I too attended TIKKUN's [Hebrew for mend, heal, and transform the world] first annual gathering of Spiritual Progressive, along with 1,300 other USA citizens from all faiths and those who are spiritual but not religous.
Our diverse community all agree that the time has arrived to be instruments of change and to base our society and institutions on the higher ground of love, compassion, caring, cooperation, non-violence, peace, ethical and ecological sensitivity for we honor the sacredness of every person and Mother Earth.

As a committed Christian who abhors the rot and hypocricy in the Church institution and is not represented by the likes of Falwell and Dobson, I was greatly encouraged to learn that during Pentecost week, 2005, Father Matthew Fox nailed a new 95 theses, A New Reformation, to the same church door Martin Luther had nailed his to 500 years before. As Father Fox says; "The church today needs not only a reformation but a transformation."

Robert Inchausti's wrote in his book; Orthodoxy, Outlaws, Revolutionaries and Other Christians in Disguise;
"To change the world we must become receptacles of God's love, understanding and goodwill. We must have faith, not merely of the mind, but of the heart that surrenders the whole man to the divine inflow...moral action links personal salvation directly to social responsibility."

Over 1,300 American citizens have now returned to their communities, churches, temples, mosques and ashrams and the revolution and transformation has already begun. The times they have a changed, the answers are blowing in the wind, may American's all wake up and catch the breeze and be transformed.
-eileen fleming
www.olivetreesfoundation.org

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I too am a christian who is a 45 year old white male who could not agree with this more.The bible teaches that we should believe with or hearts and minds.That is why I did not ever consider a vote for Bush.His actions are totally opposite of what he says his beliefs are.I live in detroit and have marched in NAAPC marches as a rep. of labor unions for we all seek the same things, and the people I met from the local churches were great! It is time that we do pull people of left together that believe and counter the hate from the extreme right.I feel the lack of tolerance that is displayed does nothing but divide.As a American,a christian and a Marine Corp vet this is totally unacceptable!

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For those who wish to support the creation of a Network of Spiritual Progressives, please go to the website www.Tikkun.org and read the material. You can join on line or contact simone@tikkun.org for more information.

The next national conference will take place in Washington, D.C. Feb. 10-13, 2006. And our book outlining a Spiritual Covenant with America--a guideline to what progressive spiritual politics would look like in practice--will be published by HarperSanFrancisco in January, 2006: it is called The Left Hand of God.

The Spiritual Covenant could give the Democrats and the Greens a coherent and spiritually sensitive platform that could do for them what Republican Newt Gingrich's Contract with America did for Republicans in the 1994 election, giving them enough coherence to win control of Congress if they were to seriously adopt it. In fact, although the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) is not an electoral effort, people who join it are forming caucuses of Spiritual Democrats and Spiritual Greens to try to get those parties to do what Van Jones is talking about--reconnecting with their deepest spiritual values.

And this is the real secret power of the NSP--it acknowledges that many people on the Left ALREADY have deep spiritual aspiriations, and many have their own spiritual practices (both in traditional religious communities and in alternative forms including meditation, yoga, pagan and WICA, and in poetry, art, and music) but do not have in the Left a supportive environment to articulate that spirituality and to connect it to a progressive political agenda. That's why the NSP could become not only a force for transforming American politics but also a force for making liberal and progressive social change movements more sustainable--by helping people within them inte Spiritual but not religious" people welcome as well as religious people.

--Rabbi Michael Lerner
chair. The Tikkun Community (sponsor of the Network of Spiritual Progressives)

P.S. our two national co-chairs: Cornel West author of Race Matters and Sister Joan Chittister, former chair of Religious Women United

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i myself am not a believer in any religion. however i believe deeply in the currents from which our religious beliefs spring. i do not go to services to worship, but i love the beauty that is the true heart of all worship. this said, i am in total agreement with the observation of lefty intolerance. it is a difficult quandry, set at the intersection of reason and emotion. it is as equally stupid for reason to snub emotion as it is for emotion to snub reason. and for those who denigrate the religious person for being somehow deficient of reason, they should be reminded that the great intellectual debates of philosophy and science have their roots in religions and in the efforts to find meaning.

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As a liberal who has come back to Christianity because I see no other way for me, I applaud your wonderful article and message. Your voice and that of colleagues like Rabbi Lerner need to be heard even louder. Thanks.

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There are many Christians who are not Liberals; we are, however, moderates, and we feel that we are also being dragged down by the tirades of the Christian Right. My denomination even has the distinction of being proclaimed "the spawn of the devil" by Pat Robertson.

From his narrative, I think that Mr. Jones and I are about the same age, give or take a few years. When secular liberals (we have many where I live) question my beliefs, I fight back with a distain and sacasm. I point out that I don't care that they aren't religious; why should they care that I am. Religion may be the opiate of the masses, but I ask what the nonbelievers are smoking. I wonder why Mr. Jones doesn't do that. If you believe in it, fight for it. I think one of the reasons the media thinks all spiritually based people are on the right is that we, in the middle and the left, don't thump our chests and holler about it. Our religion is precious to us and, like all precious things, we hold it to us. Perhaps its time we became more vocal. Rabbi Lerner is not the first moderate to liberal clergyman to speak out. I have heard a couple of evangelical preachers who were embarassed by some of the dialogue from their churches. Reverend John Danforth, a man who knows the inside of a moderate church as well as the inside of Congress and the U.N., has spoken out. Perhaps Rabbi Lerner and Reverend Danforth and other moderate clergypeople should begin a dialogue and lead the spiritual moderates to a place where we will stop hiding our light under a bushel.

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the problem with incorporating spirituality into political thinking is that, whenever most people do, they are really talking about the god of the "great faiths" and what they really want is tolerance towards their religion to the point of that religions laws being everyones laws.

unfortunately that god happens to be intolerant himself which could be part of the problem don't you think. thou shalt have none other gods before me and all that other stuff like dominion over the earth and serving your husband.

i don't understand how the one god religions can be tolerant with out being hypocritical and i don't understand how they can pick and chose through their holy book. on the other hand, as a pagan, it's hard to be tolerant of people who think your going to hell, although i do try.

it will be a great day when all people's spirituality is respected and no one religion tries to dominate all the rest.

