God’s Politics audiobook

This is a book that is needed in the modern world. It's one I've been hoping to see, and it actually came out in 2005. I've been saying for many years that religious people need to do more to counter the extremism that seems to be creeping into Christianity these days, especially that which has a political agenda. There are many moral issues to deal with in our time, not just gay rights, abortion and prayer in schools. There is how we treat the poor, fair versus free trade, the environment, and the mainstreaming of war. The author of this book, Jim Wallis, is a liberal, and I knew there were religious liberals out there. I just didn’t hear about them very much. I found myself agreeing with him almost right down the line in his opinions. War should only happen as a last resort, not a first. Abortion is not a desirable phenomenon but the way to decrease abortion is to increase sexual education and access to birth control rather than legislation against it. Gays deserve fair treatment and God is no homophobe. Both parties talk about the poor but almost no one does anything about them. And on and on.Wallis skewers the fundamentalist right wing religious movement pretty soundly, especially when it gets its fingers into politics. But he also skewers the left wing for refusing to even talk about morality from a religious point of view. I don’t have just pros for the book, though. It was longer than it needed to be, I thought, and a lot of that is because Wallis really, really likes to hammer a point home. There’s a fair amount of redundancy, a fair amount of letters and speeches that are quoted verbatim. That could have been shortened a bit. But overall, I enjoyed this book and I think it really is an important one, not only to those who are actively religious today, but to those who once were religious but were driven away by fundamentalism, and to those who are honestly curious about religious views.

I remember standing in my mother-in-law’s kitchen a while ago saying “I sincerely don’t know where I stand politically, but I do know that I have the responsibility to choose the love of Jesus and the gospel over the constitution every single time.”This book is a breath of fresh air to me. It puts my passions and frustrations into words.Fav quotes:“God's politics is never partisan or ideological. But it challenges everything about our politics. God's politics reminds us of the people our politics always neglects — the poor, the vulnerable, the left behind. God's politics challenges narrow national, ethnic, economic, or cultural self-interest, reminding us of a much wider world and the creative human diversity of all those made in the image of the creator. God's politics reminds us of the creation itself, a rich environment in which we are to be good stewards, not mere users, consumers, and exploiters. And God's politics pleads with us to resolve the inevitable conflicts among us, as much as is possible, without the terrible cost and consequences of war. God's politics always reminds us of the ancient prophetic prescription to 'choose life, so that you and your children may live,' and challenges all the selective moralities that would choose one set of lives and issues over another."“Patriotism means loving your country and its best ideals, even enough to oppose it when it is grievously wrong. And Christian faithfulness always supersedes patriotism. American Christians need to be reminded that we are a worldwide Church.”

Spot OnJim Wallis is a great example of how to be in and not if the world of politics. He is a prophetic voice in a world desperately in need of it. This is a really important read, especially in the time of President Trump, but it could use an update for relevancy.

A must read Book for people of Conscience and IntelligenceWallis brings an important and much needed message to the religious and political arena. Most of what he has to say is articulate, well thought out and presents the important message that Christians must beware of the dangers of "Group-Think."My primary criticism and the reason I give the book 4 stars rather than what would have otherwise surely been a 5, is that the title is somewhat misleading. Reading this book I was under the impression that it would seek to point out issues on both the Democrats and Republicans and indeed there are places where that seems to happen.Far more, however, this is aimed primarily at the "Right-Wing Conservative" faction of the Republican party who have embraced religious values. What little criticism the Democrats receive is more along the line of "They don't communicate their message, well." The title would lead you to believe there is criticism all the the way around. It just isn't so. -1 Star for misleading this reader in that regard.Granted, the Republicans are the party of power and as such are worthy of more scrutiny. Even factoring this in, I don't believe an objective reader could look at this and conclude it is a balanced and equally critical look at both parties.That having been said it is still an important and riveting book.Wallis is nothing if not passionate and his lifestyle and actions as reported by him, are in line with what he is saying which I respected immensely and chose to accept at face value. Of particular note, and resonating with this reader were these important points:1. No reading of the Bible can miss the prevelent theme of how Christians respond to the poor as a primary tenet of Christians and their role in society.2. Any Christian response to terrorism that is based on fear and focuses on external threats without addressing the legitimate needs of the poor, misses several primary teachings of Christianity and may, in fact, be planting the seeds of our own internal demise by what the response will be from those so neglected.3. There is no one party that espouses all legitimate values of the thinking Christian, therefore, decisions must be made based on a preponderance of issues and not just a few packaged for public consumption.4. Christians must come forward into the political process and bring with them their Faith-based values. Society needs them. Our faith demands it. To do otherwise is to leave the field to packaged populism which unfortunately, far too often allows itself to be drawn into the mold that the major parties prepare and the media conveys.Very much worth the read. Just be aware that the bias of the author is not particularly veiled and certainly not hard to see.

