Don’t get me wrong, any Christian who’s on the right probably needs to read this for the twinge of self-doubt it might produce about whether their politics are based primarily in self-interest or in a firm conviction that they really are “doing what Jesus would do”. And I am looking (again) at how I feel about capital punishment in light of Biblical teachings, for one, and at whether Christians should ever feel war is justified, and, if it ever is, what circumstances must exist.

But a capsule of this book might state that Wallis believes each end of the political spectrum to be correct on these:

RIGHT: Abortion is bad.
LEFT: Welfare/govt. programs/3rd world debt-forgiveness are good. Abolishing capital punishment is good.

I just felt like this COULD have been an argument for a more deliberate look at what Jesus would really be like. If there’s one good thing that comes out of this, it will be the realization of more everyday Joe and Jane Christians that Jesus is NOT a Republican….or a Democrat….or a Libertarian…or, well, you get the idea.

Truly seeking to follow Him will mean struggling to find somewhere to cast your vote because Christianity is riddled with difficult paradoxes.