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I would love to see the religious, in particular the christian religious, ignore the fact that their One Big Guy in the Sky cares only about thier souls and nothing whatever about the material circumstance of their existence.

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I read the article and my heart sprang up with happiness because what you write is what I've experienced in my own quest to write a Christian blog from the Left. I, too was upset by those on the hard left who scorn all who are religious as weak-minded. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in March of 2002. When Jesus became the "love of my life" I took to heart his words in Matthew 25:
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
NIV
I attended a Move-on.org rally a few months ago, and there was an open mike. When I got up and spoke about God, and how all Christians were not like the hateful bigots that we see in Dobson and Falwell and Robertson and Bennedict XVI, I was afraid of the response I would get. But I got a kind response from the crowd, and several kind comments afterwards. If we, as "Lefty Christians" can make ourselves as known and as visible as those on the hard right, then we can change the stereotype that they have about Christians, and they will stop speaking the word Christian with that hateful sneer that the author of the above article spoke of. As a Christian, it is my heartfelt belief that I owe it to Jesus Christ to make sure he is represented with the face of the loving and forgiving and caring God of Love by his followers. My blog if anyone is interested:
http://journals.aol.com/dmorey6160/TruthfromaLeftyChristian/

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As a graduate student it was difficult for me to "come-out" to my liberal-intellectual colleagues that I am considering going into seminary after I complete my current degree. They all clearly thought I was joining the ranks of James Dobson and his cohorts.

I know a lot of my professors and fellow students have seen religion and academia as something that cannot mix together. However, I feel as though a life in ministry is an excellent mix to satisfy my goals in life to be a teacher, social activist and a minster.

I have also read Jim Wallis' God's Politics and found it very inspiring, in addition to the fact that it is a national bestseller. It is extremely empowering to see this budding movement of the "Religious Left" and I truly hope that we can all work together to prove to the world (the Right, Left and middle) that there are those of us with progressive views that are inspired by their faith!

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I don't care what others believe as long as they keep their bibles, quorans, torahs, whatever, out of my face. That seems to be the whole problem - your god gene gets inflammed by all the rhetoric so you think that you have all the answers (and everyone else who believes differently is wrong) and so you have to force it on all the heathens who otherwise will go to hell (why do you care? MYOB). This ferver often involves firearms and many people dying. Well, guess what, I'd prefer hell where I don't have to listen to a bunch of folks blatting about how religious they are. Practice it, don't preach it.

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I'd just like to applaud the article and all like-minded progressives who sincerely desire change in our country.

I find the bitter comments to this article utterly unnecessary and totally revealing. If y'all can't be tolerant of people of faith who wish to do good, then YOU are also part of The Problem.

Personally, I'm not dogmatic, but still consider myself spiritual. I was raised Catholic but didn't feel it was right for me. I grew up in the "Bible Belt" and was told plenty of times I would burn in hell, etc. To me, people who write off all religious people are no better than those who wrote me off because I wasn't saved. People, use your head AND heart! "They" want us to fight among ourselves, "they" want us divided and weak. Hurray for keeping our minds open and avoiding knee-jerk reactionism!

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I just finished "The Sins of the Scripture" by Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong. Amazing. I have been saying for years to anyone who would listen that anyone with a preconceived belief can find at least one Bible verse to support it. I think the belief comes first, the Bible just reinforces. The Reverend Dr. Spong has written a great book saying the same thing.

President Bush and I belong to the same "mainstream" denomination (United Methodist). Maybe he just isn't listening. I live in a small, fairly conservative city and my church has just begun allowing a new PFLAG chapter to meet at the church. We feed the homeless. Our doors are open to all. Our co-pastors (husband and wife) speak and write about hate and bigotry constantly. We reach out to the community with no strings attached. I had all but abandoned the organized church until I discovered the Methodists. We're not perfect, but we sure are trying. Pat Robertson is sure we and the Presbyterians are doomed - I wonder what our Methodist President and Presbyterian Dr. Frist think about that.

There many Christian churches like mine; we just need to speak up a little more. And, the Rabbi is right; we should never forget the evil done in the name of Religion (not just Christianity) or the good done in the name of spirituality. Christianity at its best has much in common with other religions (Buddhism, Judaism, etc.) and, for that matter, no religion at all. We need to find our common ground and stop wasting time bashing each other. We have too many better things to do.

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Thanks for posting this article, and for the comments.

I grew up in a household where spiritual and religious values were integrally linked to politics and social action. My father and later my mother were Lutheran ministers who were fully participant in progressive politics, starting with the civil rights movement and continuing to the present. While I have great respect for the religions of the Book-- which at heart are firmly placed in a mystical and compassionate worldview-- I myself follow a different spiritual path, rooted in Mother Earth. As one who spends much time networking between these paths-- my parents and I have an active and open dialog about our spiritual similarities and differences, and I have many friends who follow a variety of faiths-- I think it is important to understand that progressives of all faiths stand on common ground: a belief in the essential dignity of all others we share the planet with, and each being's right to a life of happiness, peace and freedom. We are all aware that any person who so wishes can distort a belief system for his or her own agenda. This is not limited to religion, either-- scientists do it also. As my husband, an anthropologist whose parents were doctors, likes to say, "Science can also be a religion!" The greatest religious thinkers in human history were often rigorous in self-examination, and not purveyers of dogma. I think if we look deeply into our hearts and pull out the best that is within, we find ample guidance for right action, politically and otherwise. This means also not closing ourselves off to people of other faith traditions-- whether of the Book, or of Earth-centered traditions. As a Pagan, I hear regularly of the political and social actions being taken by other Pagans, by Native Americans, and by other religious minorities, who despite much prejudice are very vocally following their conscience in a spirit-led way. I would like to see much more dialog between all of these faiths, as well as those who consider themselves atheists or agnostics.

