The Common Good

Jim Wallis Blog Entries

A Reality Check on Iran

After months of increasing talk of military strikes against Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons, the Bush administration has suddenly received a dose of reality. In what news reports called A Blow to [...]

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Poverty and Climate Change Are Clearly Linked

The new 2007-2008 UN Human Development report is focused on "Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world." According to news stories, the report clearly links overcoming climate change with [...]

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A Prayer for Annapolis

Leaders from some 50 countries and organizations, including 12 Arab nations, are meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, today to begin negotiations for a peace agreement in the Middle East. News reports tell of " restrained optimism" that the event could lead to a Palestinian state.


The op-ed page of [...]

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Changes Down Under

In the news you might have missed over the Thanksgiving weekend, Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd decisively defeated Prime Minister John Howard in an important Australian election. Howard has long been one of the strongest supporters of President Bush's policies. Rudd, on the other hand, has already made it clear [...]

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We Are All Blessed

What are you thankful for? It's a question often asked this Thanksgiving holiday season. Some think it's a little sappy, but I actually believe it's a very good question. And answering it is a good reminder of what's really important. Many of us are too often focused on what we'd like to change or be different, instead of remembering and being grateful for the blessings we already have in our lives.


So, what am I thankful for? I have been feeling very blessed these days. Joy and I are [...]

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My Response to a Muslim Call for Common Ground

Christianity and Islam comprise the world's largest communities of faith - 2.1 billion Christians and 1.5 billion Muslims. If these two religious traditions cannot find ways to keep peace between themselves, the world will be in very serious trouble. As Brian McLaren posted earlier on this blog, a group of 138 Muslim scholars and clerics recently sent an open letter to Christians around the world, [...]

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Canned Compassion

Thanksgiving is the time of year when American generosity is clearly visible. We make donations to our local food banks and homeless shelters and volunteer in soup kitchens. But do we really believe that is the solution to hunger?


Mark Winne, former director of Connecticut's Hartford Food System, answered the question in yesterday's Washington Post. In a piece titled

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A New Fugitive Slave Act?

A reader asked about my post yesterday:



You say that your opposition is close to making Christian ministry illegal. Would you care to elaborate on this? What sorts of ministries are being made illegal? Where is this being done? What laws are being [...]

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Changing How We Talk About Immigration

Last spring, Sojourners helped launch Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Following Congress' failure to pass meaningful reform, we have continued to work to provide churches and clergy with effective educational materials, encouraged and mobilized congregations to oppose punitive [...]

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Catholic Wisdom on Iran and Iraq

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is holding its annual meeting this week. They have elected a new president, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, and will vote on their teaching document for the 2008 election. Two other actions are worth noting.


The bishops approved a letter from [...]

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Race and the Wealth Gap

New studies managed by the Pew Charitable Trusts show us how far the country still needs to go in achieving economic equality. A major finding is that the while overall incomes are rising, the income gap between African American and white families is also rising.


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A Correction and Apology

In my post on Monday, A War Pitched with a 'Curve Ball,' I ended by saying, "And if they are found guilty of these high crimes, I believe they should spend the rest of their lives in prison -- after offering their repentance to every American family who has lost a son, daughter, father, mother, brother, or [...]

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Robertson for Rudy

Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani for president is simply astonishing. Robertson - the television preacher who founded the 700 Club and once ran for president himself - has made opposition to abortion and same sex marriage his political north star and has been a relentless champion of traditional marriage and family values.


Remember Robertson's merciless attacks on President Bill Clinton's lapses of sexual morality with Monica Lewinsky? Or his comments about how the 9/11 [...]

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Another Evangelical Bridge-Builder

At its board meeting last month, the National Association of Evangelicals formally named Leith Anderson as its president. Anderson is senior pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and has been serving as interim president of the NAE for the past year.


I've had the opportunity to spend some time with Leith Anderson. I believe he is the kind of leader most needed these days, [...]

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Dinner with the Antichrist

Last evening I attended a reception and dinner in Washington for evangelical Christian leaders, which is not an unusual event here. But the topic and, especially, the main speaker would seem highly unusual to many. The event, called "A Global Leaders Forum," was hosted by the National Association of Evangelicals and the Micah Challenge, a global advocacy campaign focused on achieving the Millennium [...]

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Progressive and Evangelical Common Ground

As the Religious Right has diminished in influence, many are searching for a new political agenda that doesn’t fit the standard right/left battles of American politics and is more consistent with their deeply held values. That new agenda would be good news for the majority of Americans who are alienated by the political [...]

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'Bush Has Given Christ a Bad Name' Says Pastor in India

In two recent posts, The Global Church and America's War, and Iraq and Christian Identity, I talked about the difference between the perceptions of U.S. Christians and our sisters and brothers around the world.
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Video: Overriding Bush's Veto Is Our Next Faith-Based Initiative

Yesterday Jim stood with a group of religious leaders to challenge President Bush's promised veto of a bill to expand health coverage for children. He told some of the story of Bush's early days in office that he told here last week, asking what happened to his "compassionate" conservatism, and asking why Bush would veto a bill with broad bipartisan support, abandoning America's children to a [...]

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The Power of Nonviolence

The news this afternoon from Myanmar/Burma is not good. A recent AP story said that



Soldiers clubbed and dragged away activists while firing tear gas and warning shots to break up demonstrations Friday before they could grow, and the government cut Internet access, raising fears that a deadly crackdown was set to intensify.


The government said 10 people have been killed since the violence began earlier this week, but British Prime [...]

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Irresponsible Democrats

In his Saturday radio address, The Washington Post reports that




President Bush again called Democrats "irresponsible" for pushing an expansion he opposes to a children's health insurance program. [...]

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