Ever the Prophet, Never the King

[Valin]

The American

 

Jim Walliss new book asks readers to consider what each side of the political aisle gets right and to recall an ancient religious commitment to the common good.

Josh Good

May 23, 2013

 

Rather than focusing primarily on questions about the Right and Left, Jim Walliss new book, On Gods Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasnt Learned About Serving the Common Good, asks readers to go deeper and to recall the ancient religious commitment to the common good. In the immortal words of President Lincoln, we should ask not whether God is on our side, but instead seek to be on Gods side.

 

Wallis asks his readers to consider what each side of the political aisle gets right. For conservatives, it is the idea of personal responsibility, which he has witnessed in his own family and sees as an essential ingredient to helping men and women overcome poverty. It is right and good, and part of the common good, to emphasize such a conservative ethic in making good personal choices.

 

Similarly, the best liberal idea is social responsibility. This value expresses itself through compassion, a politics of inclusion, and our efforts to end poverty, Wallis says. We will do better as a nation if we attempt to see the good in one anothers positions not demonize our opponents.

 

Wallis encourages his readers to consider the power of social movements rather than politics alone to achieve the common good and to address the major problems of our time, whether through strengthening marriage or confronting the horrors of sex trafficking. (Some of his best insights about the priority of social movements can be viewed here.)

 

(Snip)

[righteousmomma]

Two, faith is not merely tied to sexuality, as Wallis says the traditional “religious right” once claimed; it also has implications for the poor and vulnerable. When “conservative think tanks now speak of a Christian concern for the poor and invoke the term ‘social justice,’” something is going right, Wallis says.

What the hay is he talking about??

[Valin]

 

Two, faith is not merely tied to sexuality, as Wallis says the traditional “religious right” once claimed; it also has implications for the poor and vulnerable. When “conservative think tanks now speak of a Christian concern for the poor and invoke the term ‘social justice,’” something is going right, Wallis says.

What the hay is he talking about??

 

 

It could be this....Wallis is a man of the Left, and according to the Left the religious right is hung up on matters of sex and sexuality.

[Valin]

American Enterprise Institute Event

 

Competing visions of the common good: Rethinking help for the poor

Event Summary

 

How should people care for their neighbors and serve the "common good?" An elected official, a theologian, and a think-tank president gathered at AEI on Thursday to discuss competing answers to this ancient, enduring question. Jim Wallis, author of the newly released book "On Gods Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn't Learned about Serving the Common Good," argued that polarization in the US capitol is destroying the common good, perhaps more than ever before. He stressed that organizations from all sectors should

, and called for political leaders and citizens to go "not left or right, but deeper."

 

Rep. Frank Wolf encouraged policymakers on both sides of the aisle to approach issues regarding the poor with the kind of faith and conviction that has animated the Judeo-Christian tradition for millennia. He emphasized that elected leaders should attempt to regain the trust of American communities by pursuing common-sense policies in areas that serve the vulnerable, calling particular attention to hunger, religious persecution, human trafficking, and prison reform.

 

AEI President Arthur Brooks concluded the discussion by

, since the failure to do so will ultimately lead to austerity measures that will hit the poor the hardest. Alternatively, by strengthening the free enterprise system, said Brooks, we can maximize human liberty, increase opportunity, and provide the best life for the most people.

 

(Snip)

 

 

(Click On Link For Vid)