Jim Wallis

Jim Wallis (born June 4, 1948) is a Christian writer and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of Sojourners magazine and as the founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community of the same name. Wallis is well known for his advocacy on issues of peace and social justice. Although Wallis actively eschews political labels, he describes himself as an evangelical and is often associated with the evangelical left and the wider Christian left. He works as a spiritual advisor to President Barack Obama.^[1] He is married to the Rev. Joy Carroll, who was one of the first female priests in the Church of England.^[2] He is also a leader in the Red-Letter Christian movement.^[3]

Early life

Born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in a traditional evangelical Plymouth Brethren family,^[4] as a young man Wallis became active in Students for a Democratic Society^[5][6] and the civil rights movement. Wallis graduated from Michigan State University and attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, where he joined with other young seminarians in establishing the community that eventually became Sojourners. The journal Sojourners originated in Deerfield, Illinois as The Post American in 1971.

Theology

Wallis wrote in 1974 that, "The new evangelical consciousness is most characterized by a return to biblical Christianity and the desire to apply biblical insights to the need for new forms of sociopolitical engagement."^[7]

A reviewer of Wallis' 1976 book Agenda for Biblical People summarized the Christological basis of Wallis' political theology:

"Christ's life, death, and resurrection have brought victory over 'the powers.' He shattered the myth of their absolute authority by demonstrating his freedom in relation to them. He challenged their rule and would not submit to them. Indeed, the fallen powers were so exposed and threatened by Christ's actions that they acted in collusion to kill him. The cross symbolizes that freedom in which death is swallowed up in victory. Christ's resurrection vindicates his manner of life and death, seats his victory, and allows others to live freely and humanly in the midst of 'the powers' by their 'being in Christ.' This must be the proclamation and witness of the church of Jesus Christ. The church is a new force in history which is a sign to 'the powers' that their dominion has been broken. The very presence of a body of people who exercise their moral independence is an essential element for Wallis because 'without a visible and concrete demonstration of independence, all the church's outward attacks upon the institutions of the world will be doomed to failure.'"^[8]

Writing in Sojourners in 1980, Wallis said, "Proclamation of the gospel, charismatic gifts, social action, and prophetic witness alone do not finally offer a real threat to the world as it is, especially when set apart from a community which incarnates a whole new order. It is the ongoing life of a community of faith that issues a basic challenge to the world as it is, and offers a viable and concrete alternative. The church must be called to be the church, to rebuild the kind of community that gives substance to the claims of faith."^[9]

Wallis has been quoted as saying, "I would suggest that the Bible is neither “conservative” nor “liberal” as we understand those terms in a political context today… It is traditional or conservative on issues of family values, sexual integrity, and personal responsibility, while being progressive, populist, or even radical on issues like poverty and racial justice."^[10] Speaking to a conference of clergy from the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool (The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire, UK, 23 June 2009) Wallis said, "The press don't get it - they say, 'Have you replaced the religious right with the religious left?'" Rather, he says that his Christian commitment does not allow him to align with any political wing - on some issues, his views would be counted as coming from the left, on others, from the right. "Don't go left, don't go right: go deeper."

Political and social influence

Wallis was invited by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) to give the Democrats' weekly radio address on Saturday, December 2, 2006. He spoke about the importance of moral leadership in Washington, and touched on a variety of social concerns.^[11] In February 2007 he wrote in Time about the post-Religious Right era and the resurgence of mainstream Christianity, with evangelicals "deserting the Religious Right in droves".^[12] Wallis has served on the Advisory Council to President Barack Obama's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.^[13] He serves as a spiritual adviser to President Obama.^[1]

In addition to President Obama, Wallis has developed personal friendships with former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown^[14] and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. In his 2010 book Rediscovering Values, Wallis writes, "I consider Rudd one of the most hopeful young political leaders in the world today, a committed Christian who seeks to apply his faith to his public service; we consider each other good friends."^[15]

Wallis has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, discussing faith and politics.^[16]

He has appeared on the Democracy Now! show.^{[17][18] [19][20][21]}

In discussing the 2004 American presidential elections, Wallis said "Jesus didn’t speak at all about homosexuality. There are about 12 verses in the Bible that touch on that question. Most of them are very contextual. There are thousands of verses on poverty. I don’t hear a lot of that conversation."^[22] Regarding same-sex marriage, Wallis has made the following remarks: "I don't think the sacrament of marriage should be changed. Some people say that Jesus didn't talk about homosexuality, and that's technically true. But marriage is all through the Bible, and it's not gender-neutral. I have never done a blessing for a same-sex couple. I've never been asked to do one. I'm not sure that I would. I want churches that disagree on this to have a biblical, theological conversation and to live with their differences and not spend 90 percent of their denominational time arguing about this issue when 30,000 children are dying every single day because of poverty and disease."^[23]

