The Legacy of an Activist Career by Timothy Dalrymple Patheos 8-09-2010
Before looking forward to the future of evangelical engagement in the political realm, I want to look back at the trajectory of your career, and how it reflects the fact that there has already been significant change in the way Christians approach politics. When you left Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and founded The Post-American in 1971, the discourse on faith and politics was quite different from today. What did you set out to accomplish?
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Mosque in Manhattan by Tobin Grant Christianity Today blog 8-06-2010
Sojourners president Jim Wallis also backed the decision. "This is a very important moment," said Wallis. "Whether we allow religious freedom for Americans of Islamic faith—near Ground Zero or anywhere else—will determine our own character, the integrity of our faith, and our real commitment to the ideals that have distinguished our nation. Let's not let fear and bigotry force us to make the wrong decision here."
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Rep. Steve King: Democrats Are Like Pontius Pilate by Scott Keyes Think Progress 8-04-2010
Religious figures and groups — including the National Association of Evangelicals, Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, and the United States Catholic Bishops Conference — are also uniting behind the push for comprehensive immigration reform. Just yesterday, Rev. Rich Nathan, of Columbus, Ohio’s Vineyard Church, stated in a press conference that immigration reform is “about the only public policy issue upon which there is great unanimity across the Christian spectrum. Abortion divides us, gay rights divide us, war and peace divides us — comprehensive immigration reform unites us.” Steve King wants to ensure, however, that comprehensive immigration is politically polarizing issue.
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Racism is contrary to the Gospel by Dibin Samuel Christian Today 8-02-2010
Racial reconciliation and overcoming racial segregation must be a part of the church’s mission in the world today, says evangelical writer and activist Jim Wallis.
Wallis was speaking in a video interview with Sky Jethani of Christianity Today magazine’s Leadership blog which considered the question of whether tackling racism is part of the church’s call or a distraction from its core mission.
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Progressive Christian Weighs In on Influence of Religious Left by Lillian Kwon The Christian Post 7-30-2010 Reprints for
07-30-2010:
The Gospel Herald.
The Rev. Jennifer Kottler, an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), has no doubt that progressive Christians have had significant influence in the latest "legislative victories."
While there wasn't a lot of success in their efforts to raise such issues as poverty in the 2004 election, Kottler said that they've focused on getting more of the progressive Christian voice out there "so that it's not only the voices on the right that are getting through."
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What Would Our Nation's Founders Say? Arizona, Human Rights, Children and Mothers by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner and Mary Olivella The Huffington Post 7-30-2010
Jim Wallis said, "There are Democrats and Republicans who in the past have said they supported comprehensive immigration reform, and so there ought now to be bipartisan support for such a bill. But in the ultra-partisan and poisoned atmosphere of the U.S. Congress now, bipartisan spirit has fled the halls of power. In Washington, politics is now just a game of win and lose, and it's only about the next election; it's no longer about solving problems. But the problem is that there are children and families in the balance, and the politicians are now playing politics with the lives of vulnerable people. Those people are our brothers and sisters, they are our parishioners, and they are children of God. And the faith community has come together to say the time for politics over compassion is over."
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Calling Out the Hatemongers by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite Center for American Progress 7-30-2010
Glenn Beck is a particular focus of progressive faith activism because he has frequently attacked the idea that Christians should be committed to social justice. In March, he urged his listeners to leave their churches if pastors talked about social justice. Beck verbally attacked an evangelical pastor, the Rev. Jim Wallis, several times on his programs, and ridiculed the antipoverty commitments of , the Christian organization founded by Wallis.
Ever the faith activist, Wallis challenged Beck to learn more about what social justice really means in a one-on-one discussion. Instead of meeting Wallis head on, Beck instead threatened him, saying “the hammer is coming…and when the hammer comes it is going to be coming hard and all through the night, over and over…”
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New Economy, New Energy: Lessons from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount by Jim Wallis The Huffington Post 7-29-2010
We live in a culture that is obsessed with the new, the different and the cutting edge. Countless hours are consumed with discussing what was painted on Lindsay Lohan's fingernails during her most recent court appearance and countless more spent on the virtues and vices displayed by Lebron James' choice to leave Cleveland. Special praise is given to those commentators who can tie these celebrity happenings into commentary on the Democrats' chances in the 2010 elections. But by next week, these stories are all but forgotten and we are on to the next celebrity mishap or moral shortcomings of professional athletes.
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Mark Dever & Jim Wallis on Justice and the Gospel (Part 1) by Mark Dever Out of Ur 7-28-2010
The summer issue of Leadership features an interview with Mark Dever and Jim Wallis about the role justice ought to have in our gospel ministry. Over the coming weeks we'll be posting video segments of the interview hosted by Leadership's managing editor, Skye Jethani. In part 1, Dever and Wallis focus on whether or not tackling racism is part of the church's call or a distraction from its core mission.