Remember too that many people who hate or fear religion have been very badly used and misused in the name of religion, and try to excercise compassion. Those of us who have been fortunate to know "God" in a positive way have much to be grateful for. What must it be like to never have had that gift?

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Dear Left, Right, Center and non-alligned people of faith,

You all should get off your high horse about God and start being true Chirstians. I would not exclude Christians, Muslins, Jews, Atheist, Buddhists, Taoists or others from joining me in a just cause. Why do so many of you make it a litmus test either overt of covertly.

Love each other and help the planet.

Peace.

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Christ is a Liberal who said "render to Ceasar the things that are Ceasars and to God the things that are Gods" (seperation of Church and State). Jesus told us to "do unto others as we would have them do unto us" and "what you do to the least of my breathern, therefore you do unto me". Cold heartet Christian Conservatives should read the Gospels of Christ and apply Christ's teachiongs to their life, instead of searching the Bible to spin off whatever works for them. The only part of the New Testament that is verifiable are the 4 Gospels.

It does not prove that Jesus was the Son of God, but it does prove His existance and whether He is God or not the teachings (Gospels) of Jesus Chirst are what being a Christian is all about.

The acts of this Administration supporting the welfare of corporations and the rich while neglecting the poor, attacking the middle Class on Social Security, education, unions, wages and incarcerating everyone possible in an ongoing effort to degrade the middle class to the ranks of the poor are the works of the anti-Christ.

These phoney Chrtistians are OK with War and feel that we are on a mission from God to bring on Armageddon. Of course this is probably not a universal thought running though the minds of all Christian Conservatives, but it is there. It would be a shame if World War III would be fought over our God vs their God and in reality there is no God. If there actually is a God, it is equally stupid to drive to war, because our God and theirs would be the same God with a different name.

When Militant Muslims advocate killing infidels they put an evil face on God. Why would anyone want to worship an evil God? It is the same with Christian Conservatives, why worship a God who advocates sticking it to the poor and making war?

Being a Christians means doing as Christ and that is to love oneanother and that means everyone. People who call themselves Christians need to rethink their Conservative agenda and remember that when you are being taught contrary to the 4 Gospels you are listening to the anti-Christ.

Bottomn line is, the decent religious or non-religious citizens of this country should attack ongoingly these Conservative Christians every chance we get, until they loose their so called moral high ground and are seen as the phonies that they are.

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I will branch off on a few of the comments and the article. I am a strong believer of tolerance. To put myself in context, I don't consider myself a "believer", but I was raised a catholic and am very open to discussing other faiths, etc., etc.

I do agree that spiritual needs to be very broad, including tolerance, especially if you would want to incoporate it into a political agenda.

One thing that often bothers me is how some religions are closed up, their tolerance being limited to sometimes respecting others, but they will either go to hell, or I am right; this sometimes create social seperations between beliefs that I find disadvantageous. But I sail with it.

I am also a fan of liberation theology (la theologia de la liberacion). I have studied it somewhat and find it a great concept. Unfortunately, its image has been soiled by false reperesentations of the movement as well as being attacked, on a religious (by its own people as well as other branches of catholicism) and political (military included).

Yes, I do believe that tolerence is a first important step.

Gay marriage is an example in my opinion. Christianity is heavily integrated in several state laws. Understanding that allowing gay marriage to be part of the law represent a level of tolerance towards other beliefs is important, simply by the fact that it confers rights to them which are lacking in most places. It also a represents a seperation between church and religion, however can still include spiritualism simply though.

Thats sort of how I see it, for now anyway.

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Faith is good to have.It teaches one respect for the Creation and all that is.It is the foundation of sound logic and usefull
wisdom.Religion,however, serves as an instrument of seperation,condemnation, and egotistical gods-manship for the purpose of income generation. That's why Politics and Religion don't mix,they're both after your money. Why should Politics mix with Faith? Think of it this way;
FAITH.......War is wrong,and killing to.
Religion......Wars are supported by 'God'
FAITH......No production that's poisoning every living thing.
Religion....Man has Dominion over the Earth
FAITH.....Generousity is the epitomy of Human Charactor
Religion....Money for your sins is good enough to 'get in'
FAITH.....Life IS Eternal and the Creator accepts ALL
Religion...." God we're unworthy"
In short my little brothers and sisters,Keep the Faith.There's no guilt,no seperations and no-one to be 'Damned to Hell'.

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Thank you, Mr. Jones, for that very insightful article about a serious problem in the progressive movement. As a Christian in the Hicksite Quaker tradition, a political liberal, and a research scientist who fully accepts that life evolved and that the Earth and Universe are billions of years old, I too have been disappointed by the kneejerk anti-religious bigotry I often see on the Left. A lot of liberals, sadly, seem to be too cynical or intellectually lazy to recognize that "Christian" and "raving, Bible-thumping wingnut who wants to force his religion on everyone else and return society to the Middle Ages" are not synonymous. I welcome Rabbi Lerner's new organization for religious progressives and I hope that it helps to dispel this stereotype.

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FINALLY! the wheels are beginning to turn to fight the sickening stench the religious right has called Christianity. As a Christian I now prefer to call myself a follower of Jesus so as not to be associated with the term that is turning so many people away from God. Why do these folks only speak of their faith in terms of judgment, hatred, exclusion, power, wealth, the "Gospel of Greed" as Jim Wallis has called it and never speak of the truly radical message of Jesus....remember?... love, mercy, forgiveness, generosity, compassion, being with the outcasts of society, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and on and on? Do they forget Jesus' answer to the rich man when he asked how he could be saved? "Sell all you have and give to the poor." What about the verse that says it is harder for a rich man to get into heaven than a camel to go through the eye of a needle?