Wallis is listed as a supporter of the Consistent Life Ethic, an ideology that includes opposition to abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty.^[24] In a 2008 interview with Christianity Today, Wallis expressed strong support for abortion reduction, adding that "I don't think that abortion is the moral equivalent issue to slavery that Wilberforce dealt with. I think that poverty is the new slavery. Poverty and global inequality are the fundamental moral issues of our time. That's my judgment."^[25] A 2008 Newsweek article states that "Jim Wallis devoted a significant chunk of his latest book, 'The Great Awakening,' to outlining his views on abortion. The evangelical leader wrote in favor of 'protecting unborn life in every possible way, but without criminalizing abortion.'" Wallis added, "Everybody tends to agree that preventing unwanted pregnancies is a good thing. I'm saying, let's take it to the next step and say that abortion reduction is a good thing too. It's about providing options—not taking away a woman's right to choose, but making things like adoption easier."^[26]

In August 2009, he signed a public statement encouraging all Christians to "read, wrestle with, and respond to Caritas in Veritate", the social encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI.^[27] A few months earlier, it was speculated that Wallis might have been chosen for the post of Vatican ambassador, but theologian Miguel H. Diaz was selected instead.^[28]

Wallis supported President Obama's health care legislation, and reportedly signed a letter urging that the legislation be passed even if it did not contain language explicitly banning federal funding for abortion.^[29][30][31] In 2009, Wallis made the following comments regarding Sarah Palin within the context of the health care reform debate in the United States: "Sarah, you're the one who is acting in an 'evil' way. After listening to your policy pronouncements during the campaign, many Americans decided, generously, that you weren't ready yet for high political office. Others thought you just weren't very smart. But this statement last week really does clear up the question for me. You are speaking like a demagogue in the worst tradition of those who knowingly distort and deceive, for their own political purposes. You want to stoke people's worst fears and then, hopefully, they will look to someone like you to be their leader. You're not stupid after all. You know that neither President Obama, nor anyone else in this health-care debate, would deny health care for your parents or child, and that none of the ideas being debated would suggest that. But people are confused and concerned, so you see your chance to prey upon their misunderstandings. Politics for people like you is really all about you, your fame and power, and your taste of it during the last election has revealed what kind of politician you truly are. Please don't invoke your 'Christian faith' anymore and embarrass the people of God even further. May your efforts to scare Americans during this important debate fail. May your political future also fail, and may your star fall as fast as it rose just a few months ago -- because we now know who you really are."^[5]

In 2010, Wallis admitted to accepting money for Sojourners from philanthropist George Soros after initially denying having done so. When conservative writer Marvin Olasky pointed this out, and that Soros also financed groups supporting abortion, atheism, and same-sex marriage, in a WORLD magazine column, Wallis said Olasky "lies for a living"; he subsequently apologized to Olasky for the comments.^[32][33] In 2011, Wallis acknowledged that Sojourners had received another $150,000.00 from Soros' Open Society Foundation.^[34]

In 2010, expressing concern about the growing polarization in American politics, Wallis and other Christian leaders signed on to a document entitled "A Covenant for Civility."^[35]

In regard to the 2011 United States budget proposal, Wallis described Congressman Paul Ryan and his congressional allies as "bullies" and "hypocrites."^[36]

Wallis made supportive comments regarding the Occupy London movement in a blog post entitled "Occupy St. Paul's: Thanks Be to God."^[37] Regarding the Occupy Wall Street movement, Wallis wrote, "The Occupiers' desire for change and willingness to take action to do something about it should be an inspiration to us all."^[38]

Activism

Wallis has been arrested 22 times for acts of civil disobedience.^[13] He was involved in antiwar activism during the Vietnam War, and wrote in 1974 that it was a "brutal, criminal war."^[39] Wallis has received criticism for calling the United States "a fallen nation" in his 1976 book Agenda for Biblical People.

Writings and awards

Wallis' writings are regularly published as op-eds in major media outlets. He is also the convener of Call to Renewal, an interfaith effort to end poverty. He has written a wide variety of books including The Great Awakening. Reviving Faith & Politics in a Post-Religious Right America (2008), God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It (2005), Faith Works: How Faith Based Organizations Are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods, and America (2000), The Soul of Politics: Beyond "Religious Right" and "Secular Left" (1995) and Call to Conversion (1981, revised 2005).

