On God's Side: What religion forgets and politics hasn't learned about serving the comm - Softcover

"Personal/political, religion/politics, faith/power, ideology/pragmatism ... Jim Wallis is a wrestler of values, ideas, and policies and how they interact to shape the world we live in. His deep, melodious voice is easy to listen to, but what he says takes a harder commitment to live by." -- Bono, lead singer of U2; cofounder of ONE.org "Jim Wallis and I have a variety of differences on domestic and international policy, but there is no message more timely or urgent than his call to actively consider the common good." -- Michael Gerson, op-ed columnist, The Washington Post "I love the work and books and existence of Jim Wallis. His is a profound and always-entertaining voice of reason, reconciliation, and passion for social justice and peace. Each of his books makes me wish I could get it into the hands of more politicians, right-wing Christians, left-wing Christians, secular humanists, economists, and regular people--everyone--so we could see how much we have in common and how much is at stake." -- Anne Lamott, author of Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers "I have read all of Jim Wallis's books, books that call evangelicals to full conversion and an ecclesial faith that works. On God's Side is Jim's best book; it is personal, pastoral, and prophetic--a summons to a a deeper conversion, to bridge-building commitments to the common good, and to a family life that grounds active faith in a common, caring community." -- Scot McKnight, Northern Seminary "There are few people on the scene who can put together mature Christianity with mature politics without compromising either. Jim Wallis does it best--and does it again here." -- Richard Rohr, OFM, Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico "No one cuts through the confusion of our times with clarity and compassion like Jim Wallis. He is at his best in this book--bridging a cosmic vision of what humankind could be with a concrete plan for how we get there." -- Eboo Patel, founder and president, Interfaith Youth Core; author of Sacred Ground "This sweeping tour de force by America's most prominent religious social justice activist is at once deeply personal and powerfully universal. A must-read book for policy makers, religious leaders, and anyone looking for a moral basis to address America's urgent problems." -- Rabbi David Saperstein, director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism "Jim Wallis is asking a question whose time has come. Are we pursuing a national agenda that seeks the common good or are we seeking to baptize our political agendas with faith? Leaders both religious and political must take Wallis's challenge seriously when pondering the future of our life together." -- Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president, National Latino Evangelical Coalition "Addresses with wisdom and clarity crucial issues that we must grapple with in the decade ahead: economics, ecology, polarization, peacemaking, the role of government, and more... Arguably Jim's best book. -- Brian D. McLaren Divided into two parts, each with seven chapters with numerous sub headings, it makes for an easy read but still delivers many challenges in pithy phrases. -- David Sellick On God's Side "Jim Wallis's latest book sets out a vision for the common good that both politics and the Church need to recapture. The book alternates between sections strong on encouragement, inspiration and practical examples of what has happened in the United States." -- Idea Magazine Daniel Webster 'Many powerful points are made well supported by pertinent Biblical reference; a contemporary challenge to the rhetoric and practice of both religion and politics.' -- David Sellick The Reader

In this timely and hopeful book, Jim Wallis shows how left and right, religious and non-religious, Christians and those of other faiths may find common ground working for the benefit of our communities, our neighbours, and our world. As Wallis writes, "Our life together can be better. It's time to hear and heed a call to a different way of life, to reclaim a very old idea called the common good." So who is my neighbour in an age of austerity when different ideas of fairness clamour for attention, and what can we do to build up the common good?