In 2005, Reverend Jim Wallis published a book, \u201cGod\u2019s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn\u2019t Get it.\u201d In an attempt to give you a bare bones summary, Wallace writes about how the political Right has co-opted the Christian faith; they tout it as their own and promote candidates in such a way that one might get confused and think God Herself (or Himself, if you want to support the status quo. Spoiler: Jesus didn\u2019t!) picked George Bush to be the President.\u00a0 They make it seem like voting Republican is the only option.\u00a0 They\u2019re getting it wrong.<\/p>\n
The political Left, on the other hand, barely gets it at all! There are powerful messages throughout the Old and New Testaments that reflect many values Democrats hold in esteem.\u00a0 For instance, the gospel tells us repeatedly to minister and care for the poor, so it would likely follow that tax cuts for the rich don\u2019t align with Christian values, right?\u00a0 Unfortunately, most Left wing politicians fail miserably at reaching out to Christian values voters and explaining these things.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s try another one.\u00a0 Hebrews 12:14 urges us to make every effort to live in peace with others and to be holy. And yet, if you even so much as\u00a0think<\/em>\u00a0about cutting the defense budget Republicans accuse you of being \u201cweak on defense,\u201d which is tantamount to political suicide in this post 9-11 age.<\/p>\n With a degree of level-headedness that I can always trust Jim Wallis to embody, he acknowledges that good people of faith can vote both Republican and Democrat.\u00a0 What\u00a0isn\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0fair is when Republican candidates are labeled as the only Christian option, primarily because of the two hottest button issues: abortion and gay marriage.\u00a0 My Christian faith tells me that poverty, peace, environmental issues, social justice, and above all love for thy neighbor are reasons I should vote Democrat.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Reverend Wallace phrases it better than I.\u00a0 He writes, \u201cIn particular, an enormous public misrepresentation of Christianity has taken place.\u201d\u00a0 What we need, then, is for Faithful Democrats to stand up to the Religious Right. Where is our courage? Where is our gumption?<\/p>\n Some of this hesitancy might stem, in part, from Democrats\u2019 wonderful gift of religious tolerance. We don\u2019t want to offend or push away non-Christian voters. There are Muslims, Jews, Atheists and a whole slew of people from other faiths who support the same policies we do.\u00a0 But there has got to be a middle ground. Can we as Democrats find a way to voice our Christian faith and support our Christian values without co-opting them in the name of politics?<\/p>\n I think we can. I think we must.<\/p>\n In a stroke of spiritual genius, Rev. Wallace writes, \u201cNeither religious nor secular fundamentalism can save us, but a new spiritual revival that ignites deep social conscience could transform our society.\u00a0 Movements do change history, and the strongest ones are those with a spiritual foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n So unfortunately, seven years later, the book \u201cGod\u2019s Politics\u201d more or less still stands. But it is my hope that in the coming decade we will figure out a way to implement the Politics of God in a system where the poor are uplifted not demonized, where peace is the goal of leaders worldwide, and where we act as stewards of the Earth we\u2019ve been given.<\/p>\n As always, follow me on Twitter at @MissAnalytical or shoot me an email at church.jessicarae@gmail.com<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 2005, Reverend Jim Wallis published a book, \u201cGod\u2019s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn\u2019t Get it.\u201d In an attempt to give you a bare bones summary, Wallace writes about how the political Right has co-opted the Christian faith; they tout it as their own and promote candidates in such […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[295,293,294],"class_list":["post-1096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c17-featured-writers","tag-gods-politics","tag-jessica-church","tag-jim-wallis"],"yoast_head":"\n