Reply #10: God is not a Republican. Or a Democrat Sojourner's.net

[proudbluestater]

http://www.sojo.net/

He's not a televangelist, but Jim Wallis is the person you are looking for. Progressive preacher, hosts his own website and is seen often on talk shows with views from the liberal side of religion.

"OUR VISION - a progressive and prophetic vision of faith and politics - was not running in this election. Neither candidate championed the poor as a "moral value" or made the war in Iraq a clearly religious matter. And neither advocated a "consistent ethic of human life" beyond single issue voting. The ways in which the visions of both parties are morally and politically incomplete must now be taken up by people of faith. That can best be done by reaching into both the conservative Christian communities that voted for George Bush and more liberal Christian communities that voted for John Kerry.

It’s time to spark a real debate in this country over what the most important "religious issues" and "moral values" in politics are - and how broadly and deeply they are understood. Religion doesn’t fall neatly into right and left categories. If there were ever candidates running with a strong set of personal moral values and a commitment to be pro-poor and pro-peace, it could build many bridges to the other side. Personal and social responsibility are both at the heart of religion, and the two together could make a very powerful and compelling political vision for the future of our bitterly divided nation.

In our deeply polarized country, either political outcome would have crushed the hopes of almost half the population. So perhaps the most important post-election role for the religious community is to contribute to political healing and reconciliation. In the spirit of America’s greatest religious leader, Martin Luther King Jr., the religious community could help a divided nation find common ground by moving to higher ground. And we should hold ourselves and both political parties accountable to the challenge of the biblical prophet Micah to "do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God."

In George W. Bush’s second term, he could return to the promise of his early and forgotten "compassionate conservatism," offering something more than "faith-based initiatives": a serious plan for dramatic poverty reduction and the resources to back it up.

Now having won the election, Bush could safely take some of John Kerry’s advice for significantly involving the international community in helping to achieve both security and elections in Iraq and begin to withdraw the American occupation whose continuation will only bring disaster. And with the death of Yasser Arafat, the American president could join his English cousin Tony Blair in pushing both Israeli and Palestinian leaders toward a fair two-state peace solution. But if he doesn’t move in those directions, George Bush may find that a significant part of his opposition will come from other Christians who are acting out of their deepest "moral values."

Jim Wallis is editor-in-chief of Sojourners.