Who Speaks for God?

by Jim Wallis

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.

Genres: Religion, Theology, Politics, Christianity

215 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

JIM WALLIS is a globally respected writer, teacher, preacher, justice advocate, regular international commentator on ethics and public life, and mentor for a new generation. He is a New York Times bestselling author of twelve books, including Christ in Crisis, America's Original Sin, God's Politics and The Great Awakening. Wallis is the Founder of Sojourners. He served on President Obama's White House Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and has taught faith and public life courses at Harvard and Georgetown University. "Coach Jim" also served for 22 seasons as a Little League coach for his two baseball playing sons.

Reviews

[Gerry Czerak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1996, this book is just as relevant in 2012 because not much has changed since then with the partisanship of the country and Congress.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1996, I expected this book to be a little dated. Ironically (and sadly), it wasn't. Wallis argues that instead of the Religious Right and the "liberal" left, evangelicals should eschew political parties and create a compassionate, civil, and community-focused middle way.(Sound familiar?)

The writing style is vintage Wallis - clear, precise, and mostly controlled. His burning anger at the outrageous and dangerous commentary of Pat Robertson slips through in more than a few places, but for the most part he practices the civility he preaches.

The Moral Majority and Christian Coalition don't officially exist anymore, and their political power has definitely waned, but the point of this book remains fresh (and disappointingly) still needed.

[Darin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read for a rather bull-headed right-winged conservative like myself. I think that I will read some more of his books. I really liked that he points out the "false dichotomies" that the political parties would have us all believe....if you are conservative or republican you have to believe one thing and if you are liberal or democratic you have to believe the opposite. Instead of focusing on these mostly false opposites and fighting, he wants to find the middle ground (where most of us live and believe) and work together.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned about Jim Wallis's view that we are too divided in a political, religious, and cultural sense to face the moral and spiritual crisis in our nation.
He proposes a balanced society: compassion, community, and civility as a start to finding solutions.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this right after the 2004 election and it was like the author knew what was coming down years in advance.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in late 90's during Clinton presidency and before George W and Obama. Lays out a place for evangelical Christians that are NOT right-wing Pat Robertson groupies.

[Alex McHaddad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is as relevant in 2016 as it was when it was written... in 1996. Excellent resource for Christians who love politics but tend to see through the lies a little too easily.

[Steven]

I really liked this. I thought it was a very fair approach to how the right and the left are getting it wrong relative to religion in politics. It is a little dated, but I think it shows that his speculation turned to be true.