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The human rights of all Afghans -- rights to dignity, security, and development -- should be the paramount concern and should not be compromised as part of the military campaign against the Taliban and its allies.
- Serena Di Matteo, Christian Aid’s Country Director for Afghanistan, commenting on recent tensions between the U.S. and Afghan governments. (Source: The Christian Post)
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This Isn’t About Wallis vs. Beck -- It’s About Biblical Social Justice
This post was written in response to the Washington Post On Faith question of the week, which they titled, "Wallis vs. Beck: The politics of social justice." It asked, "How does the pursuit of justice fit into your faith? Is 'social justice' an ideology or a theology?"
I’m glad for the discussion, but “Wallis vs. Beck” really isn’t the point. Over several weeks, Glenn Beck has attacked the term and concept of “social justice”; likened it to Marxism, Communism, and Nazism; told people to leave their churches if the words even appeared on congregational Web sites; and instructed Christians to “turn in” their pastors and priests to church authorities if they preached or taught “social justice.” That’s what he said, and is still saying. I felt it necessary to respond when I heard that a Fox News personality had attacked the heart of the mission statement of Sojourners: “to articulate the biblical call to social justice.” He only attacked me when I challenged his misrepresentations and distortions of a central Christian teaching that is integral to biblical faith.
If Beck had merely attacked “big government” again, as he does each night, or just expressed his strong libertarian philosophy that government bears no responsibility for issues like poverty, or re-stated his preference of personal responsibility over social responsibility for solving societal problems, nobody would have even responded -- it wouldn’t have been news. But what he did say, and continues to say, is that “social justice” is both a dangerous and destructive teaching. The term continues to be derided on his famous blackboard, along with whoever challenges his ideas.
While I have agreed that cause of social justice has sometimes been politicized for ideological purposes by both Left and Right, I continue to defend the term itself as biblical and at the center of church teachings across the centuries and our many traditions (including Beck’s own Mormon Church, as many of its leaders have pointed out). And I have been heartened to see Christians of diverse political views and voting patterns rise to defend the integrity of social justice as core to the gospel.
While Beck has yet to respond to a standing invitation to a public dialogue about what social justice really means, his comments have already sparked a broad national conversation -- as is well represented here in the On Faith discussion. Ironically, because of Beck’s nightly assaults, I haven’t seen such a national conversation in years about the meaning of biblical social justice. Several heads of church denominations have called to tell me that their pastors are actually preaching more about social justice because Glenn Beck has told them not to, and that thousands of pastors have turned themselves in to them (as church authorities) as “social justice pastors.” In addition, more than 50,000 have turned themselves in to Beck (literally overflowing his inbox).
God indeed has a sense of humor and I guess we should now thank the polarizing pundit for sparking such a rich and robust public debate. So “What is biblical social justice?” Let the conversation continue, with or without Glenn Beck.
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INSIDE SOJOURNERS MAGAZINE |
The Truth About Taxes
“I feel paying taxes is one of the most patriotic things I get to do as a citizen of the United States. I’m proud of my country. My taxes pay for roads, schools, police protection, trash pickup, health care, and social services for seniors and people with disabilities. Taxes create the kind of community that I want to live in. Now, here’s where I’m going to get controversial: We overtax the poor and undertax the wealthy...” +Read the rest here
--Jennifer Hope Kottler, in this month’s Sojourners.
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ON THE GOD'S POLITICS BLOG |
+ See what's new on the blog of Jim Wallis and friends
Wearing My Jesus Goggles to the Boston Tea Party
by Steve Holt
I have found myself characterizing the Tea Party in conversation without having ever attended a rally, and I wanted to get a clearer picture of who makes up this group comprising roughly 18 percent of Americans. Specifically, I wanted to come at the event with my Jesus goggles on, asking whether this is a group for folks who call themselves Christians.
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Video: Washington Post Interviews Jim Wallis on Glenn Beck and Social Justice
by Jim Wallis
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Scandal, Secularism, and the Politics of the Catholic Church
by Douglas Kmiec
It is far too easy to blame the highly publicized priestly scandal for the alienation of Catholics in Europe or the United States. This is not to dismiss the scandal as inconsequential, especially for the families affected. One pedophile priest is enough to ruin a life. Nor is it meant to contradict the Pope's working hypothesis for ecclesiastical decline in Europe: namely, cultural secularism. It is to suggest, however, that understanding the diminished standing of the Catholic Church requires a more careful inquiry into the reasons for, and not just the fact of, secularity.
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Sudanese Churches' Four Key Concerns on Troubled Elections -- and Four Ways We Can Help
by Celestin Musekura
As a Rwandan evangelical theologian who has been involved in leadership development and reconciliation ministries in both South and North Sudan, I have witnessed Sudanese Church leaders call on evangelicals worldwide to join them in supporting the mission of the church.