The only good thing that can come out of this is that I am having to practice forgiveness every hour of every day toward these people, a practice that does not seem to be getting much easier but I guess that's why I'm still practicing. So here I go, I'll use the words Jesus said on the cross as he was being crucified..."God, forgive them for they know not what they do." Or do they? In addition, hopefully the message of the true gospel will get out.

Keep up the good work Rabbi Lerner. Hope to see you in DC. By the way, could your wife be the lovely Harriet? If so, I love her books.

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Van Jones is a good clear thinker and I take only one exception to his writing. Progressivism is a form of Liberalism. Is Van afraid of saying the L-word?

Jim Brett
http://americanliberalism.org

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I think that I am beginning to realize why the right is winning. Everything is black or white, or us versus them. In this case Conservative Christian versus Everyone else. My understanding of the Rabbi is to unite and not divide. I think that is an excellent proposition. For many of us "liberals" we have bought into their rhetoric of either your with us or against us. I also think that they have narrowly defined what it means to be a religous or spiritual person, and I am sure that the majority of people out their don't qualify for their definition of it. I tryly believe that the only way we can change things is to unite and not divide ourselves, especially along their narrow definition. I think that many liberals/progressives/moderates don't feel that they can identify themselves along the spiritual/religous lines because of the narrow definition we have now. In order to make change, we are all going to have to band together, and remind the American public that life doesn't operate on an either/or basis, We are complex individuals. We are more than religous/not religous, red/blue, moral/immoral, right/left, etc...

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It's the premise. Mary became pregnant; not because she fooled around, you must understand, but because she was visited bt the Holy Spirit. Believe Mary's story and you'll live forever. Sure.
Some years later books were written, apparently by folks who made an awfully good living off Mary's story. Folks have been making an awfully good living off her story ever since.

The Bible tells people to think like sheep think. If the Creator wanted people to think like sheep, in my opinion, She would have given us the brain of a sheep. We are equipped, however, with a wonderful thinking tool. It might be a good idea to use our brains to think, instead of to believe a preposterous story. If more of us do that, we may eventually find out why we're here. Finding out why we're here may very well be the designated first step in our species' journey. Organized religion, in my opinion, has been holding us back for millennia. We can do better.

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As a hardcore leftist/liberal/Wobbly/Christian, to both Rabbi Lerner and Mr. Jones I say a heartfelt Amen! And again, Amen! And let us remind those misguided people in our government who love violence and power that: "He glories not in the strength of the horse."

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I have a lot of conflicts with this whole issue. As a former Catholic (raised by a Catholic mother and “secular humanist” father), I’ve experienced the hypocrisy of the church first hand while also seeing that both religious (my mother and brother) and non-religious (my father and sister) people can have strong moral and ethical beliefs and values that include most (maybe all) of the fundamental tenets of Christ’s teachings. I would never laugh at a liberal/progressive activist who said s/he was Christian (maybe because I saw it in my Mom every day of my life), in my mind, such a person is a “good” or “true” Christian (in the sense of Christians being people who follow the teachings of Christ - NOT necessarily the doctrine of a church if that doctrine contradicts Christ’s teachings). By the same token, I get very tired of the message (mostly from the “not-very-moral” leaders of the religious right but also from others) that people who are not “Christian” are not moral or ethical. JC (and Christianity) does not, nor ever had, a monopoly on morality.

I believe that it is fundamentally wrong to base laws and political action on religion. Laws should be based on creating and sustaining a safe and moral society. If you sat down with OPEN-MINDED representatives of most “religious” groups (Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Agnostics, Atheists, Humanists, Hindus, Buddhists, and all the others that I’ve missed) and discussed fundamental morals, I suspect you would find a great deal of consensus. People who do not have any morals and do not care about other people and whose lives are characterized by the exploitation and misuse/abuse of others are not “non-religious” - they are Psychopaths (many of whom, GWB included, claim to be religious). To me it should be possible to create laws and a society based on those mutually agreed upon morals without the invocation of “God” or “Christianity.”

By the same token, I recognize that religion, in particular Christianity, resonates tremendously in our country and culture. While I don’t like the fact that “God” has to be brought into the progressive movement (and I think our Founding Fathers would consider this experiment they started a failure because it does), I recognize that we will never succeed without it.

So, I’m conflicted.

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The values of the enlightenment are to a great degree Christian values; and I have no idea if the thought that, say, murder is wrong would resonate in nearly the same way without that history. And I sympathize deeply with the writers who speak of the role of religion in social justice. I even wish I could be a person who felt that way, deeply and truly.

I had to ask myself, after reading the note about all the bitter notes being revealing, what was being revealed? About myself and the other people who wrote? I think for me its just: righteousness is a great foundation for monstrous moral blindness, and the perfect excuse for not thinking things through. There are people who are profoundly religous without being righteous, but not very many, and they ususally are happy to have the righteous ones on board. Once in awhile, perhaps in the south of the sixties, there were attitudes so entrenched and untouchable that righteousness was an appropriate and powerful part of the response. But I don't think it matters if you are right or left in the long term, the feeling of righteous zealotry is a drug that is killing us. I think that religion succeeds socially, in most contexts, because its a delivery mechanism for that drug, which makes people dumber (an outcome we can ill afford).

My other big bitter concern is simply the idea that Christianity requires belief in things which, to the best of my ability to see and understand the world, are terrible lies. This is not true of Judiasm or many others -- there isn't necessarily an afterlife, just a practice in some form that informs the soul -- but as I was introduced to religion, you sit there and somebody tells you what is true and its, so near as anyone with eyes ears and a nose can tell, not true at all, just a big lie that needs more lies to defend itself. There's Flannery O'Conner type grace in believing it anyway, but as a foundation for anything large and social, lies seem like a bad bad place to start anything but pathology.

Finally, this whole thing seems like a bit of a straw person. We see the evangelicals getting credit for "religion" and think, hey, we have truly and deeply religious lefties, why can't the public see that and appreciate it? The nation is in the grip of something really, really terrible. For reasons I can't articulate well, this doesn't feel like something which can touch the current process.

