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Who Speaks for God? [Hardcover]

Jim Wallis (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)


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Book Description

September 1, 1996
A prominent evangelical pastor offers a provocative political and social manifesto for all Americans who yearn for more spirit-centered politics but are fed up with the Christian Coalition.

Most people across the political and religious spectrum agree that our country is facing a moral and spiritual crisis, and that restoring "values" to our public policies and discourse has become a critical issue. But while the Religious Right have taken it upon themselves to represent Christian values, their ideas are actually counter both to the teachings of the scriptures and the historical tradition of evangelical activism, according to Jim Wallis.

Who Speaks for God? is his cogent, compelling alternative vision for infusing a sense of meaning and value into current politics, built around the principles of Compassion, Community, and Civility. According to the prophets, COMPASSION--treatment of the poor, the vulnerable, the weak, the children--is the virtual measure of a nation's righteousness. Whether it builds or destroys, COMMUNITY is the second test of a nation's character, and CIVILITY--the character of political discourse, such as the "politics of blame" so often
utilized by the Religious Right--is the last means of assessing a nation. These principles used together, according to Wallis, will not only adhere to basic Christian doctrine, they will transform our country.

Provocative, intelligent, and sure to spark debate, Who Speaks for God? is a call to arms for re-evaluating and radically reworking today's political and social culture.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wallis (The Soul of Politics, 1994), editor of Sojourners magazine, calls upon Americans to forge a "new spiritual politics beyond the old categories of Left and Right, liberal and conservative." Although he opens each chapter with quotes from Christian Coalition president Pat Robertson as examples of destructive, ideological religion, Wallis also chastises liberals, Democrats and groups like Act Up for contributing to the "impoverishment of American politics." While admonishing us to remember that God, not any self-appointed ideologue, speaks for God, Wallis calls for a spiritually based, not ideologically driven, politics tested by compassion, community and civility. Appendices contain the 1995 "Call for Renewal," written by the Christians for New Political Vision, a group composed of evangelicals, Catholics, mainline Protestants and African American church leaders, which articulates clearly the call for a political vision renewed by spiritual wisdom. Infused with hope, Wallis's book is a refresher course in how religious faith can be brought into accord with citizenship and democracy.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Wallis, a founding editor of Sojourners Magazine, observes that if one were to ask people on the street what they understood by "evangelical Christian" they would more likely than not name the Christian Coalition, the Religious Right, and people such as Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed. But there are many evangelical Christians whose beliefs are not represented by these groups and their leaders. Wallis offers a well-written, helpful critique of the positions of the Religious Right as articulated by Robertson and Reed. In view of the upcoming elections and the role of the Religious Right, his book is very timely.?John Moryl, Yeshiva Univ. Libs., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 215 pages
  • Publisher: Delacorte Press (September 1, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385316909
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385316903
  • Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,094,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jim Wallis is a bestselling author, public theologian, speaker, preacher, and international commentator on religion, public life, faith, and politics. He is president and CEO of Sojourners, where he is editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine. He regularly appears on radio and television, including shows like Meet the Press, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the O'Reilly Factor, and is a frequent guest on the news programs of CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, and National Public Radio. He has taught at Harvard's Divinity School and Kennedy School of Government on Faith, Politics, and Society. He has written eight books, including: Faith Works, The Soul of Politics, Who Speaks for God? and The Call to Conversion.

 

Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A true mix of religion and politics, October 4, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Who Speaks for God? (Paperback)
This book was very interesting to me, as it was a nice break from the media representation of all religion as being part of the conservative moment. Wallis takes the Religious Right to task for their lack of religion, especially their non-concern for the poor. His ending segment from the Call for Renewal about how "religion as a political cheerleader is inevitably false as a religion" sums up the whole book - we must remain true to our religious ideals and not become ideologues. Unfortunately, the Christian Coalition is strictly political and not religious and true voices for religious politics, like those of Wallis and most other religious folks, get lost in the media stereotype of religion.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A pretty encouraging book..., April 15, 2005
This review is from: Who Speaks for God? (Hardcover)
I found this book had a lot to offer. Wallis starts with the assumption that the Religious Right (or the Christian Coalition, take your pick) doesn't really represent the opinions of most Christians, nor does it really represent the teachings of the guy that the whole shebang is named after, Jesus. He also maintains the Left, with its emphasis on certain issues, doesn't really offer a whole lot for Christians of moral conviction. I can't really argue with his analysis. He goes on to deal with what America, and the world, really needs: compassion, community, and civility. He then details how these are currently lacking, how these concepts tie in to Christianity, and how these concepts can help improve things in general.

My two nit-picking complaints are that, one, he doesn't do much to detail how to achieve the desired states of compassion, community and civility, and, two, he doesn't do much to explain that this message is for more than just Christians. His message is one of inclusivity, and throughout the book, he does mention people of other faiths, but this book seems mostly written for Christians. I think it's important to realize that there are a number of people of other faiths, and a number of people of no particular faith, who would agree with what he says we need.

Overall a pretty good book, encouraging and inspiring. Makes me want to go out and do good works.
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4 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars I liked the title - didn't get anything out of it., September 13, 2002
By 
This review is from: Who Speaks for God? (Paperback)
The book, "Who talks for God" I started reading
assuming it was a book for Christians to come together
on some of the issues... and it didn't seem to be that
book.

Since a very good friend had recommended it - I figured
the problem must be my expectation of what the book was
about.

- So I tried to read it again assuming it was to liberal
Christians to reconcile some of the politics of the left
with their faith and that didn't work either.

Then I thought maybe it's addressed to agnostics/atheists
on the far left to explain how Christians could be on the
same side on social issues. (Wallis doesn't appear to even
know any conservatives). Then I tried searching for what
other people had found in it on the web - thinking that
could bring some clarity to the what it is, what it means.

I found that a lot of other people thought highly of it -
It's won some awards! But except for the promo blurbs,
there doesn't seem to be anything written about it - If
someone has found any gold here, please write a reply!

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