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| God's Politics-Why the Right Gets It Wrong; and the Left Doesn't Get It | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 24 2006, 03:32 PM (138 Views) | |
| mmmaestro007 | Dec 24 2006, 03:32 PM Post #1 |
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Middle Aged Carp
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i just saw this guy on the tele talking about his new book-looks interesting,has anybody read it? http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Politics-Right-...t/dp/0060558288 God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Secular liberals and religious conservatives will find things to both comfort and alarm them in Jim Wallis's God's Politics. That combination is actually reason enough to recommend the book in a time when the national political and theological discourse is dominated by blanket descriptions and shortsightedness. But Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine, offers more than just a book that's hard to categorize. What Wallis sees as the true mission of Christianity--righting social ills, working for peace--is in tune with the values of liberals who so often run screaming from the idea of religion. Meanwhile, in his estimation, religious vocabulary is co-opted by conservatives who use it to polarize. Wallis proposes a new sort of politics, the name of which serves as the title of the book, wherein these disparities are reconciled and progressive causes are paired with spiritual guidance for the betterment of society. Wallis is at his most compelling when he puts this theory into action himself, letting his own beliefs guide him through stinging criticisms of the war in Iraq. In his view, George W. Bush's flaw lies in the assumption that the United States was an unprecedented force of goodness in a fight against enemies characterized as "evil." Indeed, although both the right and left are criticized here, the idea is that the liberals, if they would get religion, are the more redeemable lot. Wallis's line between religion and public policy may be drawn a little differently than most liberals might feel comfortable with, and while he pays some lip service to other faiths most of his prescription for America seems to come from the Bible. Still, for a party having just lost a presidential election where "moral issues" are said to have factored heavily, God's Politics is a sermon worth listening to. --John Moe |
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"Madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands, and all you can do is scratch it!" Sir Thomas Beechem, conductor | |
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| Dewey | Dec 24 2006, 04:47 PM Post #2 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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A committee that I was part of at my church helped to sponsor him for a lecture here in town a year or so ago. As a result, I ended up with admission to an all-day pre-lecture seminar with him. I was intrigued when I read the title of his book; I thought his point was that both left and right had significantly missed the boat (which is largely my own position). But as I read most of his book, I realized that with the exception of his pro-life position, he was just another voice of the Religious Left - That his real opinion boiled down to "The Right is enitrely wrong; and except for abortion, the Left is entirely right, but they just don't talk about God enough." Unimpressed by his arguments, I passed on both the seminar and the lecture.
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| mmmaestro007 | Dec 24 2006, 05:15 PM Post #3 |
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Middle Aged Carp
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interesting, sounds like he is hedging his bets on promoting the book as unbiased thanks, i think i would be disappointed if bought the book! |
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"Madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands, and all you can do is scratch it!" Sir Thomas Beechem, conductor | |
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| Dewey | Dec 24 2006, 07:49 PM Post #4 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Yes, that is the impression you'll get from most of the marketing of this book, and one thing that turned me off of it as soon as I started reading it. Don't get me wrong, there are some good things to be found in it; it's just not the impartial essay its promoters seem to want to portray it as. |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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