Rev. Jim Wallis: Christians Stand Up To Glenn Beck

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/26/AR2010032603630.html?hpid=opinionsbox1&sub=AR

Christians stand up to Glenn Beck

By Jim Wallis
Saturday, March 27, 2010



Glenn Beck has picked a fight with me, but he recently started a more troubling battle with the nation's churches with his criticism that "social justice" is "code" for "communism" and "Nazism," and that Christians should leave their churches if they preach, practice or even have the phrase on their Web site.

While Beck initially claimed that "social justice is a perversion of the Gospel," he now suggests his concern was really the association of the phrase with "Big Government." He even adds that when "social justice" refers simply to individual charity, it is permissible to him. But for millions of people, this is not a joking matter. Christians across the theological and political spectrum believe that social justice is central to the teachings of Jesus and at the heart of biblical faith. Because Christians couldn't "turn in" their pastors to "church authorities" as Beck suggested (the pope would turn himself into . . . himself), many have started turning themselves in to Beck as "social justice Christians" -- 50,000 at last count.

snip//

If Beck had, from the beginning, made an argument for small government and private charity, none of us would have responded to him. But on his show this week he wrote on his blackboard: "My definition of social justice" is "the forced redistribution of wealth, with a hostility to individual property, under the guise of charity and/or justice." I doubt many churches in America would agree with that.

A debate over the role of government is good and healthy, as is discussing the relationship between personal and social responsibility. People of faith who believe in social justice can be found across the political spectrum. They would apply the concept in different ways; vote Republican, Democrat or independent; and have varying views of government -- both smaller and larger than my own. We make progress together when we agree to public policies that are smart and effective government. Even the conservative Heritage Foundation has a video on "social justice." The key for people of faith is to stand up for the poor, even against wealth and power when necessary.

But I've learned that to merely challenge Beck's attacks leads to being called "Marxist," or to hear warnings that "the hammer will fall" on you or to face threats that he will devote a week of shows to your demise. My offer of a personal invitation to a respectful and civil conversation was met with more threats and name calling. Jesus said that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. So whatever Beck does, Christians who want to follow Jesus should not personally attack Beck but, rather, should pray for him, for the poor and for our country, which is being harmed by an increasingly poisonous public discourse.

This is the right way to stand up to Glenn Beck. Who knows; it may be the moment to launch a new movement of Christians for Social Justice.



Jim Wallis, a preacher and editor in chief of Sojourners magazine, served on the White House Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. His most recent book is "Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street ¿ A Moral Compass for the New Economy."

[Bluerthanblue]

1. Great Post!!

thanks for this-
K&R

[Bluenorthwest]

2. Wallis, who stood and watched the hate against others

spread in the name of his faith for years, finally gets upset when they go after his own. I hope he means it. Sick of Wallis's community harassing mine, with signs filled with slander, with organized political actions to remove our rights form us. I hope Wallis and his ilk get up and make some penance. They have much to do in that regard, and the pearl clutching over Beck's latest remarks just seems so personal, because Wallis was never offended or moved enough by Fred Phelps to say a word against him. No, in fact, the Wallis crowd stands with the Phelps set, they all agree, organize and pass laws against their neighbors as a united faith community.
Wallis will need to deliver more than silent prayer if he wants to move over and stand on the side of decency.

[OnionPatch]

3. Wallis has always been a progressive Christian.

And I'm pretty certain that he and his followers are NOT the Christians you're referring to above. He's been speaking out from the progressive Christian point of view for years. I think you're being really unfair grouping him in with the extremist, RW Christians. I happen to be a progressive Christian myself, and believe me, we can speak out against the RW Christian mentality until we're blue in the face. They just say we aren't REAL Christians and ignore us, and they say the same thing about Wallis. I don't know how you think we're supposed to change their minds. It's kind of like Europeans blaming all Americans for George Bush.

[CAG]

4. Broadbrush enough already?

"because Wallis was never offended or moved enough by Fred Phelps to say a word against him. No, in fact, the Wallis crowd stands with the Phelps set, they all agree, organize and pass laws against their neighbors as a united faith community."

