Wallis in
Parts III and IV bites off a whole lot to chew on -- War and Poverty -- Two realities that have always been with us, and surely are evident in the world
today. Writing in
2004/5 Wallis of course is focused on the aftermath of 9/11 and the presidency
of George W. Bush. Charitably, Wallis does not see W as bad person, a
hypocrite religiously. Rather, W is sadly misinformed about what biblical faith
is. (And so are a whole bunch of other American Christians.) Wallis --
rightly, in my view -- finds the civic religion of our time frightening, and
dangerous.
"The real
theological problem in America today is no longer the religious Right, but the
nationalist religion of the Bush administration, one that confuses the identity
of the nation with the church, and God’s purposes with the mission of American
empire." (Kindle 2806-2807)
W is no longer
President, of course. But given the current President's use of war in
Afghanistan and military drones a whole lot of other places, one is
disappointed that we haven't moved farther away from war as an instrument of
international politics. It is deeply entrenched in us all.
In Part IV
Wallis makes some excellent points about where conservatives and liberals
ought to be able to agree. He points to 'conservative' values of
promoting healthy families, teaching personal responsibility, and discouraging
sexual promiscuity as values that everyone can and should embrace, for the good of the poor. Liberals are right to point out where economic and social systems deny
opportunity to the poor. But as they do, they shouldn't be ashamed to
also say "Amen" to some of the things conservatives value.
Wallis calls
the church to stand with the poor, personally and politically. And he cites
instances where people of faith, working together, have been able to achieve
great changes in the world.
Along the way
he makes good use of biblical material: the idea of "Jubilee"
in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Mary's
Magnificat, the many voices of the prophets that excoriate the rich who oppress
the poor.
