Progressive Faith Did Not Lose This Election

[klook]

Here's an interesting article from a magazine by and for real Christians (and conscientious non-Christians like me):

Progressive Faith Did Not Lose This Election
by Jim Wallis
from Sojourners magazine, Nov. 2004

Religion was a big factor in this election, and "moral values" were named as a key issue for voters in the exit polls. On the Republican side, George W. Bush talked comfortably and frequently about his personal faith and ran on what his conservative religious base called the "moral issues." On the Democratic side, Senator John Kerry invoked the New Testament story of the Good Samaritan, talked about the importance of loving our neighbors, and said that faith without works is dead - but only began talking that way at the very end of his campaign.

We've now begun a real debate in this country over what the most important "religious issues" are in politics, and that discussion will continue far beyond this election. The Religious Right fought to keep the focus on gay marriage and abortion and even said that good Christians and Jews could only vote for the president. But many moderate and progressive Christians disagreed. We insisted that poverty is also a religious issue, pointing to thousands of verses in the Bible on the poor. The environment - protection of God's creation - is also one of our religious concerns. And millions of Christians in America believe the war in Iraq was not a "just war."

So in this election, one side talked about the number of unborn lives lost each year, while the other pointed to the 100,000 civilian casualties in Iraq. But both are life issues - according to the Pope, for example, who opposes both John Kerry's views on abortion and George Bush's war policy. Some church leaders challenged both candidates on whether just killing terrorists would really end terrorism and called for a deeper approach. And 200 theologians, many from leading evangelical institutions, warned that a "theology of war emanating from the highest circles of government is also seeping into our churches."

Clearly, God is not a Republican or a Democrat, as we sought to point out, and the best contribution of religion is precisely not to be ideologically predictable or loyally partisan but to maintain the moral independence to critique both the left and the right.

more - http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=sojomail.display&issue=041103#3

[realisticphish]

1. i love

jim wallis' writing. he puts things into perspective very well

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Go_andbe]

2. whats klook for?

[klook]

3. Nickname for jazz drummer Kenny Clarke

It was his onomatopoetic nickname, referring to the irregular beats and accents he would sometimes throw in behind soloists. Clarke was one of the major musicians who helped create bebop in the 1940s.

See http://www.thejazzfiles.com/JazzClarke.html for a bio on him.

I love jazz, and I always thought "Klook" was one of the coolest jazz nicknames.