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I have long contended that was wrong the religious Right had a monopoly on what is moral and right, when in actuality it is the opposite. They look on those of us who fight for social rights and causes as not being moral. Those of us who are progressive and religious have got to our message across to the country. We can not allow the Religious Right and those who cater to them determine what is right for everyone when in fact they stiffle many of the rights that have long fought for.

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It ain't Falwell's kind of movement. Check it out.

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...a blessing from Minister Farakhan of the Nation of Islam. If not, then you are just preaching to 'the choir.'

So long as folks just toss around words ('Spiritual' but not 'religious'? Only the Twelve Step movement makes that distinction, so far as I know. And for them, it means private [as in Anonymous] rather than public. It seems the last thing Tikkun is about is doing good anonymously.) it's called 'mystification,' which is only a step or two away from superstition (the belief that words are magic).

I doubt that I will join in the Million More March, because I oppose the Nation of Islam's plea for reparations for the descendents of slaves. And that's a key core value for Farakhan. Yet I wish him well.

I cannot possibly communicate, however, how much I, a privileged white man, need to join with black, Latino, and others of goodwill (recall Kant's affirmation that the one thing always good is goodwill) in programs focused on social justice.

Anyone who can put those together will have my active support and gratitude.

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Not all Christians who consider themselve progressive may necessarily agree with all aspects of the progressive platform. For example my personal conviction is anti- abortion, although I am not in favor of legislating my beliefs. I understand that each person needs to take their personal stand according to their own conviction. To make a long term alliance with the Christians (and others) of all denominations and convictions, we need to get past the attitude of "all or nothing" that pervails in progressive politics today. There are many conservative Christians who are firm believers in the necessity to provide for the poor, protect our God given environment and seek justice for all those that are wronged. To insist that they agree with the pro-choice movement or the pro- gay marriage agenda is perhaps too much to ask. For the most part, conservative Christians are a loving community that I believe will bond with progressives on issue specific problems- just don't ask them to sign up for the whole agenda.

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I think it is wonderful that there is a religious and spiritual revival brewing that leans toward the left to counteract the bullying Conservative Christian Right. However, if this movement is going to hold any weight, it must think progressively, like the southern Baptist Ministers did in the 50's. The Catholic Church, for one, must come clean in order to be persuasive and win over the masses. And the secular cynics must learn to open their hearts to the good things religion has to offer.

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While I agree that true Christian values are more progressive than conservative, and I do hate to see the right theocratizing our nation...the fact of the matter is, religion really does not have a place in politics. I respect that some people cling to a religious faith - I too gain a lot from my spiritual (not religious) musings and meditations. But I adamantly oppose ANY FORM of religion seeping into the political arena. God Bless America, One Nation Under God...give me a break. There is no god from my view of things, and even if there were, god would have no place in the socio-political domain. Not when there are so many varieties of viewpoints. I'm insulted when politicians discuss their personal faith and attempt to intertwine it with their political platform. It's dangerous, and it's wrong.

Religion is and should stay a private pursuit.

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I think its just a matter of respect. I am a big non-believer. Any sane person would know that the whole concept of religion/spirituality and god itself was created by the elite to keep the masses under check. However it has grown into such a big industry and gone through so many iterations of thought and rituals that it is no longer an abstract concept. It used to be that religious people were the minority in any culture.

I however respect the faith that people have because based on their upbringing they need the faith to live their life. They have been bought up (not their fault) in a religiopus atmosphere and they need to check with their gods everytime they need to think. I however strongly believe in the 'karma' principle which says anything bad you do will come back and bite you. This is not given by any religion (definitely not the hindu's, I was born a hindu) but a basic fact of social life.

I become mad everytime any religious guy tries to convert me with promises of heaven etc. I always say to these people, I respect your faith you should respect my lack of faith. Unfortunately their religion doesnt teach that.

It looks to me that all religion teaches you is intolerance ( My god is better than yours!!). I am glad that I do not have anything to do with that. As long as I live I will try not to hurt my fellow human beings. If my lack of faith hurts you though, I cannot do anything about it.

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Since most of our voters are Christian, we can't let the Republicans get most of there votes . We must show that we
can be religious too - just not fanatics like Falwell & Robertson.
A lot of voters agree with us on most of the issues, but voted
Republican because some religious leaders told them too. We need to fight back & show that they are hypocritical when they selfishly give taxcuts to rich & welfare cuts to poor &
lie to start wars we don't need. Many Democrats are Christian & go to church. Religion is supposed to be separate from politics, but Republicans use religion to help their politics & it usually works. We must show we can be religious too, just not as fanatical & hypocritical - to take away their trump card.

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I'm glad that many on the left who consider themselves Christians are speaking out against the far right's excesses, and frankly, it's about time. However, what many Christians on the left may not realize is one of the reasons some on the left may not be as receptive to them has to do with history. Let's be honest, Christianity as a 'loving faith' has been rather lax in many instances on that score. I can say this being a gnostic Christian myself. Christianity has a long and rather violent history of forcing itself on those who might not share the same beliefs (as it seems, do most patriarchal religions). Christianity has been mis-used to divide and conquer many peoples around the world and to keep them in a state of paternalistic ignorance. Before the Christian left can be taken seriously, it needs to deal with its past and to be honest with its shortcomings. It also needs to embrace those brothers and sisters who share different religious traditions. After all, to be a light is not to beat other people over the head with one's beliefs, but to live in the light quietly but with purpose. By your works shall ye be judged...not your words.

Peace to all...

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Too many people see the word "Christian" and think automatically of Falwell, Phelps, Bush, et al; it can seriously warp their minds.

Even my partner, a former Christian who knows that I am NOTHING like them, once made a few jokes toward me while watching their latest antics on TV, about being intolerant and such. I was infuriated. "You KNOW I'm not like that!" I told him. So even someone who knows me well has been so inundated with the "Religious Right" that he's become highly biased against Christians, even myself. Amazing.