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Glenn Beck as Theologian
by Chuck Gutenson
Consider, for example, the recent pronouncement by Glenn Beck that the solution to social justice concerns is that Jesus says "get a job." To buttress his case, he cites 2 Thessalonians 3, which reads: For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
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Who's to Blame for the Continuing Tragedy in Coal Country?
by Allen Johnson
Massey Energy Company owns the coal mine where the recent fatal disaster occurred. A furious frenzy of recriminations is lodging against Massey for its expansive history of safety and environmental violations and highlighting toothless regulatory agencies. Hang Massey out to dry, and justice is served. "Really?" seems to speak Jesus.
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This Palestinian Life: Stories of Nonviolent Resistance
by Ryan Rodrick Beiler
As Philip makes clear in the film's introduction, he does not attempt to summarize the conflict, nor present the "severest cases," but offers the stories most rarely told: "Because violence makes news, the everyday stories of real people barely reach the outside world."
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Africa's 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'
by Nontando Hadebe
I was watching the news coverage on the meeting of world leaders in Washington hosted by President Obama on reducing nuclear weapons and ensuring that these do not get into the hands of terrorists. I was left with no doubt about the importance of the meeting and real threat being posed, but at the same time I thought about equally real threats to life in Africa.
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Looking Beyond the U.S. for Emerging Church Trends
by Becky Garrison
In response to my buddies Shane and Jarrod's reflections on the global emerging church culture, I thought I'd repost some reflections I wrote about the UK/U.S. Anglican emerging church scene.
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A Word of Hope for Immigration Advocates
by Daysi Diaz-Strong
It was a hard week, but I got a word from the Lord and my strength was renewed. It was a hard week because once again my college students became aware of opportunities unavailable to them. It wasn't that they don't meet the academic requirements -- in fact they often exceed the qualifications -- but that they are missing a nine-digit social security number; they are undocumented.
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Immigration Reform: What's Next?
by Allison Johnson
The message is loud and clear: we want immigration reform this year, and we're not going anywhere. With spirits high after such powerful public events and also with a healthy dose of skepticism, many are asking, "what's next?" How can Congress possibly get anything done right now, with a heavy agenda and a ticking clock before midterm elections?
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Can Petraeus Push the U.S. Toward Peace in the Middle East?
by Daoud Kuttab
America's military leaders have had enough and decided to speak out about the liability that a hard-line Israel causes to America's national interest. Popular American General David Petraeus finally said the words that many have been saying behind closed doors for decades. The statement of the star-studded general puts American blind support for Israel in direct opposition to the country's most sacred institution, the military.
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A Darfuri Perspective on Sudan's Dubious Elections
by Niemat Ahmadi
As a Darfuri, I recognize the fact that this presidential and parliamentary election in Sudan is an important milestone for the implementation of the North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005. Unfortunately, as people of Darfur, we are too familiar with the man controlling these elections; Omar al-Bashir is an indicted war criminal, a brutal dictator who seized power in a coup, and he has oppressed his own people for his entire ruling period of over two decades. There will never be a free and fair election in Sudan while Omar al-Bashir is in charge.
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The Emerging Church Brand: The Good, the Bad, and the Messy
by Shane Claiborne
Entire movements of hip-hop church and missional communities overseas and indigenous movements of first nation Christians have also been stirring up all over the world, though they do not get the same air time or book deals. Eventually, books and brands began identifying as "emerging church" or "emergent." So it got a little messy.
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Living into the Hope of the Resurrection – Christ has Conquered Death
by Christine Sine
I have never been as conscious of the incredible hope of the Easter message as I have been this last Easter. It seems that death and resurrection are intertwined everywhere I look and I realize how desperately I need to celebrate not just Easter Sunday but this whole Easter season.
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A Reading for April 15: The Parable of the Taxpayer
by Chuck Collins
This time of year it is useful to recount the parable of the angry taxpayer (from the VERY New Testament). Tip O'Neil, the colorful congressman from Massachusetts who said "all politics is local," used to recount a version of this. The taxpayer woke up one winter morning feeling upset about his taxes. He decided to travel to Washington to complain directly to his Congressional representative and attend a Tea Party rally. ...
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Why Outsider Critiques are Important for Emergent
by Soong-Chan Rah
I write as an outsider/observer of emergent rather than one who knows the movement inside and out. At the same time, my outsider status does not mean that I have nothing to say about emergent or that I am not allowed to offer a valid critique. A common mistake in reading my chapter on the emerging church in The Next Evangelicalism is that the main target of my chapter was the emerging church. On a much deeper lever, I was confronting the evangelical world that rushed to make the emerging church the next big thing for the American church.
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Justice Stevens Hasn't Moved, the Supreme Court Has
by Duane Shank
Appointed to the federal appeals court by Richard Nixon and the Supreme Court by Gerald Ford, Justice John Paul Stevens was seen as a moderate Republican centrist. But as Stevens is retiring nearly 35 years later, he is called the "leader of the court's liberal wing." In interviews, he attributed this apparent switch to the Court having changed, not him. He's right.
