The Great Awakening.THE GREAT AWAKENING Great Awakening, series of religious revivals that swept over the American colonies about the middle of the 18th cent. It resulted in doctrinal changes and influenced social and political thought. By Jim Wallis The Reverend Jim Wallis (b. June 4 1948, Detroit, Michigan) is an Evangelical Christian writer and political activist, best known as the founder and editor of Sojourners Magazine and of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community of the same name. (HarperOne, 2008) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jim Wallis' prayers seem to have been answered. In 2005 the founding editor of Sojourners magazine Sojourners Magazine, a monthly publication of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, was first published in 1971 under the original title of The Post-American. The offices of the magazine are in Washington D.C. and the ISSN of the publication is 0364-2097. decried the state of religious and political discourse in his bestselling book, God's Politics (HarperOne), admonishing ad·mon·ish tr.v. ad·mon·ished, ad·mon·ish·ing, ad·mon·ish·es 1. To reprove gently but earnestly. 2. To counsel (another) against something to be avoided; caution. 3. both ends of the political spectrum with the subtitle "Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It." Three years and another presidential campaign later, he's a lot more optimistic. The Religious Right, which has dominated the Republican Party for too long, is being upstaged by so-called "progressive evangelicals" who care as much about the earth's right to life as an unborn child's. The Democratic Party, which for too long has ignored people of faith, is reaching out to liberals and moderates whose political views are grounded in the teachings of Jesus. Time magazine called it a "leveling of the praying field." Wallis calls it the next "Great Awakening." Like the three previous Great Awakenings, this new revival will apply spiritual power to social change, Wallis predicts. "Faith may indeed be making a comeback as the catalyst that could provide the tipping point The point in time in which a technology, procedure, service or philosophy has reached critical mass and becomes mainstream. See network effect. See also tip and ring. in finding solutions to the biggest and most significant moral and social crises of our world today," he writes. Although Wallis comments primarily on Protestant evangelicals, he also notes a similar trend among Catholics, especially younger ones who are more likely to be incensed about poverty than contraception or gay marriage. In his final chapters, Wallis addresses that new generation as well as those who may not embrace organized religion but who still heed the words of Jesus. Those twin hungers for spirituality and social justice ultimately lead to a third one: for a new kind of politics, based on hope rather than fear. In a word, those millions of Americans who don't feel represented by the Religious Right or the secular left The secular left is a term used to describe members of the left-wing who are also secularists (they support separation of church and state, a secular state, and a secular education). The secular left is not necessarily opposed to the religious left. are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. change. In this presidential election, they may just get it. A "Great Awakening," indeed.--Heidi Schlumpf |
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