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Christianity Today, May, 2008 |

Where Jim Wallis Stands

The longtime activist on abortion, gay marriage, Iraq — and biblical orthodoxy.

Interview by Ted Olsen | posted 4/16/2008 09:01AM

Jim Wallis wants you to know he's not a liberal. Yes, he's been a chief critic of the Religious Right since its inception, gave the Democratic weekly radio address after the 2006 midterm elections, and ...

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jj	Posted: April 29, 2008 7:46 PM


I tried to give kk the benefit of the doubt but he has proven to be just another Republican mouthpiece. What makes him think that abortion is a bigger deal than poverty? How could some things be more important than other things? Quite hypocritcal in my view.

Brian

Posted: April 29, 2008 1:50 PM


Wallis aint fooling me, he claims to be against abortion yet supports radical abortionists, claims to be for the poor yet supports socialism, a system proven to hurt the poor, opposed to gay marriage yet supports politicians that will use the courts to impose it by judicial fiat.

Silence Dogood

Posted: April 29, 2008 10:45 AM

Finding himself ordained, Jim Wallis has beaten the drum for the Second Greatest Commandment for many years. He lives and speaks in terms of the Horizontal. Yes, Jesus and Moses encouraged all believers to attend to the needs of their brothers/sisters. However, Moses and Jesus articulated a higher priority embodied in the First and Greatest Commandment. Jim Wallis is silent with regard to that crucial, Vertical, Relationship as well as how much more important Christ/Moses/David emphasize that it is. Why would the interviewer give Wallis a pass on the Vertical topic and permit him to stay in the area he finds so comfortable? While many can fabricate a "construction" that somehow links the second to the First and Greatest Commandment, they know that Moses and Christ used the word "Heart" as the very first thing that must be given to God...then the "Mind"....then our hands and feet "Strength." Challenge Wallis on his exclusion of emphasis of the First and Greatest Commandment!

Sallie

Posted: April 25, 2008 2:44 PM

I am new to Jim Wallis' and the Sojourners' thinking, but I was thrilled to find someone who ariticulates so well so much of what I have been feeling and thinking about the Iraq war, same-sex unions, the pro-life position, justice, poverty, the environment, the broken US political system, and other issues that concern me greatly. As a born-again, Bible-believing, charismatic Christian and currently a member of an Anglican (formerly Episcopal) church, I have felt like I was between a rock and a hard place, with nowhere to go. The interview with Jim Wallis in Christianity Today has given me encouragement to not give up on the things I feel strongly about.

Andy	Posted: April 25, 2008 6:55 AM

I was disappointed that Wallis evaded CT's probing questions, responding not what we should do, but only what, in his estimation, we can do. Wallis sacrifices a truly prophetic stance at the altars of cold pragmatism and political expediency, revealing his lack of prophetic imagination. How could calling for abortion reduction be prophetic when no one is calling for an increase? (His "prophetic" call for dialogue on gay marriage is similarly toothless.) He ignores the central issue of abortion and does not go nearly far enough. The one sure way to reduce abortions is to make them illegal. In contrast, Stan Guthrie's clear, unequivocal call takes seriously the fundamental issue at stake: whether abortion takes the life of a human. The fight against the disgrace of legalized abortion must continue.

Pete	Posted: April 24, 2008 2:55 PM

We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. What is the gospel if not love and acceptance? Not that we condone sin, but we all know that when we look inside ourselves, we see areas we do not let Christ reach, dirty secrets and things we are not ready to let go of. Christ still loves us, he reminds us that there is a better way, but he does not bar us from his heart. The "proud religious right" needs to think about "pride" and how deeply it has permeated our relationships with the non-christian world. Sadly, the "Proud Christian Right" has elevated themselves to the Throne of Judgment and pre-damned all who are unacceptable in their sight. That is not our job, we are called to love, and love will change peoples lives. How can people know the love of Christ if we who are in Christ don't exhibit it...pass it around, let it out...outside the Church. Get off your judgment throne, lest you be judged.

eyrl	Posted: April 21, 2008 8:50 PM

Just because a Biblical truth doesn't fit with our culture, doesn't give us the right to change it. Abortion is murder. It not only murders the baby, but does serious physical and emotional damage to the mother. Homosexuality is a sin. The most serious crime committed by the US in Vietnam was the crime of not winning when we could, leaving thousands of Vietnamese to be killed or placed in "re-education" camps. The immorality of the 60's generation has hurt this nation enough that unless there is repentance and turning back to true Christianity. we will fall from within.

Alan Paul

Posted: April 21, 2008 12:02 PM


Perhaps this article should have begun with, "Jim Wallis has a book to sell, so he wants you to know he's really a conservative. No, really, he is." Context is everything...