In 1995, Jim Wallis received the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award.

For his work in advocating for peace and social justice in urban America and for his role as founder of Sojourners Magazine and the Call to Renewal, Jim Wallis was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award in Sherborn, Massachusetts, on June 2, 2000.^[40]

Personal life

Wallis is married to the Rev. Joy Carroll, upon whom the title character in the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley was partially based.^[2] They have two sons. Wallis has coached their Little League teams.^[41]

Publications

• Agenda for Biblical People, Harper & Row (1976) ISBN 978-0-06-069236-0.
• The Call to Conversion, Harper & Row (1981) ISBN 978-0-06-069242-1, HarperCollins (Rev. ed., 2005) ISBN 978-0-06-084237-6.
• The New Radical, Lion Books (1983)
• Waging Peace: A Handbook for the Struggle to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (editor), Harper & Row (1982) ISBN 978-0-06-069240-7.
• The Soul of Politics: A practical and prophetic vision of change, Fount/HarperCollins (1994) ISBN 978-0-15-600328-5, Tandem Library ISBN 978-1-4177-0619-8.
• Who Speaks for God? A New Politics of Compassion, Community and Civility, Delacorte (1996) ISBN 978-0-385-31690-3, Random House (1997) ISBN 978-0-385-31693-4
• Faith Works: Lessons from the Life of an Activist Preacher, Random House (2000) ISBN 978-1-879290-23-5 (Rev. ed. with new subtitle: How to Live Your Beliefs and Ignite Positive Social Change, 2005)
• God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It HarperOne (2005) ISBN 978-0-06-055828-4.
• Living God's Politics: A Guide to Putting Your Faith into Action HarperOne (2006) ISBN 978-0-06-111841-8.
• The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America HarperOne (2008) ISBN 978-0-06-055829-1.
• Rediscovering Values: On Main Street, Wall Street, and Your Street, Howard Books (2010) ISBN 978-1-4391-8312-0.
• On God's Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn't Learned (2013)

See also

• Christian radicalism
• Engaged Spirituality
• Evangelical left
• Progressive Christianity
• Social Gospel

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jim Wallis.

• Sojourners
  • Official biography
• Sojourners on YouTube
• God's Politics, a blog by Jim Wallis and friends
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Jim Wallis at the Internet Movie Database
• Jim Wallis collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Jim Wallis in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Interviews and statements

• Interview with Jim Wallis
• Jim Wallis Talk from an Off The Map live event
• Jim Wallis featured in the documentary The Ordinary Radicals
• "Where Jim Wallis Stands", Christianity Today, May 2008.
• "Progressive Evangelical Politics", Inner Compass interview with Wallis, October 2008, video
• How Obama's Faith Council Worked: Six Points of Consensus Jim Wallis, God's Politics blog
• Jim Wallis: Glenn Beck Is Wrong, Social Justice Is At The Heart Of Gospel video by MSNBC
• Left Behind: The Evangelical Left and the Limits of Evangelical Politics, 1965-1988, Vol. 1 David R. Swartz, doctoral dissertation, Graduate Program in History, University of Notre Dame, July 2008. (pdf)

v t e Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award laureates 1960s 1964 John Howard Griffin / John F. Kennedy 1965 Martin Luther King, Jr. 1966 R. Sargent Shriver 1967 A. Philip Randolph 1968 James Groppi 1969 Saul Alinsky 1970s 1971 Dorothy Day 1974 Harold Hughes 1975 Hélder Câmara 1976 Mother Teresa 1979 Thomas Gumbleton 1980s 1980 Crystal Lee Sutton / Ernest Leo Unterkoefler 1982 George F. Kennan 1983 Helen Caldicott 1985 Joseph Bernardin 1986 Maurice John Dingman 1987 Desmond Tutu 1989 Eileen Egan 1990s 1990 Mairead Maguire 1991 María Julia Hernández 1992 César Chávez 1993 Daniel Berrigan 1995 Jim Wallis 1996 Samuel Ruiz / Odebrecht Foundation / Philip Hannan 1997 Jim and Shelley Douglass 2000s 2000 George G. Higgins 2001 Lech Wałęsa 2002 Gwen Hennessey / Dorothy Hennessey 2004 Arthur Simon 2005 Donald Mosley 2007 Salim Ghazal 2008 Marvin Mottet 2009 Hildegard Goss-Mayr 2010s 2010 John Dear 2011 Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri 2012 Kim Bobo 2013 Jean Vanier

Persondata
Name	Wallis, Jim
Alternative names
Short description	American activist
Date of birth	June 4, 1948
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death