While I am very glad that I read this book, God’s Politics isn’t perfect by any means. It is sometimes repetitive, and I think that there are areas in which Mr. Wallis glosses over incredibly complicated and thorny issues with too much ease for my liking. However, it did what I needed it to. I think I was already in a place where I was ready to hear a lot of what the author had to say, though.First of all, this book suggests that people of faith should in no way feel obligated to give their unconditional support to either of the major political parties. That makes sense, especially since the number of independent voters is rising across the country. I think that many people are realizing that neither party really encompasses the whole of their political concerns, and I think that realization is important for Christians as well. The author instead proposes that religious people need to hold both Republicans and Democrats up to a higher moral standard and work and speak up for change where either of them falls short.Second, this book suggests that a re-ordering of priorities is in order. It suggests that “social justice” is not just a secular issue, but a spiritual one as well. Mr. Wallis speaks again and again of the necessity for reforms that will raise the standard of living for those most in need in both the United States and the rest of the world, and he supports his arguments with an almost overwhelming list of Biblical references that speak of God and Christ’s concern for the poor. This may seem trite, and I may seem like I’m coming a little late to the game, but the idea that a church’s benevolence mission should involve both providing food and basic necessities for those who truly need it AND working to change conditions so that the need is less seemed to make a lot of sense to me.This book certainly gave me a lot to think about. My teaching experiences and the fact that I’ve been paying more attention to the news in recent months had both had me thinking a lot about the state of the world, and I fluctuate back and forth between optimism and feeling too small to make a difference, which I suppose is normal. Another thing that God’s Politics did for me is give me an idea of positive things that are happening because people are working for change. It also made me remember and be grateful for some of the positive things I know are going on. I suppose the old, “Do all you can, and let God take care of the rest” is applicable in this situation. I didn’t used to like that sentiment... I thought it passed responsibility, but now I tend to see it as, “Work as hard as you can, and trust that your efforts are serving a higher purpose, even if you can’t see it.” I needed that perspective shift.

Wallis makes a fantastic argument, though the book could be a bit more concise. I agree with his basic premise, that God isn't interested in selective morality, in choosing left or right in politics, that He's interested instead in all moral choices, from war and poverty to sexuality and abortion.His stance is fresh and appealing, but I have just one complaint. He too frequently lampoons Republicans for being greedy money grubbers. Again, I agree with his words on how much God is concerned with poverty. In fact, I think that God may care more about how we treat the poor than He cares about most, if not all, other political issues. (Christ's ministry certainly hints to this.) But Republicans aren't all money grubbers. Statistics from Arthur C. Brooks reveal that religious conservatives are much more likely to give to the poor than secular liberals. In addition, I think that many Republican policies, like the ones Giuliani implemented to help the poor in New York, are effective because they give the poor work, a gift better for them in almost all instances than money. The biggest problem with God's Politics is that Wallis doesn't detail exactly how liberal programs help the poor more than the best conservative programs. If I knew that liberals really were giving more to the poor than conservatives do, I might join them. As it is, I wonder how liberals can be pleased to have elected a man like Biden, who gave 0.3 percent of his 2007 income to charity.

Those who cling to their political ideologies and parties will find this book difficult, because it exposes the idiocy of both sides of the divide. From what I've noted among other critiques, folks have a hard time dealing with their particular tribe coming under the microscope and fail to see that both sides of the fence receive Wallis' sense of frustration. It's not a "liberal" or "conservative" tome, despite the offended's insistence upon such. It is, however, an interesting read, albeit redundant at times. (It could have easily been halved in length without sacrificing any content.) I certainly didn't agree with all of his points, but was grateful that he looked for common ground (e.g., the abortion argument) where actual solutions reside, instead of the endless "conservative" and "liberal" sound bites we've begun to inaccurately equate with debate and discussion. Wallis is an example of an Evangelical Christian that we rarely see in the public eye, which is refreshing. The approach he uses in finding middle ground and not bowing to the stereotypical knee-jerk response is equally refreshing.