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This Is What the Emerging Church Looks Like?
by Jarrod McKenna
With the new cover article for Sojourners, blogs are hot with discussion of the emerging church (again). Some of which is helpful, asking important question that help us more fully embody the Gospel we profess. I'm glad my mate Andrew Jones (aka "Tall Skinny Kiwi") has waded in and said in effect, "hey! What about the diversity found outside of the U.S.A.?!?" (It might be worth remembering that this was brewing elsewhere in the world before sisters and brothers in the U.S. started writing books about their experience of it). + Click to continue
Enough Jawboning: A Bold but Hopeful Proposal for Middle East Peace
by Rabbi Arthur Waskow
So what can the U.S. government do, besides jawboning, that would be politically viable in the U.S., change the political balance inside Israel to make possible a decent peace settlement with a viable independent Palestine, and bring the Arab states and a united Palestinian leadership into readiness for peace with Israel? The U.S. provides military aid to Israel of at least three billion dollars a year. Imagine that the U.S. announces that it will put half the military aid to Israel in escrow, to be paid on the following conditions ...
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Nonviolence: What About Hitler?
by Rose Marie Berger
In any in-depth conversation about the effectiveness of nonviolence as a strategy, this question always comes up: Would these nonviolent strategies have worked against the Nazis? What about Hitler? Even the great Mohandas Gandhi – progenitor of modern nonviolence – knew that nonviolence against Hitler would cost many lives.
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A Good START: Reducing the Idolatry of Nuclear Weapons
by Jim Wallis
It is good news indeed that the tyranny and idolatry of nuclear weapons will now be further reduced. One of the signs of the treaty's significance has been the virulent right-wing response to it from people like Newt Gingrich and Sean Hannity. Hannity supports the first use of nuclear weapons, even against non-nuclear nations, and wants to keep "all options on the table." The problem from a faith point of view is that all options don't pass the traditional tests of Christian morality.
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I Am Emergent and I Don't Fit the Stereotype
by Julie Clawson
I am having a hard time with Soong-Chan Rah's and Jason Mach's article on the emerging church, even as I believe they are addressing a vital issue. Let me say up front that racial reconciliation needs to happen in the American church, and that to be healthy the church must start listening to all of its diverse members. I have no quarrel with that message in the article, I just don't understand why Emergent must be the sacrificial lamb in this conversation.
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Speak Evil of No One -- Really?
by Aaron Taylor
The apostle Paul tells us in Titus 3:2 to "Speak evil of no one." Um?excuse me, Paul? What were you thinking? Don't you believe that evil exists in the world? Certainly when you talk about speaking evil of no man, you don't mean to include people like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot ?or do you?
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Tea Party Protests and Taxation Without Representation
by Elizabeth Palmberg
Well, it looks like some folks are coming to the District of Columbia to protest under the "tea party" banner. Unless they are coming to express their love for Oolong, I guess they are opposed to "taxation without representation" -- but, apparently, these folks are blind to the irony that the District, home to over half a million Americans, has been without voting representation in Congress for over 200 years.
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Coffee and Compost
by Tracey Bianchi
I was reminded of a little gardening tip last week that has my dear husband Joel rolling his eyes. Joel is a good sport. Poor guy never knows what is an eco-tweak around our house and what is just my absentmindedness.
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Coal Mines, Potato Salad, and Damn Good People
by Burns Strider
I always pray these are teachable moments, reminders if you will, for us in America's other places. Real America is here, there, everywhere. Of all the communities in all the rural, suburban and urban places we ultimately make one American community. And if tragedy can remind us of that, then let it.
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Interview with Jim Wallis about Glenn Beck and 'social justice'
On Faith
Here's a transcript of my April 7 video interview with Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of the Sojourners Christian community and well-known commentator on social and cultural issues: Sally Quinn: Why did Glenn Beck get on your case? +Click to continue
Editorial: Sign 'Covenant,' take a step toward civility
Athens Banner-Herald
The Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners - a network of progressive Christians working "to articulate the biblical call to social justice," according to its Web site - is a major force behind the "Covenant for Civility." In a Monday news release, Sojourners noted that the document is being sent to members of Congress with a request that they "emulate the example" of the religious leaders who have signed the covenant. +Click to continue
Standing up for civil debate in great country
The Times & Democrat (SC)
The covenant reflects an overdue commitment to better leadership through civil discourse. We are all Americans who want the best for our nation and its people. In the words of the Rev. Jim Wallis – president of Sojourners, a network of progressive Christians in the United States: “We need to behave differently, for both the sake of our spiritual integrity and the health of our democracy.” +Click to continue
"Sojourners in the news" articles are the most recent news clippings that mention Sojourners in any way - whether favorably or unfavorably. Though we provide the text on our site for your convenience, we do not necessarily endorse the views of these articles or their source publications. |
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