Empathy

Posted: April 19, 2008 5:04 PM

Wallis is right. Poverty is the primary culprit in all the social ills Christians bemoan. Find a way to minimize poverty, then you'll start to see the world of justice and mercy you keep asking God for. Capitalism is the smoking gun that creates poverty. So long as you have filthy rich, you are going to have absolute poor. Johnson's Great Society program tried to change that, and was working. Poverty levels went from 21% to 9% of Americans by 1965. The problem was Vietnam. The well dried up. Are we not instruments of God? Why are we waiting and finger-pointing? We CAN fight poverty. All we have to do is care enough to DO SOMETHING!

The truth is the truth

Posted: April 19, 2008 8:04 AM

The truth is that looking through a political idealogical prism distorts the facts. Being right doesn't mean being correct, it simply means you are not center or left. The truth is that the neo-cons hijacked the Republican party and their idealogy has led to divisions within this country that are now permeating the church as well. Shouldn't we be about the mission of reaching people for Christ and let Christ make the difference in their lives, instead of a political party? Question? If a political party thinks that big goverment is the problem, why put them in charge? To destroy it? The Army is rapidly wearing out, as is the infrastructure of our country as is the patience of our people. What is victory $500 a barrel oil? Look at the facts not a fanciful goal!!!

ACA	Posted: April 18, 2008 11:31 PM

I find it ironic that the terms used to criticize Wallis for being unchristian, are themselves so unchristian. I get the sense from responses above that the lives of innocent civilians of America's enemies are worth nothing. That all it takes to be accepted as Christian is to support all the wars we engage in, just or not, hate abortion, hate Gays, and vote Republican. What a reproach to the Gospel!

sparksfire

Posted: April 18, 2008 9:11 AM


Jim Wallis is wrong in advocating union blessing in gay civil union. Jesus did meet homosexual. The word "unclean spirit" is any one with the wrong sexual control of their lives. What did Jesus do? He cast out the unclean spirit. Jim need to get into the Word of God. It is the Church who suppose to help people not the government.

Manny

Posted: April 18, 2008 8:16 AM

It seems that Wallis is so involved in his personal agenda that he has lost sight of his King's war. The bible's main thrust is God's Kingdom. It is fought in a spiritual realm and it has to do with saving souls not banishing poverty or war between nations. If I understand Jesus correctly, wars are a sign of the end-times and will take place wether Wallis likes it or not. I don't thing that God's plan is going to take second place to Wallis idealogy. The bible is clear on pro-life and marriage, anything that differs is man's doing and it puts him in uncompliance with God's established mind set. If anybody wants to be gooder and better understanding that God and alter his design, then go ahead but be prepare to answer to him when he calls you in for a conference. It is better to be in compliance with God than to be politically correct in our spiritually impoverished modern culture. What we need more of is Pro-God, Pro-Jesus and Pro-Scripture movements.

Osahon Alexander Idiaghe

Posted: April 18, 2008 4:37 AM

Good article but we must understand that man's problems are not ABORTION, GAY MARRIAGE and the likes. ABORTION, GAY MARRIAGE and the likes are just the manifestation of the thing. These are just the shadow of it. SIN in the heart of men!!!! That's the problem. All these things we see ourselves doing are just the manifestation of Sin. The Apostles had these similar problem in their days but they won't talk about the manifestation (the fruits) but they went straight to the root of it all and this is the ONLY SOLUTION to man's problem (Rom 1 vs 16). The Gospel (in summary... Christ) is the only Power that can change men. We (the Church) have only succeded in placing people in a "Religious Straight Jacket" with our church doctrines, the dos & don't making them obey us instead of giving them the real thing. Again no matter what effort Jim Willis and we the church put to stop the evil vices it won't work cos we lack the REAL THING........POWER TO LIBERATE MEN. Let's go for the REAL THING.

Rick	Posted: April 17, 2008 6:08 PM


Some people who have faith in Christ are liberals. Some people who have faith in liberalism are Christians. I always feel like Jim Wallis falls into the latter category. The apologetic for his political positions sounds convoluted, patronizing and evasive.

MA	Posted: April 17, 2008 4:32 PM

Jim wallis seems advocates a disugused form of moral relativism. And it seems to me more dangerous than what we've seen before. We are to follow the word of God. The issues he tries to "pooh-pooh" are central to the Christian faith. But we can't be surprise at this "new" doctrine and he's probably right that many are following him. 2 Peter 2 warns us - "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. I pray for discernment for the body of Christ.

1dogbarking

Posted: April 17, 2008 4:08 PM

I am disheartened by the vitriol and left/right political bias in these responses to the article. And for anyone to think that when Jesus said that we would always have the poor means we should ignore their needs totally ignores what Jesus said. Read Mark 14.7. I tend to agree with A Hermit's post: much like what Keith Miller said in Hunger for Healing, that "self" absorption is the issue. Jesus said also that whenever we do for the least of these (poor) we have done for him. Wallis is onto something: faith focuses on doing for those around us moreso than in political posturing.

dan	Posted: April 17, 2008 3:56 PM

I'm waiting for the day that CT has such a positive interview with a true evangelical -- even something remotely positive about the religious right. This is shear PR to make Wallis more acceptable to CT readers. Jim got a freebie here (as usual)! Also I note that the first three comments are positive -- no dissenting voice unless you want to click to read all the comments. What has happened to CT's objectivity? Sad, sad, sad!

