God's Politics

I have just finished reading God's Politics by Jim Wallis. The major impression I got from the book is that God must be American, because his politics are all almost entirely about the United States. Bizarre!

Jim takes a few verses from the prophetic books of the Old Testament and builds a major political theology around them. I found this approach quite shallow. In terms of the criteria outlined by Ravi Zacharias, Wallis is arguing about issues without ever having established clear principles.

The most important question about the role and limitations of politics is never asked. Jim is a believer in politics. He just assumes that the state can solve any and every social problem. For example, "Only values based politics can overcome our spiritual poverty".

Any political action is justified, provided it contributes to the "common good". The problem is that the "common good" is never defined. I suspect that the common good is a wide gate, that almost any political wagon can be driven through.

On the other hand, I have to respect his compassion for those who are poor or suffering.