Most of my friends are not Christian--they're either Pagan or atheist, and often I listen to them bashing Christianity right in front of me. Never mind that I could not care less what faith they do or don't belong to, never mind that I have never once shown any disrespect toward their beliefs nor would I dream of doing so, never mind that I've never even thought of prosyletizing at them...they still associate "Christian" with what the fundies are, and never actually with me.

I've often felt like getting a t-shirt that says "I'm a Christian...no, I'm not like them." Or perhaps jumping up and down waving my hands saying, "hi, hey, see me over here at the gay pride rally/writing the anti-war article/being a feminist/whatever? I'm a Christian too!"

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I am agnostic and I wholly welcome a movement by the "Religous Left." Such people affirm my belief that not all people practice a perverted form of religion and that maybe such people are even in the minority.

I do with the RL's had come forward about a year earlier, though, and more vociferously than they have to date. Better late than never, I suppose.

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Dear Mr Van Jones,

Thank you for your sensible article about religion and progressivism. I was a Catholic in my childhood and went to Catholic schools. I am now an atheist, greatly influenced by Marx, but I still have great respect for religion.

I have not been politically active for a good number of years. It is a bit surprising to me that so-called progressives have been sneering at religious folks. History shows that both religious and nonreligious folks can be intelligent progressives or quite reactionary.

Regards,


Alan
www.alanstancliff.com My home site
www.alan-stancliff.com Window To My World
www.alanstancliff.com/blog Alan's Blog, Controversial Talk & Talkback
www.alanstancliff.com/edgeofcoolblue My Music

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Thank God we have it.

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if the 'fear and loathing', 'Warrior Jesus', 'don't wanna be "Left Behind"' people were refered to as 'neo-Christians'?

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Like 99% of liberal atheists, I not only welcome the activities of Tikkun, the Christian Alliance for Progress, etc., I support them directly.

What I find objectionable is taking an unfounded right-wing smear--that liberals have some knee-jerk hostility towards religion--and reinforcing it.

The notion is nonsensical. Let's separate individuals--with all their quirks and neuroses--from ideology. Sure, there are some liberals who are hostile towards religion, just as there are conservatives who are hostile towards religion. That doesn't have anything to do with the broader progressive community.

We have every reason to be hostile towards the religious right, and I have no trouble admitting that that includes myself. The right-wing echo chamber has taken that very rational political position--that the Falwell set are a bunch of scumbags--and twisted it into an indictment of liberalism writ large.

Michael Lerner, Van Jones and others, while clearly providing an important voice for the left, unwittingly amplify the right's bullshit by repeating the charge ad nauseum. Sorry Van Jones had a particular liberal colleague who was intolerant of people of faith. What that has to do with the left more broadly is beyond me.

We've got to stop pushing the right's talking points. Of course liberals aren't hostile towards religion unless it's being used to push war, limit women's or gay rights or the rest of the religious right's agenda. Why would we be?

Get a grip.

I've made the point before, in regards to lerner, here.

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Jesus was a liberal. Please visit my blog site at http://jesuswasaliberal.blogspot.com.
Perhaps the greatest mistake the left ever made was to abandon Jesus to the right. If anything, we liberals should be shouting with joy that America claims to be a Christian nation. After all, Jesus preached separation of church and state, social justice, tolerance and inclusion, and peace and love and living as carefree as a sparrow in the field.

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I am a Catholic Centrist. I fight for the poor, for equal rights, for a clean environment, and for an end to racism. But I am also passionately pro-life. I have many friends from both the left and right wings who don't understand how I can support some issues but not others, especially my left-wing friends questioning my beliefs about pro-life vs. pro-choice. I have heard many religious progressives say "I am pro-life but I cannot legislate my beliefs and force them on others." I find this incredible. We won the war for civil rights for African-Americans exactly by legislating our beliefs and forcing them on racist people. Through Congress and the courts, we forced desegregation on racist school systems and hotels and public facilities. We forced racist election officials to respect the rights of black voters by progressive legislation.

Now, in the human rights war against abortion, are we supposed to supress our belief that abortion is a violent crime perpetrated on an unborn human child? Incredible! Saying that is like saying we are against slavery but all we can do is talk not act. Abortion is a crime and a moral evil. Not legislating against that compounds the crime. And anyone who believes in God also believes in Commmandments set by God, one of which (depending on how you count) says "You shall not commit murder." Abortion is murder by choice and we religious progressives must fight against it through action and progressive legislation that respects human rights for all people both born and unborn.

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I strongly support Rabbi Lerner's efforts. In a country as religious as America is, only the religious left wields the full spiritual and moral authority needed to cure and immunize us from the toxic teachings of the religious right.

I also appreciate his efforts to include "spiritual, but not religious, progressives." Those are the increasing number of people who have a strong, personal religious sensibility, but who do not accept the arbitrary authority of any organized religion being imposed on them. That kind of spirituality is inherently more democratic, because it accepts individual differences of belief while rejecting the imposition of authoritarian religious values. In that view, religious leaders may advise and persuade, but they have no permission to compel.

In accord with that view, I hope that the religious left will speak out more openly and forcefully against religious leaders who try to impose their versions of morality on the rest of us through the power of government, whether that abuse takes the form of limiting rights or denying protections. Specifically, I refer to religious leaders who try to take away a woman's right to choose to have an abortion. I refer, also, to religious leaders who work to undermine civil rights protections for gays, or who try to institutionalize second-class citizenship on gays, or who militate against anti-bullying laws designed to protect gay youth from attacks in the schools.

In the past, the religious left's too frequent silence or reluctance on these issues gave both the religious and the secular right a one-sided, cutting-edge opportunity for gaining social, political and economic power over all of us. Now, the religious left has an opportunity to undo the damage.

