Rebranding Christianity

Rebranding Christianity

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1040380

Peter Heck
6/7/2010

If you haven't been paying attention, a very interesting reality has
been occurring on the American political left. Long advocates of the
need to keep religion and the church out of politics, leading
liberals have begun singing a different tune recently. We hear the
President speaking about listening for "God's voice," Harry Reid
lecturing on our "moral imperatives," and even Nancy Pelosi calling
on church leaders to lobby their parishioners to support the
left-wing approach to illegal immigration.

I actually consider this a major victory for conservative Christians
who have been speaking about the inescapable intersection of faith
and politics for years. For the longest time, the left kept up a
futile approach of pretending that faith doesn't matter in the sphere
of public policy. Yet, there was always an air of inconsistency in
their tired contention that, "you can't legislate morality." After
all, every law that is written declares one thing to be right and
another wrong...thus, it imposes someone's view of morality.

So now, the left has apparently abandoned their incoherent strategy
and adopted a new one. Rather than seeking to eliminate Christian
influence on politics, the left is now launching an aggressive
campaign to rebrand Christianity to fit its liberal political agenda.

And perhaps no other figure is playing a more important role in that
effort than self-proclaimed spiritual adviser to liberal politicians,
Jim Wallis. Wallis's past is one that includes membership in the
radical Students for a Democratic Society during Vietnam, championing
of communism in the 1970s, and the founding of an anti-capitalist
magazine entitled The Post-American.

In 1971, Wallis changed the name of his magazine to
Sojourners. Though billed as a "progressive Christian commentary on
faith, politics, and culture," it is readily apparent to regular
readers like myself that it is heavy on the "progressive" and light
on the "Christian." For instance, a recent post on Wallis'
Sojourner's blog ­ "God's politics" ­ blatantly lied about the
Arizona immigration law, calling it "legal racial profiling." The
law itself outright forbids racial profiling at least four
times. Even more damaging, the magazine's website links to the
outrageously vile and offensive left-wing hate site "Daily Kos" in
its favorite blogs section, and recently featured the foul-mouthed
Comedy Central host Jon Stewart as a "modern-day prophet."

These anecdotal red flags, however, are not nearly as concerning as
Wallis's own words and behavior. Appearing recently on the left-wing
talk radio program, The Stephanie Miller Show, Wallis condemned the
"utterly partisan" political dialogue. "That's why I like shows like
yours," Wallis commented to Miller. But wait...Stephanie Miller is
the same woman who went on Larry King Live and called for the
execution of Rush Limbaugh. She also recently made the proclamation
that "God is a Democrat."

Evidently that blatant hypocrisy was not enough for Wallis. He then
went on to condemn conservatives by reprimanding, "But, my goodness,
you can't challenge people's...faith because they disagree with you
on a policy option." This just moments before Wallis told Miller he
was "pondering a blog for this week which will say, 'Is
Libertarianism Christian?'" In other words, because Wallis disagrees
with libertarians on policy, he will question their faith. Oh, but
he wasn't done. Asked by Miller about Kentucky Republican Rand
Paul's position on the BP oil spill, Wallis replied, "I'd say that's
un-Christian."

The truth is I have always struggled theologically with many of
Wallis's positions. While claiming to revere William Wilberforce
(the man who single handedly made slavery illegal in England) as a
Christian who did political engagement the right way, on the great
moral issue of our day ­ abortion ­ Wallis believes it should be kept
legal. I've also scratched my head many times at Wallis's call for
"social justice." While I do believe that fighting poverty, being a
good steward of creation, and charity are Christian imperatives, I
recognize that those are commands Christ gave to us individually, to
be motivated out of love and compassion. Too often, it seems, Wallis
seeks to use public policy, government confiscation, regulation, and
redistribution to achieve these objectives. That's not compassion --
it's compulsion. His well-intentioned aims then bring glory to the
state, not to God.

But those theological concerns are now giving way to something more
serious, and those Christians who "sojourn" with Wallis should be
very wary. While our faith should always inform our politics, we
should never let our politics inform our faith. Recent examples show
Wallis treading freely across that dangerous line.

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