摘要
A prominent evangelical pastor offers a provocative political and socialmanifesto for all Americans who yearn for more spirit-centered politics but arefed up with the Christian Coalition.Most people across the political and religious spectrum agree that our countryis facing a moral and spiritual crisis, and that restoring values to ourpublic policies and discourse has become a critical issue. But while theReligious Right have taken it upon themselves to represent Christian values, their ideas are actually counter both to the teachings of the scriptures andthe historical tradition of evangelical activism, according to Jim Wallis. Who Speaks for God? is his cogent, compelling alternative vision forinfusing a sense of meaning and value into current politics, built around theprinciples of Compassion, Community, and Civility. According to the prophets, COMPASSION--treatment of the poor, the vulnerable, the weak, the children--isthe virtual measure of a nation's righteousness. Whether it builds or destroys, COMMUNITY is the second test of a nation's character, and CIVILITY--thecharacter of political discourse, such as the politics of blame so oftenutilized by the Religious Right--is the last means of assessing a nation. Theseprinciples used together, according to Wallis, will not only adhere to basicChristian doctrine, they will transform our country.Provocative, intelligent, and sure to spark debate, Who Speaks for God? is a call to arms for re-evaluating and radically reworking today'spolitical and social culture.
出版社周刊评论
Wallis (The Soul of Politics, 1994), editor of Sojourners magazine, calls upon Americans to forge a "new spiritual politics beyond the old categories of Left and Right, liberal and conservative." Although he opens each chapter with quotes from Christian Coalition president Pat Robertson as examples of destructive, ideological religion, Wallis also chastises liberals, Democrats and groups like Act Up for contributing to the "impoverishment of American politics." While admonishing us to remember that God, not any self-appointed ideologue, speaks for God, Wallis calls for a spiritually based, not ideologically driven, politics tested by compassion, community and civility. Appendices contain the 1995 "Call for Renewal," written by the Christians for New Political Vision, a group composed of evangelicals, Catholics, mainline Protestants and African American church leaders, which articulates clearly the call for a political vision renewed by spiritual wisdom. Infused with hope, Wallis's book is a refresher course in how religious faith can be brought into accord with citizenship and democracy. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus评论
What right has Pat Robertson to speak for America's Christians? A prominent activist, preacher, and editor of Sojourners magazine repeats his call for a religious vision of politics that goes beyond the current polarization of left and right. Wallis (The Soul of Politics, 1994) believes that many Americans genuinely want to see politics renewed by a sense of personal values and responsibility but do not want to give up the equally biblical imperative for social justice. Although he criticizes the Democrats for a lack of moral imagination, much of his book is an attack on Pat Robertson and the Christian Coalition. He traces the way in which the religious right has successfully promoted itself as the voice of Christianity in this country, in spite of the fact that its leaders do not talk much about the teachings of Jesus and the Hebrew prophets. Wallis reminds us that the Bible consistently rebukes the rich and powerful for their neglect of the poor, and that evangelical Christians in the last century were leaders in the abolitionist movement and advocates for the poor. Although he speaks as a Protestant, Wallis admires the coherence of Catholic social teaching, in which opposition to abortion goes hand in hand with insistence on society's duty to care for the disenfranchised. Wallis's own political vision includes compassion for the poor, a renewed sense of community, and a new civility in public discourse. Although he is hard-hitting in his denunciations, he is not always as clear or specific in his proposals. On abortion, Wallis favors legal restrictions, not recriminalization, and the creation of a climate in which abortion would become ``less thinkable.'' He supports legislation to strengthen the family and also to protect the rights of homosexuals. He concludes with a policy statement that has been endorsed by over 80 Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox church leaders. Cogent and well written, Wallis's call for action deserves to be heard.