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I am not calling Bush a Hitler -- yet. But the behavior of the "religious, secular, and spiritual but not religious progressives" in the early 1930s Germany is a model that illustrates a danger.

Those who resisted Hitler were conservative Christians. The liberals and independents were attracted to what is now called the 'incarnation of the eschaton,' which is the arrival of heaven on earth in a perfect civil society. Hitler's demagoguery played on that utopian dream in order to attract the people.

Conservative Christians know the danger of demons and do not believe it is possible to build a heaven on Earth, so they were the ones who went off to the jails and concentration camps for opposition to the authoritarian state. The liberals just went along with what was being done.

The difference, of course, is that was Europe and this is the US. When emigrees came here, they kept their religion close to what they had known in the old country. Thus while religion evolved in Europe, in the US it has tended to remain more rigid and unenlightened. Religious scholarship in Europe is still the more advanced. Even what is taught in the universities here seldom survives in the local context.

So both conservatives and liberals have something to learn from each other and something to contribute. The 'revivalist' religion that politicians promote in order to gain votes measures everything by the numbers. It's not the quality but the quantity that matters.

Quality can be found both in religious liberalism and conservatism. To assume that Bush speaks for all conservative Christians would be a big mistake. He only speaks for the salesmen.

I hope Tikkun is not just selling subscriptions.

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Although I understand why, I am disappointed that the religious left is not on the streets fighting the good fight. I am also disappointed that the religious left is not getting any media coverage at all. This new book by that one Rev. Jim guy is good, but it doesn't go far enough.

There also needs to be unity among the religious people of all religions in this country, so that it becomes the counter-movement to the Fundamental Right Wing Republic-angelicals.

Maybe www.religious-left.org, among other web sites, has got it right.

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Nearly 20 years ago I started trying to wake up people in my church. The mainstream churches were blithely doing their thing and ignoring the Religious Right, which was becoming The Voice of Christianity in America; an ugly, intolerant, bigoted voice. With no authoritative voice countering it, why wouldn't non-Christians accept the Right's definition of "Christian"? And loathe and despise it? The mainstream churches brought this on themselves by their silence.

I gave up in disgust. Neither the flaming fundamentalists nor the religious liberals were behaving responsibly. I have since refused to support any Christian church. I will not rejoin one until I find one emphasizing the essential teachings and example of Jesus.

I have been a member of ten denominations over the years. What I have learned: The politics in church are as dirty as the politics outside. Generally, little emphasis is placed on the teachings and example of Jesus; the focus is on the misunderstood and misinterpreted great Christian myths and on sin, guilt and personal salvation.

Jesus's primary concern was the state of the heart. He taught and exemplified the principle of Love. What really mattered was inside a person, where only God could see. A natural consequence of living by the Law of Love is the creation of Justice.

He said, "Beware of false prophets...you will know them by their fruits." He had stern words for hypocrites and those who oppressed the poor in the name of religion.

Many people live Christ-like lives with no church affiliation. The Holy One does not belong to a particular group of people. Genuine faith is based on human experiences of the Divine, not on sets of prefabricated beliefs.

Rightly understood, each person's story is Holy Scripture. Anyone can hear the Divine voice by listening to our intuition, dreams, creative impulses and inspirations. The productions of the right brain, in other words, which have been taboo for over 300 years.

Blessings be to all of you.

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I have a complex belief system which revolves around facts and the belief in reality. Which is determinned by what can be proven rationally.

I think this is all completely irrelevant and a waste of time as none of it is true. I also refuse to tolerate other people's beliefs as they are simply not real.

What do you think?

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I attended the Spiritual Activism conference in Berkeley. Much of it was wonderful, quite a bit was not. The attempt to create, in three days, 'platforms' on things such as a new global economy, was absurd. Most of the people present had no inkling how to proceed and were hampered by overly directive guidelines and inept facilitators. Across the nation there are already many groups involved in spiritual activism; Network of Spiritual Progressives is not the first. Every state with an activist state council of Churches (California is one) has such a means by which people of faith already can be heard and heeded at the state and federal levels. However, the effort by spiritual activists to become to progressive politics what the right has to arch-conservative policies will be doomed unless and until the Democratic Party decides it will actually LISTEN to faith people. Thomas Frank, in 'What's the Matter with Kansas' nailed it: the party has no program. Democrats offer nothing at all in the way of economic alternatives to entice the great body of Americans. All the 'reframing' in the world won't mask the fact that the party supports global outsourcing, unfetterd wealth accumulation, and is sickly terrified of real universal health care. That cowardice will keep the conservatives blooming. People of faith AND people of high moral standards without a specific faith focus have to unify, then we all have to begin with first principles. The agenda must start with moral standards and universal questions. Why is government a good part of our lives? Why is a progressive tax system democratic and therefore patriotic? What is the value of public schools? How could worker ownership of production counter outsourcing and provide jobs? If we don't begin with these questions - and answer them in the interests of people - then we will simply be a sham alternative. And voters from California to Kansas to Delaware will continue to see right through us. We progressives have to challenge the status quo, not just paper over its worst abuses. People of faith have to be more than 'religious wallpaper' standing in apparent acquiescence of dangerously inhumane and economically unsound policies. Get brave, folks - then get involved in what is already going on in the faith activist community! You can move mountains!

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A great analysis, active solututions beyond complaining, and strategy for the future to change the debate in US politics by TIKKUN and its leaders! We're doing the same here in Kansas City in the very red heartland with The First National Fairness Summit entitled "STRENGTHENING THE BOND: Progressive Values, Gay Rights, and the Faith Community," October 21-23, 2005. For more information: linked text

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I don't know any lefties who are "intolerant" of religion. I'm sorry for those that may have been abused in this way. If only these lefties found religion, they wouldn't have to be so dog gone nasty.