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Court dilutes Arizona migrant law Al Jazeera 7-28-2010
"We would love for the congressional delegation from Arizona, and the senators there, to support comprehensive immigration reform," Jennifer Kottler, a policy director at Sojourners, a Christian advocacy group, said.
"That would address so many of the issues there."
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Christianity's three camps: the essentials by Douglas Todd The Vancouver Sun 7-24-2010
Moderate Christians have crossover heroes, who sometimes appeal to all three groups. They include author C.S. Lewis, German theologian/Naziresister Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mother Teresa, Canadian Catholic Jean Vanier, activist Jim Wallis, Pope John Paul II and William P. Young, author of The Shack.
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Odds and Ends by Tobin Grant Christianity Today blog 7-23-2010
Criticism of Glenn Beck's interpretation of liberation theology was the hottest topic on Sojourners' God's Politics blog this week.
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Disarmament battle needs faith community’s backing by Elizabeth Lundblad The Chautauquan Daily 7-22-2010
The memory of a lone little girl stepping out from behind a pile of rubble in the aftermath of Hiroshima made the Rev. Jim Wallis’ father, a World War II naval veteran, proclaim “That’s war and that’s why I hate it,” while standing outside the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C.
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Is the Tea Party unbiblical? by Alfredo Garcia The Washington Post 7-22-2010 Reprints for
07-23-2010:
Beliefnet.The Huffington Post.
The Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of the Washington-based social justice group Sojourners, is even blunter in his assessment of the Tea Party's approach to giving.
"The libertarian enshrinement of individual choice is not the pre-eminent Christian virtue," he wrote on his blog, God's Politics. "Emphasizing individual rights at the expense of others violates the common good, a central Christian teaching and tradition."
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Rev. Kottler speaks at Pro-Earth/ Tisha B'Av rally by Arthur Waskow On Faith 7-22-2010
Activists from the Gulf Restoration Network, MoveOn, the Climate Crisis Coalition, Friends of the Earth, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and Greenpeace, joined with members of The Shalom Center, Teva Learning Center, Congregation Am Kolel, Shomrei Adamah of Greater Washington, Kayyam Farm at the Pearlstone Center, Fabrangen, and Temple Rodef Shalom in northern Virginia, the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, and Sojourners, a progressive Christian magazine, to make up a spirited action-oriented throng.
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Beck's long history of ripping quotes out of context Media Matters 7-21-2010
Beck distorted Wallis' remarks on "redistribution of wealth" to attack him as a "Marxist." On the April 6 edition of his Fox News show, Beck distorted comments Rev. Jim Wallis made to claim he is a "Marxist," playing audio of Wallis agreeing that "redistribution of wealth in society" is "what the Gospel is about." In fact, in the interview Beck selectively clipped, Wallis actually discussed individuals who "transformed" their lives to focus on charity, highlighting how Bill and Melinda Gates have been "doing a redistribution of wealth" through their philanthropy.
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For Wallis, disarmament rooted in morality and faith by Laura McCrystal The Chautauquan Daily 7-20-2010
Wallis, founder and editor of Sojourners magazine, will deliver the 2 p.m. Interfaith Lecture today in the Hall of Philosophy. He has been deeply involved in the issue of nuclear disarmament since the Cold War. Along with other nonviolent protestors, he was arrested several times for holding prayer vigils at the Nevada Test Site for nuclear weapons, as well as other sites around the world.
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Anti-social justice campaigner challenged by Christians Ekklesia (United Kingdom) 7-20-2010
Evangelical social activist Jim Wallis, from the Sojourners / Call to Renewal organisation, is one of those who have most frequently been targetted by Glenn Beck.
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Odds and Ends by Tobin Grant Christianity Today blog 7-16-2010
Sojourners president Jim Wallis spoke last weekend at Lifest, a large youth conference in Wisconsin. The event was newsworthy because a local Christian radio station had pulled its sponsorship of Lifest in protest of Wallis speaking. As part of his attempt to assuage the president of the radio station, Wallis explained he had "successfully worked with the Obama administration to preserve religious freedom in hiring for faith-based organizations who receive any public funds (such as World Vision and The Salvation Army)." Wallis was a member of the President's Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The group was criticized because religious hiring issues were not part of the advisory council's agenda or report in March.
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GOP Reps. Cite The Bible To Support Harsh Crackdowns Against Undocumented Immigrants by Zaid Jilani Think Progress 7-15-2010
And while King claimed that the Bible would have us care most “about the well-being of [our] citizens,” the advocacy group Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR) disagrees. Citing Genesis, CCIR writes, “We believe all people, regardless of national origin or citizenship status, are made in the ‘image of God’ and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”
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