I guess one could pick any random Italian in Rome today and accuse them of being associated with the dictatorship of Mussolini just because they haven't said anything against it today.

Here's a quick search on Jim Wallis' Sojourners blog site regarding several comments on Fred Phepls.

Results for search: 10 results20 results30 results50 results100 results

Church Unites to Shun Hate, Sojourners Magazine/March-April 1999Fred Phelps, picketed Broadway United Methodist Church in Chicago with signs declaring "Fags die. God laughs." Rev. Greg Dell, pastor of Broadway, ...
www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue... - Cached



Practicing What We Preach, Sojourners Magazine/January-February 1999Fred Phelps, who protested at Matthew Shepard's funeral with signs reading "God Hates Fags" and "Fags Burn in Hell." It would be a tragedy to allow ...
sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj9901&article...



Say Amen, Somebody!, Sojourners Magazine/February 2005When Fred Phelps, founder of the "God Hates Fags" Web site, brought his hate campaign to Tulsa, Oklahoma, he got a little more than he bargained for from ...
www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue... - Cached



Haiti and Anti-Evangelist Pat Robertson's 'Gospel' of Disgrace ...Jan 14, 2010 ... Many people have a very negative, distorted view of Christianity because of people like Robertson, Fred Phelps, the Ku Klux Klan and other ...
blog.sojo.net/.../haiti-and-anti-evangelist-pat-robertsons-gospel-of-disgrace/ - Cached



Virtual Hate, Sojourners Magazine/September-October 2000Started by Fred Phelps, the infamous "God Hates Fags" demonstration leader, Westboro Baptist currently boasts two sites: www.godhatesfags.com and ...
www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue... - Cached



You Go J-O! - Becky Garrison - God's Politics BlogMay 5, 2009 ... And yes, we do need people who can present positive images of Christianity given how Christians are often portrayed as Fred Phelps and Ann ...
blog.sojo.net/2009/05/05/you-go-j-o/ - Cached



Repent, the End is Near! - Jim Wallis - God's Politics BlogSep 30, 2008 ... c) If "LOVE OF of money is the root of ALL evil", please explain Fred Phelps to me. Please try and keep it tied to finances, logical, ...
blog.sojo.net/2008/09/30/repent-the-end-is-near/ - Cached



When Calls to 'Unity' Sow Division in the Civil Union Debate ...Mar 27, 2009 ... Fred Phelps is the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., which is notorious for its vicious anti-gay rhetoric -- we receive ...
blog.sojo.net/.../when-calls-to-unity-sow-division-in-the-civil-union-debate/ - Cached



Turning the Tables on Hate, Sojourners Magazine/September-October 2001St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church turned the tables on hate-monger Fred Phelps in May when Phelps brought 10 of his followers to protest the ordination ...
www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue... - Cached



SojoMailRichard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and other New Atheists cite Fred Phelps, Jerry Falwell, and Ann Coulter as ontological proof that all Christians are hypocrites ...
sojo.net/index.cfm?action=sojomail.display&issue=070308



Briefly Noted, Sojourners Magazine/November-December 2000Anti-gay pastor Fred Phelps of Topeka, Kansas, was also present. In 1996, American Lori Berenson was imprisoned in Peru, accused of being a guerrilla leader ...
www.sojo.net/index.cfm/action/www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action...



Look Who's Praying at the Inauguration - Cathleen Falsani - God's ...... for removing "God's hedge of protection" around the U.S. My place of employment regularly receives faxes from Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church. ...
blog.sojo.net/2009/01/16/look-whos-praying-at-the-inauguration/ - Cached



Look Who's Praying at the Inauguration - Cathleen Falsani - God's ...Jan 16, 2009 ... "God's hedge of protection" around the U.S. My place of employment regularly receives faxes from Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church. ...
blog.sojo.net/2009/01/16/look-whos-praying-at-the-inauguration/?...46

[yellowcanine]

6. You slander Wallis. Care to offer some documentation of all that? I know Jim Wallis. I do not

recognize him in your description. Wallis and Sojourners have never had any truck with Fred Phelps. I think you must have Wallis confused with someone else.

[Enthusiast]

5. K&R! nt