Hi Everyone,
Well, I'm not Oprah and I'm not about to start a book club, but I've got a good read here that I thought you would like to hear about. It was one of those books that, you know, it comes along, you read it, and you feel like it's talking to you. This was one of those books for me, and I felt I had to share it with you. It has to do with politics, social matters, and religion (three things very close to my heart). The book is called God's Politics: Why the Right gets it wrong and the Left doesn't get it. You might have heard of the author. His name is Jim Wallis. He founded Sojourners, a publication and network for religious-minded folk who care about justice and peace, both personally and globally. This is how I feel, and if you're reading this, I hope you do too.
This appeals to what I think religion should be about. One reason I have been skeptical of religion recently is political. The idea of religious politics I came of age with was the dominance of the Religious Right. I came to believe that most christianity and religion at large was ruled by anti-gay people who were opposed to abortion in any and all circumstances, but who are deafeningly silent on the growing disenfranchisement of the poor, degradation of the environment, our most valuable resource, and think nothing of starting senseless wars. This perception, along with the rise of fundamentalism, soured me on organized religion. I came to view religion in politics as being a problem, a pathway to widespread violence and authoritarianism. I came to view religion more as deadening, dehumanizing dogma rather than revitalizing, empowering spirit.
God's Politics was published in 2005, when George W. Bush and the Religious Right had a firm hold on the US Government. It is sort of dated, but its message still rings true. Wallis has written since, and I caught a little bit of his new book, which debuted since the election of Obama and the change in the power structure in DC. Power can corrupt anyone, even those with high-minded and noble motives. So this is just as important now as it was four years ago, and will continue to be important four years from now, and four years after that.
Wallis contends that the most powerful movements for justice and peace have been rooted in religious, spiritual, and moral ideas. A short list: Wallis sites the anti slavery movement of the 19th century and the civil rights movement a century later as the greatest examples. He talks about Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu as examples for what we can accomplish in our country and in the world. Wallis talked, at one point, about the Berrigan brothers, two Catholic priests who campaigned against the Vietnam War, and then continued to campaign against nuclear weapons.
In fact, it turns out Wallis had a plan in mind for how to avoid the Iraq War. He devoted an entire chapter (Chapter 4: Protest is Good; Alternatives are Better) to a strategy to avoid war, and how he attempted to execute it in the run up to the Iraq War in early 2003. It turns out that Wallis and other prominent religious leaders came up with a six-point plan (read the entire plan here) to remove Saddam Hussein from power, eliminate the WMD's and improve the life of the Iraqi people. According to him, he and the others presented the plan to the British government, British Prime Minister Tony Blair himself, and to the State Department. Apparently, it did gain some traction at the time, but I guess we know now who was listening to it and who didn't.
In the book, Wallis also addresses a chief concern of mine when it comes to religion: fundamentalism. In the following chapter, Wallis addresses the rise of the Religious Right in the '80's and '90's. He commented on the fact that the movement, with Jerry Falwell at its helm, gained political power through the Reagan White House. Wallis notes that because the Religious Right's leaders sought political power right away, it became more about keeping their power for them, rather than about bringing to pass whatever beneficial goals it may have had.
He then notes how the Civil Rights movement in the '50's and '60's, with Martin Luther King at its helm, sought to effect change without political power. Eventually, through its appeal to people of lower status, but of sound moral and religious convictions, the movement gained political traction, and the Johnson White House took bold steps in proposing, then signing, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was not corrupted by its political ambitions, and therefore it was able to accomplish good and justice.
Why I stated that this book was for everyone is because it was subtitled Why the Right gets it wrong and the Left doesn't get it. Wallis's message is meant to challenge both the right and left side of the political spectrum. Wallis says that this is the purpose of religion in politics. The premise is that the right, the conservative side, has made a mistake in co opting religion only to impose personal morality on everyone and ignoring, or going against, the larger responsibility we have to each other, that Jesus stressed in His teachings.
The left, the liberal side, has made a mistake in ignoring the fact that the teachings of Jesus are what give movements for justice and peace the most strength, and turn to a purely secular vision which denies any role for religion in the public sphere. Because it is equally supportive and critical of both sides, and it seeks justice and peace for all, it seems to me like it could gain some broad support. If someone delivered a message of unity and peace like this, in a world riddled with division and war, they could find themselves with a broad base of support. Could it be that Barack Obama read this book, too? It seems that Wallis had known Obama even before he debuted on the national scene.
