,
BiR -
There is more to be concerned about then abortion and gay marriage for people of faith. Poverty, justice and human well-being (health care, housing, education, etc.) should are equally, if not more important issues for people of faith.
My summary of the book.
Note: this is especially true since Jesus said nothing directly about either abortion or homosexuality, but tons about poverty, justice and human well-being. -
I have never understood why Christians want to defame all those people with the surname Gay by referring to homosexuals as gay. -
They want to focus their morality on poverty and "justice" for criminals and terrorists (as if justice and poverty were exclusively liberal issues), while ignoring justice for the unborn.
Joseph Botwinick -
They want to focus their morality on poverty and "justice" for criminals and terrorists (as if justice and poverty were exclusively liberal issues), while ignoring justice for the unborn.
Joseph Botwinick </font>[/QUOTE]:confused:
HUH?
Have you read this book, Joseph? -
No I haven't. But I have watched interviews with him and listened to him talk about his ideas. Have you read his book? Tell me...does he want to overturn Roe someday? Or, does he, like Clinton, wish to make them "safe, legal, and rare"? Or, is he throwing the one out there about not turning abortion into a political issue? Come on. This is nothing but a liberal con man. The only good thing about him is that he is not gonna be accepted by the power structure of the current Democrat Party which is the looney left.
Joseph Botwinick -
They want to focus their morality on poverty and "justice" for criminals and terrorists (as if justice and poverty were exclusively liberal issues), while ignoring justice for the unborn.
Joseph Botwinick </font>[/QUOTE]:confused:
HUH?
Have you read this book, Joseph? </font>[/QUOTE]This is not what Wallis says at all.
I recommend reading this book, really reading it, before commenting about it. -
Pass. No need to read a book by a liberal trying to pretend that he has moral values.
Joseph Botwinick -
Try reading the book before passing judgement. If you refuse to do so try to keep your uninformed opinions, (of the book), to yourself and let others hold an intelligent discussion.
On another note, the premise of the book is quite interesting, and I am looking forward to reading this book. -
With Poverty increasing in this country to 12.7%(37,000,000)
and the how our country was revealed to the world
with the aftermath of Katrina. I think POVERTY
is front and center now , it has been ignored far
too long.
Sincerely
Aslanspal
As for the book look forward to the book reports ;) ..what does amazon reviews have to say?
Lets see if I can get one review for ya ;)
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
A Very Timely Book, September 14, 2005
Reviewer: Danny Stoll (Acworth, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
As a Christian, I have become increasingly troubled by the direction of conservative Christianity in America. Christian leaders seem blindly willing to sell their integrity and their witness to a political party that largely ignores 95% of the Biblical message, all it seems for the sake of political power. I have also been less than enamored by the political left which seems to ignore the importance of faith in people's lives. When I saw a television interview with Jim Wallis, I was so taken with his thoughtful and refreshing approach to faith and politics that I purchased this book. I was not disappointed.
Reading God's Politics has made me so much aware of how I can be a part of the solution rather than just a sideline observer or complainer. I would describe this book as my Tipping Point. When I read the Bible now, I hear the voice of the prophets calling for compassion and justice, calling for protection of the poor and disenfranchised, pleading for me to love justice and mercy and to walk humbly with my God.
I don't think that all of society's ills can be solved by throwing money into social programs. I do recognize that many unintended consequences can and do occur when government attempts to address imbalances in the social system with no acknowledgment that the underlying root causes also need to be addressed. Importantly, this is not what Mr. Wallis is suggesting.
Instead, Mr. Wallis is advocating for true and wise leadership from the highest levels of our government, for leaders who represent ALL Americans. We need a just system of taxation, a comprehensive approach to poverty and education, a sincere approach to environmental protection and health care, a willingness to treat the world community with respect and to lead by example, and a common decency and respect for other points of view. This does not mean that government is the only solution. However, Katrina has demonstrated that government must be a part of the solution, an important part. We need wise leaders to get us there.
It is my hope that this book will be the Tipping Point for others as well.
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