Jim Wallis
Jim Wallis
Jim Wallisis a Christian writer and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of Sojourners magazine and as the founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community of the same name. Wallis is well known for his advocacy on issues of peace and social justice. Although Wallis actively eschews political labels, he describes himself as an evangelical and is often associated with the evangelical left and the wider Christian left. He works as a spiritual advisor to...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth4 June 1948
CountryUnited States of America
The monologue of the religious right is finally over and a new dialogue has just begun. A whole new generation of young evangelicals are coming up that cares more about poverty than gay marriage amendments.
The monologue of the religious right is finally over and a new dialogue has begun.
Our choice is between cynicism and hope. Hope is a decision you make. Hope means believing in spite of the evidence and then waiting for the evidence to change. Be the ones that we have been waiting for.
God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It .
In an economy with record-breaking prosperity, it's past time to put poor people on the political agenda.
Once you open that door to a values conversation, it's going to undercut a right-wing economic agenda, which values wealth over work and favors the rich over the poor, or resorts to war as the first resort and not the last.
Spirituality becomes a commodity to be bought and sold. So spirituality has to be disciplined by social justice.
But when one believes that you've been appointed by God for a particular mission in history, you have to be very careful about that, how you speak about that. Where is the self-reflection in that? Where is the humility in that?
But here is the heart of the moral issue for many of us. Simply put, those around the world who have contributed least to global warming and climate change will be the most and first to be impacted by the consequences of it all. Sadly, it's an old story. We, the affluent, create the problem, and the poor pay the price for our sins. It is wrong, and it is a sin-ours.
The people who have more money and goods than any people in the history of the world spend most of their time worrying about not having enough.
You can't be evangelical and associate yourself with Jesus and what he says about the poor and just have no other domestic concerns than tax cuts for wealthy people.
When evangelical leaders can persuade the president to be concerned about what's happening in Sudan, or sex trafficking around the world, or HIV-AIDS, that's a very good thing. I am completely supportive of that.
I don't think we should discriminate against an organization or congregation because they're religious, if they're doing good work. But government can't subsidize proselytizing or worship or religious activity. It can't.
The great thing about social movements is everybody gets to be a part of them.