Wallis even talks about a signing he did in Denver, where he was approached by a kid who was an agnostic. The talk that Wallis gave appealed even to the kid who, like me, was uncertain of the premise of God, but was moved by what Mr. Wallis had to say. I have to close by saying that this book has really spoken to me about what religion can and should be in our lives. What Wallis talks about here has begun to make even me feel that maybe there is something to that Christian tradition. Something that makes it real, that makes it worth pursuing. This way of speaking not just to personal responsibility, but responsibility to each other, has tremendous power, power that can repair this country and this world. Great read, Mr. Wallis.
This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.
Well, I'm not Oprah and I'm not about to start a book club, but I've got a good read here that I thought you would like to hear about. It was one of those books that, you know, it comes along, you read it, and you feel like it's talking to you. This was one of those books for me, and I felt I had to share it with you. It has to do with politics, social matters, and religion (three things very close to my heart). The book is called God's Politics: Why the Right gets it wrong and the Left doesn't get it. You might have heard of the author. His name is Jim Wallis. He founded Sojourners, a publication and network for religious-minded folk who care about justice and peace, both personally and globally. This is how I feel, and if you're reading this, I hope you do too.
This appeals to what I think religion should be about. One reason I have been skeptical of religion recently is political. The idea of religious politics I came of age with was the dominance of the Religious Right. I came to believe that most christianity and religion at large was ruled by anti-gay people who were opposed to abortion in any and all circumstances, but who are deafeningly silent on the growing disenfranchisement of the poor, degradation of the environment, our most valuable resource, and think nothing of starting senseless wars. This perception, along with the rise of fundamentalism, soured me on organized religion. I came to view religion in politics as being a problem, a pathway to widespread violence and authoritarianism. I came to view religion more as deadening, dehumanizing dogma rather than revitalizing, empowering spirit.
God's Politics was published in 2005, when George W. Bush and the Religious Right had a firm hold on the US Government. It is sort of dated, but its message still rings true. Wallis has written since, and I caught a little bit of his new book, which debuted since the election of Obama and the change in the power structure in DC. Power can corrupt anyone, even those with high-minded and noble motives. So this is just as important now as it was four years ago, and will continue to be important four years from now, and four years after that.
Wallis contends that the most powerful movements for justice and peace have been rooted in religious, spiritual, and moral ideas. A short list: Wallis sites the anti slavery movement of the 19th century and the civil rights movement a century later as the greatest examples. He talks about Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu as examples for what we can accomplish in our country and in the world. Wallis talked, at one point, about the Berrigan brothers, two Catholic priests who campaigned against the Vietnam War, and then continued to campaign against nuclear weapons.
In fact, it turns out Wallis had a plan in mind for how to avoid the Iraq War. He devoted an entire chapter (Chapter 4: Protest is Good; Alternatives are Better) to a strategy to avoid war, and how he attempted to execute it in the run up to the Iraq War in early 2003. It turns out that Wallis and other prominent religious leaders came up with a six-point plan (read the entire plan here) to remove Saddam Hussein from power, eliminate the WMD's and improve the life of the Iraqi people. According to him, he and the others presented the plan to the British government, British Prime Minister Tony Blair himself, and to the State Department. Apparently, it did gain some traction at the time, but I guess we know now who was listening to it and who didn't.
In the book, Wallis also addresses a chief concern of mine when it comes to religion: fundamentalism. In the following chapter, Wallis addresses the rise of the Religious Right in the '80's and '90's. He commented on the fact that the movement, with Jerry Falwell at its helm, gained political power through the Reagan White House. Wallis notes that because the Religious Right's leaders sought political power right away, it became more about keeping their power for them, rather than about bringing to pass whatever beneficial goals it may have had.
He then notes how the Civil Rights movement in the '50's and '60's, with Martin Luther King at its helm, sought to effect change without political power. Eventually, through its appeal to people of lower status, but of sound moral and religious convictions, the movement gained political traction, and the Johnson White House took bold steps in proposing, then signing, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was not corrupted by its political ambitions, and therefore it was able to accomplish good and justice.
Why I stated that this book was for everyone is because it was subtitled Why the Right gets it wrong and the Left doesn't get it. Wallis's message is meant to challenge both the right and left side of the political spectrum. Wallis says that this is the purpose of religion in politics. The premise is that the right, the conservative side, has made a mistake in co opting religion only to impose personal morality on everyone and ignoring, or going against, the larger responsibility we have to each other, that Jesus stressed in His teachings.
The left, the liberal side, has made a mistake in ignoring the fact that the teachings of Jesus are what give movements for justice and peace the most strength, and turn to a purely secular vision which denies any role for religion in the public sphere. Because it is equally supportive and critical of both sides, and it seeks justice and peace for all, it seems to me like it could gain some broad support. If someone delivered a message of unity and peace like this, in a world riddled with division and war, they could find themselves with a broad base of support. Could it be that Barack Obama read this book, too? It seems that Wallis had known Obama even before he debuted on the national scene.