Rev. Walter L. Taylor

Posted: April 17, 2008 3:54 PM

As an orthodox pastor in a "mainline" denomination (the PCUSA), I must say that I find some of Wallis' comments quite sad. For his assertion of his pro-life position on abortion, I would say that it is the moral equivalent to slavery. Furthermore, since 1973 something in the area of 40 million abortions have taken place in the USA alone. The fruit of the sexual revolution (which morphed from "free love" into pro-homosexual agendas) has been bitter indeed. Every time I hear people scream about the future of Social Security, I think how different our society would be with an additional 40 million people 34 years old and younger in it. The radicals of the 60s and 70s have truly mortgaged their future for the sexual revolution. I would also point out to Mr. Wallis that the societies that have embraced some form of gay marriage have also seen a decline in the marriage rate between heterosexuals as well. Once you start your social engineering, you do not know where it will lead.

fan	Posted: April 17, 2008 3:49 PM

This article is full of obfuscation. Wallis uses the "evangelical" label to promote his political views. He clearly is not in the evangelical camp and constantly blurs distinctions in order to have it both ways -- he benefits from his associations with evangelicals (otherwise, nobody would listen to him; he would have no constituency -- so he coopts the evangelical constituency in order to promote his leftist political views.)

Jeff P

Posted: April 17, 2008 2:24 PM

As I read Mr Wallis' statements he seems to share a common contemporary liberal paradigm: That compassion rules over reason. It does not. Social Justice. An oxymoron if ever their was one. Justice and Righteousness come from the same root word. Helping each other is the part we've lost. What Mr Wallis advocates is taking money fro people who have it to give it to people who don't using the force of government. Before I sound too RIGHTWING, we must NEVER deprive ourselves the JOY of giving to those in need, by using FORCE.

Beverly Nuckols, MD

Posted: April 17, 2008 1:11 PM

Jim Wallis sure says "I" alot. However, he's wrong about the fight to protect life and marriage: for some of us, it's constant, not just every 2 to 4 years. It's constant because the social pressures to ignore new and changing threats as well as old ones is constant. Both Mrs. Clinton and Barack Obama have promised to overturn the Partial Birth abortion ban if elected and would certainly increase funding for all of the varieties of destruction of embryonic and fetal humans. Far too many young people are abandoning traditional marriage for serial monogamy based on immediate wants -- and don't see any need to discern between same sex and opposite sex "partnerships" or to be "punished" with a baby that they don't want. Wallis should stop reliving the Viet Nam War and look at the realities of the social eugenics we are fighting today

Jason

Posted: April 17, 2008 12:48 PM

I'm appalled that Jim Wallis thinks Cheney (evangelical Christians seem to be under the impression that Halliburton is 'HolyBurton') and Bush etc should not be prosecuted as war criminals. This suggested impunity for men whose lies and policies have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and untold agonies for millions, including thousands of American families who've lost loved ones or have to nurse severely injured and traumatised men and women, is flatly not only illogical and absurd. Jail those who are responsible for minor crimes, but do nothing about the majorly evil and criminal politicians. Impunity, if it is a 'Christian' requirement, should then be carried through consistently and the justice system as a whole abolished. Jails could become casinos and bordellos.. Nonsense! Christians must stand for righteousness and justice! Bush, Cheney and Wolfowitz etc belong in either Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo..

Bethany

Posted: April 17, 2008 11:31 AM

I am a pro-life Democrat Christian who is working in the party for change on abortion. However, pro-choice Democrat friends have legitimate questions that I have a hard time answering. For example, if I believe abortion is murder, which I do, who will be indicted on the murder charge? If I say just the doctor, I'm saying a woman can murder her child without penalty. If I say both the doctor and the woman, what about the father of the unborn child, who has either disappeared, or who pushes the woman into an abortion she didn't want,but chose out of desperation. Would Jesus send her to jail but not him? How do we prove he pushed her to it? What if he wanted the child, but she didn't? Do we just send her to jail? How does he prove he really wanted it? If we believe abortion is murder and are working to make it against the law, we need to have Bible-based answers to these questions, and be able to state them to our pro-choice friends openly. Until then, we remain at an impasse.

Santos

Posted: April 17, 2008 10:44 AM


"None of us need agree with Wallis or with each other on every issue." Agreed, but we all need to agree with the basic message of Christianity is there is going to be an "us". The more you move to the left, the greater number of things are "within the pale". Whomever thinks abortion is "a stale discussion" or a "single-issue ideology" has a real reason to question his/her Christianity.

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