《书目》(Booklist)书评
One of the many quotable things Wallis says expresses well his motivation for writing this book: "We are paralyzed by the politics of false choices and we need a fundamentally new approach." Those false choices, he asserts, are the ones ordinary, liberal-conservative, Left-Right politics poses between personal responsibility and social justice, good values and good jobs, strong families and strong neighborhoods, sexual morality and gay rights, the sanctity of life and women's rights, cultural renewal and the expunging of racism. We can and should choose both members of those pairs, Wallis avers, and if we hold American political behavior to the standards of showing compassion for the poor, fostering community integrity, and maintaining civility of discourse, we can re-create politics to minister to the problems of all citizens. Writing first out of alarm at the Christian Coalition's media-abetted co-option of evangelical Christianity--his brand of faith--Wallis forges the manifesto of a new, nonpartisan, religious impetus in American politics. Inspiring. --Ray Olson
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
Wallis, a founding editor of Sojourners Magazine, observes that if one were to ask people on the street what they understood by "evangelical Christian" they would more likely than not name the Christian Coalition, the Religious Right, and people such as Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed. But there are many evangelical Christians whose beliefs are not represented by these groups and their leaders. Wallis offers a well-written, helpful critique of the positions of the Religious Right as articulated by Robertson and Reed. In view of the upcoming elections and the role of the Religious Right, his book is very timely.John Moryl, Yeshiva Univ. Libs., New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
摘录
The topic of politics and religion is in the air; everybody is talking about it--from Reader's Digest to Rolling Stone. The central concern today is the "values crisis," or what Senator Sam Nunn described as a "deficit of the soul" at the 1996 National Prayer Breakfast. Whether they are religious or not, most Americans are hungry for a deeper connection between politics and moral values; many would say "spiritual values." That concern is always heightened during an election year, but will continue to grow beyond this electoral cycle. But for too long the so-called Religious Right has dominated that discussion in the mainstream media. The result is that many people who have religious or spiritual concerns, but don't feel represented by groups like the Christian Coalition, feel left out of the conversation. Those people must be brought back into the public discussion. We need them. We live in the most religious country in the world. Many Americans across the liberal-moderate-conservative political spectrum are deeply religious or "spiritual" people. They, too, believe that their country is losing its way. They, too, see a vital connection between values and politics. They, too, if they are religious, believe the language of faith is relevant to political life. But if they don't warm to the polemics of television preachers who sound like right-wing ideologues, where are they to turn? Those people must have somewhere else to go. Yet our problem is not just a "Christian Coalition" that claims to speak for all religious people. It is also the mostly liberal secularists who want to keep any religious or spiritual concerns out of politics altogether. Their anti-religious bias is as rigid and intolerant as the Christian fundamentalists on the other side. These have become our false choices: hollow secularism or right-wing religion. But many people are hungry for an alternative; the good news is that there is one. I want to suggest another way. A few clarifications are in order. First, the "Religious Right" does not speak for all social conservatives. Thoughtful conservatives in America are making valuable contributions to our discourse about morality and "virtue" in the public square, the sacred value of human life, the problems of bureaucracy in government, the need for taking serious personal and community responsibility, et cetera. Conservatives, even religious conservatives, are not all part of the Religious Right. Second, all those Americans who are attracted to the Religious Right should not be lumped in with every political position of groups like the Christian Coalition. Many are drawn to the Religious Right out of concern for the decline of values in the country, fear for their children's future, moral conviction about the nation's abortion rates, or reaction to what they see on their television sets no matter what time of the day they turn them on. It's a mistake to believe everyone who is part of the Religious Right wants to take over the country and impose a repressive theocratic regime on his or her neighbors. But the political views of the Religious Right's leadership are extreme and their agenda bodes danger for the country. Since they are now actively competing for political power--and getting it--their views and agenda should be made known, and they should be held politically accountable for them. Because their claim is also religious, as well as political, the Religious Right should also be scrutinized by religious and specifically biblical criteria. I want to help us attempt that task together. Many of the references and quotations I've used refer to the Christian Coalition, its president, Pat Robertson, and its executive director, Ralph Reed. That is because the Coalition is the largest, best mobilized, and most powerful Religious Right organization in the country, and indeed has become one of the most powerful political groups in the nation. Because he is the founding leader, political visionary, chief funder, principal policy-maker, and driving force behind the Christian Coalition, President Pat Robertson should be in the spotlight, and he is in this book. The more moderate-sounding and politically diplomatic Ralph Reed has been given the role of the Coalition's public spokesperson, but that does not change who is finally in charge. Robertson brought in Reed and retains ultimate authority, as Ralph Reed readily acknowledges. Business Week reports, "Thinking like business execs has helped Robertson & Co. avoid the pitfalls that stalled other loose-knit conservative religious movements like Jerry M. Falwell's Moral Majority. Robertson chairs the coalition's tightly controlled board of directors, whose other two members are longtime friends. And the soft-spoken Reed provides political cover for the controversial Robertson, whose preaching against a shadowy global banking conspiracy and the separation of church and state frightens many mainstream voters." Despite the fact that many people, including many conservatives, think Robertson's views are quite bizarre, the political power his Christian Coalition has amassed makes those views no longer fringe. It makes them important, and they ought to be made the subject of public attention, especially by the religious community. But our discussion is much less about Pat Robertson or the Christian Coalition than it is about a "new politics"--a politics with spiritual values that transcends the old categories of Left and Right, liberal and conservative. The vital question in the discussion of religion and politics today is, indeed, "Who speaks for God?" I've tried to provide some help in answering that question and in seeking to forge a more spiritual politics. When I think of "spiritual politics," I often think of Mohandas K. Gandhi. The spiritual and political leader of India's freedom struggle warned against what he called "the seven deadly sins." They were: "politics without principle, wealth without work, commerce without morality, pleasure without conscience, education without character, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice." Clearly, Gandhi's maxims speak to the heart of our moral crisis today. The issues he raises are much deeper than the battles between the Democrats and the Republicans. Wherever I travel, the recitation of Gandhi's warnings elicits a deep response in people across the political spectrum. Perhaps it's because the West has made Gandhi's "deadly sins" into a way of life--and we are now paying the price. Together, we must search for a spiritual politics suited to our own time, a politics of compassion, community, and civility. Ultimately, we are searching for a new politics of hope. Excerpted from Who Speaks for God?: An Alternative to the Religious Right: A New Politics of Compassion, Community and Civility by Jim Wallis All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.