Jesus called us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and be of service in other simple ways to 'the least of these'. This was the essence of the greater part of his message to us and is central to us learning and showing that we love God as He loves us.This book, published after the 2004 election, throws cold water in the face of the meanness of the political right and the vacuousness of the political left with regard to how they treat religion in their campaigns. I think this book is an important grounding, not in religion, but in bringing us back to some of the essential points of Christianity and how God isn't on anybody's side in politics. This book is eloquently against all those who would use Jesus' message to further their own agendas.

This is a refreshing outlook from a man who is a Christian in the truest sense of the word. It is unfortunate that the extreme right professing to be Christians aren't required to read this book. I have loaned this book to many people of ALL different religious persuasions (including an atheist or two) and all have come away with positive thoughts and a better understanding of today's moderate Christians as well as the extremists.This is a book that I will re-read every couple years.

** spoiler alert ** This book provides excellent perspective for a more progressive take on religious and political issues during the Bush administration.Jim Wallis is an expert of both religion and political science in every since of the word. Not only does he maintain the wealth of expertise required to teach in Ivy League institutions, he provides his opinions as a leader of several peace-activist movements occurring during the late-nineties to mid-two-thousands. He’s also a pastor, a political scientist, and founder of Sojourners.His take on the Israel-Palestine conflict has two main sources: 1- his own eye witness 2- The witness of the organizers with Christian Peacemakers in Palestine. Other discussions of the Middle Eastern conflicts are equally honest and heartbreaking. He leaves no stone unturned. He provides that other options were available for the War on Terror as the War in Iraq, not just invasion. However, I can’t help but wonder if some of his solutions were legitimate options to ending terror, or just paths to avoiding war.Contrary to the messages of other reviews, he devotes an entire chapter to abortion and capital punishment. He views life in terms of a “seamless garment.” For example, he is against abortion, but he is also against capital punishment and euthanasia.He does discuss poverty in great detail. He spends a chapter focusing on poverty in terms of Church involvement, another in terms of federal government involvement, another in terms of international poverty. He brings in Micah, Jeremiah, Amos, Isaiah, as well as messages from the Gospel.No, he does not discuss gay marriage, but the issue really accelerated after 2010, years after this book was written. I personally do not think it’s very relevant to the times that he is specifically discussing. I will be reading more of his writing. I fully expect “Christ in Crisis” to devote significant discussion to racism, as well as LGBTQIA+ issues.