Wallis even talks about a signing he did in Denver, where he was approached by a kid who was an agnostic. The talk that Wallis gave appealed even to the kid who, like me, was uncertain of the premise of God, but was moved by what Mr. Wallis had to say. I have to close by saying that this book has really spoken to me about what religion can and should be in our lives. What Wallis talks about here has begun to make even me feel that maybe there is something to that Christian tradition. Something that makes it real, that makes it worth pursuing. This way of speaking not just to personal responsibility, but responsibility to each other, has tremendous power, power that can repair this country and this world. Great read, Mr. Wallis.
This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.
This area has been the subject of a good deal of thought on my part, so I'm going to weigh in.
ReplyDeleteI spent a long time as a religious (more specifically, Christian) person. To me, it was just something people did. And though I was religious, I eventually began to come by all the things people traditionally receive from religion (moral code, purpose, joy, etc) from other means. Once I realized this, I eventually shed my religion. Yet I did not do this out of any "anger", it was simply a decision that I made as the product of involved thought.
I consider myself primarily a Secularist, since I'm not intrested so much in the existence of deities or supernatural entities as their signifigance, which I feel is secondary to human reason and emotion. However, I'm not opposed to religion insofar as it is an excersize of people's freedom to believe what they want; moreover, I feel that the majority of the time a person's belief about the physical nature of the universe is a fact as mundane as his/her hair color.
But some religions aren't simply views of the physical nature of the universe, but also doctrines which seek to negate any views - and any persons - which hold them not only as true but absolutely and irrevocably trumping everything else, period. From the reign of Constantine to the Enlightenment, Christianity was one of those religions. At it's core, it remains about repressing free thought; Christians are told in the Bible that the most important thing they can do is not promote human well-being but to believe in a deity. It is for this that, while I fully support your right to feel the way you do, and as a former believer can understand the impetus to feel that way, I also think that a "Christian only" outlook on things implicitly negates others' ability live a good life through other religions, or no religion. As someone who not only treasures freedom of thought, but employs it as my primary source of personal joy, it saddens me that a movement which at its core stifles one's very thought patterns has gained such popularity.
Of course, anyone who is critical of Christianity immediately sets himself up to be counterattacked as an enemy of all the good things in the Bible - as a side note, many religions include a body of noble beliefs which religionists claim are inextricably linked to scriptural nastiness and effectively serve to deflect all criticism of that religion. However, I contend that all that is good, noble, or wonderful about religion can be validaded by secular means. Conversely, all that is intolerant, mean-spirited, and destructive in a religion can only be accepted if that religion is granted special treatment in the first place.
With regard to religion in politics, Wallis claims (and as best as I can tell you agree) that "The liberal side has made a mistake in ignoring the fact that the teachings of Jesus are what give movements for justice and peace the most strength, and turn to a purely secular vision." If by the "teachings of Jesus" Wallis is refering to the Christian religion, that can be factually proven as incorrect. There is of course the Hindu satyagraha movement of Gandhi, and the prominent women's suffrage advocate Matilda Joslyn Gage was nonreligious. But if Wallis is referring to such teachings as Matthew 5:44, "Love your enemy", I would argue that that is powerful but for a secular reason; a society based on human rights, in which even your enemies are treated with dignity, is our higest calling as humans seeking a better existence.
So basically, I disagree with Wallis on many of his points. I particularly am a bit saddened by the final passage about the young agnostic; like so many other exchanges it lays on a heavy implication that the default position of all agnostics, atheists and secularists are against human goodness. Too often we hear either "he's religious and a good person" or "he's an agnostic, but still a good person". Why can't it be "he's agnostic AND a good person"?
Conclusion:
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do support Wallis insofar as his message promotes the advancement of human rights and well-being. That's something you don't have to be either religious or secular to support. Now if only we could get good old Jim to acknowledge that.
Hi D.R.,
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing this challenging book to my attention as well as the life work of this remarkably dedicated man. I feel the "secret ingredient" of Christian social reform is the commitment of believers to give theirs hearts and souls for a cause and then dig even deeper individually and as a group. Without this synergistic dimension, efforts become self-centered and easily get side-tracked or abandoned. I'm interested to see if Wallis addresses this aspect of religious activism.
DR,
ReplyDeleteI'm looking for a good read when I go to Telluride later this month. I read your post on my deck on a warm summer morning around 5:00 am just as the sun was illuminating Mt. Evans a few miles away. Thanks for the tip!