Media's Go-To Christian Voice a Liberal

April 5th, 2010 11:28 AM
Jim Wallis

is an author and is the founder of Sojurners magazine, and he’s a religious adviser to President Obama. The media often turn to him as a Christian voice. But Wallis is a hard-core left-winger who has made numerous outlandish statements while promoting his idea of “social justice.”

The liberal blogspot Huffington Post features Wallis as religion columnist and Wallis has taken the opportunity to push his left-wing agenda. In a March 18 column, “Pray for Immigration Reform,” Wallis lamented about “border walls” and complained about families being separated. He never looked into why illegal immigration can be hurtful to the economy or suggested immigrating legally.

But “social justice” is Wallis’ favorite topic and he recently has gotten into a feud with FOX’s Glenn Beck over it. Wallis espouses social justice as the way to end, “The attacks of poverty on vulnerable families and children, the attacks of hunger on entire communities, the attacks of economic inequities on hardworking people …”

Laudable goals, but Wallis’ social justice agenda means wealth redistribution through government funded programs.

Predictably, Wallis blames corporations for their part in the economic downturn. He blamed the “suffering of millions of people” on “financial giants.” Last January Wallis appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to declare that bank bonuses, “are a sin of Biblical proportions.” He declared the private sector was being “greedy” and encouraged a value system that was similar to socialism.

In April of 2008 Wallis couldn’t resist asking Obama during Compassionate Forum on CNN, “So in the faith community, we are wanting a new commitment around a measurable goal, something like cutting poverty in half in ten years. Would you commit – would you at this historic compassion forum, commit to such a goal tonight and if elected, tell us how you would mobilize the nation, mobilize us to achieve that goal?” Sure sounds like more government.

The progressive Wallis, who is an evangelical Christian, identifies himself as being pro-life. But in his 2005 book he actually describes that as, “meaning really wanting to lower the abortion rate,” not actually ending abortions.

Yet the media ignores Wallis’ liberal leanings. In a 2007 article, Los Angeles Times writer Stephanie Simon labeled him as a “champion of such causes” such as illegal immigrants and universal healthcare.  He was never even labeled as a liberal.

While cheerleading for health care “reform” in 2009, Wallis appeared on CNN with Rich Sanchez and together they blamed right-wing media outlets for conservatives supposed misunderstandings about health care. Wallis declared viewers are “manipulated … by a well-organized campaign that is lying about health care reform,” because viewers felt that the government may have a say in their health when they are elderly.