God's Politics by Jim Wallis is just what the title suggests: It goes back through time and recalls how God has voted over the ages, speaks about the issues God has supported and even gone door-to-door canvassing for, and even documents God's ill-fated run for president in the 1960 election.Actually, it is just a conversation about how people of faith in the United States can engage in politics and policy making without selling their souls to the republicans or the democrats.God's Politics starts by taking a look at how religious people across the spectrum have been engaging in politics over the last few decades. The author points out that the religious right has been narrowly focused on its favorite issues - homosexuality, abortion, etc. - while missing out on many important topics that Christians should be concerned about - fair trade, immigration reform, peace building, economic justice, etc. The author also criticized the religious right for wholly aligning itself with conservative politics regardless of whether the positions line up with a historical reading of the Bible. The left is not without guilt itself. Those who have taken it upon themselves to stand up for peace, racial reconciliation, etc. have largely separated themselves from the church, leaving those in the religious community feeling as if they are unwanted or unneeded on the left side.The author's intent, I believe, is not to reform the right or left. While he does give "advice" to each of the political parties (to the republicans: continue fighting for the family, continue your trend of moving to embrace environmental issues etc.; to the democrats: don't be afraid of religion, allow for disagreement in your platform on issues like abortion, etc.), the author's main intent is to encourage readers to support candidates (or run themselves) who understand all political issues as serious moral issues to grapple with and are not afraid to stand up against both parties to do the right thing. The author envisions a time coming when most voters will not fall in line behind the two major parties, but will simply become "issues voters" over the pressing reforms the country needs to make.The author spends a good part of his book taking a practical look at how to successfully engage in politics. One of the most impacting lessons he puts forth is the importance to have alternatives to the status quo. For example, when the country is gearing up for war, it is not enough to simply hold a sign that states you are against the war. To make a real difference it is necessary to put forth plans that take, for example, the threat of terrorism seriously and provide a feasible alternative to war as a solution to the problem. In the case of abortion, it is not enough to simply put a bumper sticker on your car. Instead, look at the situation as a whole, find out what is causing abortions, help people understand alternatives, and don't be afraid to work with people who disagree with you to achieve the common goal of reducing abortions.Most of the book is devoted to taking a look at how Scriptures and faith can help decipher three major modern issues: War/International Relations, Economics/Poverty, and Modern Morality.The author spends a lot of time looking at the recent war in Iraq. (The book was published in 2005, so it is already out of date.) He shows an example of his "alternatives" strategy by presenting how he and several other church leaders met with political leaders leading up the the Iraq war with a clear message that the war was unjust and providing feasible alternatives to deal with the threat of possible weapons of mass destruction and the threat of terrorism. He spends time discussing the difference between pacifists and just war theorists, and, of course, how they can work together toward their common goal of reducing violent warfare. He also discusses the vision of several Old Testament prophets who believed that if people lived in a society that treated economics and justice in a fair manner then there would be no more war. He laid out the long distance between that vision and where we are now, and incorporated several steps we may take toward providing justice.In the area of poverty, the author called out the improper response of the right to blame the poor for their problems and the left's abandoning of the poor to court the middle class. He reminds us that the Bible has a lot to say about poverty, especially that God seems to desire preferential treatment of the poor. We are then shown the gross disparities between the rich and poor in our country and in the world. Even the disparities between the wealthy and the middle class are grotesque. Though this book was written before the recession of 2007, it is quite timely when it provides commentary on how our politics enables the rich to continue to gain wealth and not deal with the consequences of their bad decisions.In the "moral issues" arena, the author asks "When did Jesus become a selective moralist?" He challenges those who are anti-abortion to consider how their ethic of "pro-life" applies to the death penalty. And of course he challenges those who are anti-death penalty to apply that to abortion as well, in what he calls a "consistent ethic of life." The author spends time on race as well, coming on quite strongly for affirmative action and restorative practices to counter what he calls "America's original sin." The sentence "The United States of America was established as a white society, founded on the genocide of another race and then the enslavement of yet another" has really stuck with me since reading the book. I think "original sin" may be the most accurate way to describe racism in America. Finally the author tackles "family values" and encourages those on the left to not be so scared of promoting healthy family lives, as the benefits of strong families are enormous and proven.Reading God's Politics was overall quite encouraging. It was, of course, quite predictable, but it is nice to have some confirmation of your beliefs after spending so much time listening to politicians in the news. It is easy to forget that not everyone is a republican or a democrat, and that not everyone who calls themselves as such subscribes completely to their party's platform. And it is refreshing to have a reminder that, as the bumper sticker says, God is not a republican or a democrat.This review originally appeared on my blog:http://mrsundquist.blogspot.com/2011/...

Religion and politics seem to be highly polarised in America. Anyone who has spoken at length with American Christians will be familiar with the way that all too often political thought seems to seep into the Christian dialogue, and from the perspective of an outsider, it seems that these notions are frequently unchallenged, and often at odds with the message of the gospel.This book is then a timely call to Christians to re-evaluate their unchallenged assumptions, and to realise that so much of politics is anti Christian, that they do the church a dis-service in not taking a stand against it. The book has practical ideas of how to make a stand, and is a wake up call for anyone who thinks God would vote for a certain political party!There is less here for non Americans. The context of the book is clearly America and its politics, and an outsider would be wrong to read this book to feel smug about their own politics. In the UK religion is much less polarised, but the policies of the parties are no more moral for this. Non US readers should read the book with humility, wondering how the lessons and ideas here can be applied in their own context.

BIBLICALLY BASED, JESUS FOLLOWINGThis book has risen to become my favorite book on the relationship between Christians and U.S. politics. Wallis doesn't pull any punches. He calls sin sin and he refuses to bow to the idols of Democrats and Republicans. Due to the timing of this publication, Wallis focuses a lot on the particular policies of the George W. Bush administration. This book leans left of center in a good way. I didn't agree with everything he said, but this is a solid and provocative read. I hope that it challenges us all to follow Jesus in both words and actions.

I'll admit the subject matter is a little dated, but that aside, this offers a balanced look at how the left and the right have taken for granted or ignored, in some cases both, the issues that concern or should concern people of faith.If you're looking for a different take on faith and politics, this would be it.

