God's Politics by Jim Wallis
Jim Wallis is growing with popularity by the week it seems, and the success of God’s Politics has been a large part of this growth. Both in the USA and the UK he is winning over Christians to support his political agenda, and even our own Prime-Minister-for-not-much-longer Gordon Brown has lauded God’s Politics as 'powerful reading for anyone interested in social change.’
God’s Politics has been called "the book that changed the conversation" on faith and politics - 
definitely a book Christians had been waiting for. After George Bush’s electoral success in 2000, and particularly 2004, many of us were left wondering how such an unpopular (outside the USA anyway) right wing government had got to power on the back of Christian support. It was clear to many of us, including Jim Wallis, that evangelicals’ involvement in politics needed reformation, and Alastair Campbell’s entirely understandable comment that in Britain politicians ‘don’t do religion’ only added to the need in this country too- all this amongst the backdrop of increased religious fundamentalism. In God’s Politics, Jim Wallis tackles this head-on. Unsurprisingly his vision is built on the premise that he is in favour of increased engagement with politics, not less.
Some believers still argue that politics should be a no-go area. But Jim Wallis asks how we can possibly successfully work for social change without engaging in politics. He sees government as a crucial component in spreading the gospel. For example in recent years we have seen social justice become more of an issue for Christians, expressing itself through a revival of charitable church-based ministries, particularly in the USA. But working to end poverty without getting Christians into politics is surely equivalent to shooting ourselves in the foot. We simply cannot as Christians only criticize our politicians’ choices – let’s start influencing the decisions our country makes, he argues.
As much as I agree with his sentiment, the book is not faultless. Intellectually I found the book came up short. Wallis constantly compares the Republican and Democrat party positions (without estranging British readers), and gives both parties a very thorough examination, but there is little discussion of any new approaches or any economic theory. Wallis clearly believes that American capitalism can benefit the poor, and that no fundamental changes are needed, but personally I’m not convinced. Do we believe in the wholesale eradication of poverty, or do we simply want to increase the opportunities for wealth creation for those who will work hard enough? It is clear that at present the market economies of the west are not creating societies that resemble a Christian vision of society, and government intervention is required, but just how much of a role should the government play? Could it be that we are called to a wholly egalitarian society? I found the lack of discussion of these issues a real loss. From the way Wallis presents vision, but scarce policy, it appears to me that Wallis’ strength is as a preacher or theologian, not a government adviser.
Perhaps my criticisms are unnecessary. As Gordon Brown acutely challenged Wallis recently, the world now has the resources to abolish poverty (arguably for the first time in history) but not the moral and the political will - and he looked across the table and said: "That's your job, in the churches". And in that regard, Wallis is doing an extremely commendable job.
For Christians macro economics is not an issue we hold very highly. But if we really are to care for the poor, surely the framework within which we operate must be closely scrutinized. Wallis never fails to inspire, and for that reason I feel strongly that every Christian should read the book, and his articulation of God’s priorities is extremely challenging to a church arguably too comfortable with how our society operates. But the book left me with a desire to go further, a need for more examination of the way our society operates and how it needs to change. In Wallis’ defence it is possible that for the sake of accessibility this has been left out of the book. But at 374 pages the book is far longer than it needs to be. Whole chapters could have been removed from the book to make it more readable, and prevent Wallis from repeating himself.
Fighting poverty is not the only issue Wallis deals with in the book. Wallis recognises that family breakdown is contributing to the ills of society. He challenges liberals to accept that personal responsibility is important without sounding heavy handed or unsympathetic, but also without accepting conservative arguments that the state has no benevolent role. Wallis also calls for a new direction for US foreign policy, a view that would be welcomed all around the globe. His criticism of the Iraq war is articulate, but again a lack of intellectual debate is noticeable. Christian views on foreign policy are not cohesive, with some still believing that we have a duty to protect by using force where necessary, and Wallis seems to sidestep this issue all together. Moral values and the hedonistic degradation of society are looked at, with Wallis striving to seek an inevitably very fragile consensus between liberals and conservatives, but Wallis is at his best when he inspires the reader to look at the spiritual factors behind political views, encouraging us to choose hope over cynicism, love over fear.
In conclusion, this book was written for all Christians to read, not just politicians. It certainly has changed the discussion on faith and politics, setting out a vision for Christian engagement that is both biblical and exciting. If Christians did embrace the potential of biblical governance, the future could be very bright indeed.
t.thomas@eauk.org - comments welcome!