Understanding God in a Democratic World18 January 2013 I first heard about this book when I was with one of my lady friends watching late night television (the sort that you don't actually watch, but rather have on in the background while you talk about absolutely nothing in particular and are drinking some form of alcoholic beverage). Anyway, this friend of mine particularly hated Christians (with the exception of me, because she thought that I actually gave Christianity a good name, or at least until we had a falling out, and then I became like all the other Christians out there) and as we listened to Jim Wallis advertise his book, she simply thought that he was reciting tired old dogma, where as to me he was beginning to take a new position on Christianity. Anyway, when I did read the book what struck me the most was not so much about which political party is the most Christian, or which party Christians should vote for, but how God's politics is actually above and separated from the politics of both Republicans and Democracts (or for Australians the Liberals and Labor). As the subtitle of his book says: why the Republicans got it wrong, and why the Democrats don't get it. This is what I think is essential when we understand how we as Christians should interact with the political world: understanding that God is neither Republican or Democrat, nor Liberal or Labour, left wing or right wing, but he is God and his politics are not that which concern either side, but rather what concern him and how we are living our lives as representatives of his church. It is a shame that in many cases we have Christians drifting towards either party, and playing the political game of brinkmanship, and even using politics as a way to put down and harass their brother's in Christ. We must remember that when the Emperor Theodosius attempted to muscle his way into the communion service during the later Roman Empire the priest pretty much drew a line and made it clear that the political sphere was not to trespass into the spiritual realm, meaning that politicians were not to use the church or Christianity to forward their own political agendas. Mind you, I don't necessarily agree with everything that Wallis says, particularly with his position on homosexuality. Now, that does not mean that we should be locking homosexuals up, or even persecuting them, but also we should not be compromising ourselves in relation to rewriting the bible in relation to that practice. While it is not my position to judge homosexuals (that is God's position and I am not God) if a church has made a stance where they will not allow homosexual priests, or refuse to participate in homosexual marriages, then we should not force them otherwise. It is the same with regards to homosexual members of the congregation that are going out of their way to promote their agenda within a particular church. In a way, if somebody can get sacked for actively and aggressively promoting their religion in the workplace, then the same goes for homosexuals in a church that is determined to maintain their heterosexual identity. The other hot potato involves abortion, and while I am a big supporter of the rights of the unborn, I am also a big supporter of the rights of women. This is an issue that I have canvassed before, and I feel that I should touch upon this again in relation to this book: in a promiscuous society, the victim always turns out to be the woman. It is not that abortion is being used as a form of contraception, it is because the system is preventing other forms of contraception from being available and thus exposing women to that risk. The idea is that if we ban contraception,then people will not have sex. Well, that is not true, and in fact we find that in many African countries where aids is spreading out of control, the simple solution of allowing contraception to be available is being denied on the grounds that it only encourages sex. Look, teenagers will have sex, and even if you spend countless hours telling them why they shouldn't have sex, they will still go and have sex. In fact, by telling people that they shouldn't have sex because it is a beautiful thing that is left only until marriage will only encourage them to have sex. In fact it also goes to create marriages that are not based upon the biblical concept, which is the sharing of a life with both parties work together for the common good of humanity, but rather it is simply an excuse to have sex, and a lot of it (which is not a bad thing). However the actual basis of the marriage does not exist and is not stable and this leads to adulterous affairs and even divorce. Then there is the aspect of the single mother who is victimised in more way than one. First of all, without the supportive husband, the woman and the child are both thrust into poverty, and once there it is impossible (or very difficult) to escape. Okay, that is not necessarily grounds for divorce, but once again the woman (and the child) are punished while the male gets away scott free. This can be solved by making contraception more readily available, but with the slogan: if it is not on, then it is not on. Remember this though, just because abortion is banned, an unwanted pregnancy is not going to magically become a wanted pregnancy.

Published in 2005 there are aspects of God's Politics that haven't aged well (Enron is not such a visceral scandal to remember). The bones are still good though, and Wallis offers critiques and insights evangelicals have yet to heed almost fifteen years later, but would certainly still benefit from

Great book, but way too longFirst half of the book was extremely repetitive, literally repeating exact sentences two pages later. It almost made me stop reading. I’m glad I didn’t. Once you get past the continual repetition, this was a very insightful book.