Perhaps the "people of faith on the left" should take up this issue with the Christian right who are making a mockery of your beliefs. I don't really care what someone's religion is except as a curious human being. And, I don't have to have religion to see our current leaders are immoral. You see, religion doesn't have a monopoly on morality. I may or may not be a person of faith, but does it really matter? Why is it such a big scary thing for people that they need so desperately to confess their faith?

Peace

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I'll try to explain why so many folk deplore the mixture of religion and government. Whether it's on the left or right -- or anywhere inbetween -- many people are just plain sick and tired of people bringing up religion or faith as the basis for their actions and politics. Religion should be as private a matter as one's sex life. But for some reason, throughout the world, millions of people cannot resist tying everything to their religion. Unfortunately, history shows that once religion becomes extremely entangled with government, civilization often (not always) suffers. This planet once knew a great, progressive, scientific cultural under Muslim rule -- until the conservative clerics took over the government and quashed it all. Today's deplorably undereducated, poverty-stricken, Arabic world is a direct result of that entanglement of religion and government. Now also think about how insulting it is to those who do not profess a religious belief (while I am not among them, I can feel their pain) -- they've been turneed into second-class citizens. And beware any civilization governed by "faith" of any sort -- all too often the facts are ignored and problems worsened because people are depending on faith rather than careful, thoughtful analysis to form solutions to our nation's and world's problems. All this said, I've got to applaud the efforts of Rabbi Lerner and words of Vic Jones -- as a practical ploitical strategy in this mixed-up world -- they make sense. The far right has been recruiting for 40 years. The left has stood still. But as a long term approach to governing, I am terribly concerned that depending on faith alone is the path to the end of democracy in America.

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I was an atheist during a period of my own life. But I'm not writing this to
leftist atheists; I'm generally OK with them on political issues.

I'm a fundamentalist charismatic Christian with a Ph.D. in Computer Science.

I believe Christianity and the Republican Party should be mutully exclusive. Why? Because Jesus Christ was at least a socialist (and the early church was ideologically communist), and Republican ideology is nothing if not anti-communist.

"Christian Republican" should be exposed as the oxymoron that it is. You "progressive Christians" - see 2 Thessalonians 2.

What, Jesus a socialist, you ask? Well, what do you call advocating
government (i.e., "kingdom" to those of you who have Shakespearean Bibles,
aka, KJV) that focuses on caring for the poor and infirmed? You can be
sure of two things about Jesus: he was political, and his politics were
socialism.

And there was a word for it in that day. "Koinonia", in Greek. See Acts
2:44-46, where it's translated as "fellowship" in most English-language
Bibles. I translate it "communism" - check your Webster's dictionary.

Is any of this not obvious, yet?

Orwell was so right. He warned about NewSpeak, i.e., the elimination of
ideas by the elimination of the words that best define them. The ideas
become unthinkable, in Orwell's view. And he was writing, specifically, about
socialism as a socialist. As am I.

For those of you "progressive Christians" who are conflicted about the abortion issue, let me inform you that the scriptural view is that life, spirit, and breath are inseparable. Life begins at first breath, not at conception; that's what anyone who calls themselves a Christian should believe, and what all relevant scripture confirms (see esp. Genesis 2, Ezekiel 37, 1 Cor 15,... and John 3 is particularly interesting).

To not understand that human life begins at first breath is not to understand "salvation." And to believe that life begins at conception is to believe either that Jesus and Adam were not human or never existed, and to deny the existence of the soul...

Ask any good atheist...

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Tikkun and the Network of Spiritual Activists will not endure unless and until there is actually a network with those who are already 'out there' doing activism from a left, spiritual point of view. I hope working with the rest of the national progressive community is part of your goal? At the end of last week, Riverside Church in New York had a 'progressive revival' under the leadership of the outstandingly wonderful Rev. James Forbes, surely one of the amazing spiritual activists of our time! The event was exhilarating but got NO notice at the NSP conference. Another problem with the NSP event is that there were absolutely NO participants in Berkeley from the existing CA activist community! That is such a weakness in the outcome! I surely hope it will change because each of the groups - state, regional, and local -that is already active has something to offer all the participants that NSP and Tikkun aren't doing or can't do. To be a 'network' we have to have more than one group. And the relationship between and among those working in spiritual feminism, in racial justice from a spiritual plane, in political action, in advocacy for social justice politically, working in interfaith dialogue and uplift, in labor-faith organizing and support, in creating a new global economy based on Moral Economic principles - ALL of those groups are already on the ground. NSP would do well to let the attendees know what's already 'out there' for them to enjoy and upon which to build their individual and collective actions and growth. I hope NSP and Tikkun don't try to be the only group? It would be a sad loss to see empire building surpass true networking.

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I am politically progressive, and virulently opposed to the Bush administration, its illegal wars and usurpation of office, and most of the administration's policies. I am also an observant, traditional Jew. That has put me in a position of great conflict over the past five years.

While there is no possible justification for Bush having lied his way into war with Iraq, stolen the White House, or interned prisoners at Guantanamo without rights or counsel, the communities that have joined to fight these criminal policies have been tainted with a genteel, subtle form of racism that I do not believe most of their members are aware of holding.

The demonization of Israel that has infected the otherwise progressive world must come to an end. Whether one agrees with the policies of the Sharon government towards the Palestinians or not, all must agree that making the Israeli civilian population suffer is unjustifiable. Israel has become a pariah among the nations. Political cartoons have been published around the world depicting the Israelis as Nazis (did European Jews regularly bomb German buses and restaurants and fire rockets into German towns? Has "expansionist" Israel systematically gassed and cremated the Palestinian population, or have they tried to allow for the creation of a Palestinian state on historically Jewish land while at the same time fighting off suicide bombers, gunmen, and mortar attacks on civilians?)

"The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" has become a bestseller in many countries. Synagogues have been burned and Jewish cemeteries have been desecrated.

Anti-Zionism is nothing other than the demonization of an entire country, and of its inhabitants. Although a desire to see the suffering of the Palestinians end is what seems to motivate much of the anti-Israeli sentiment that infests the "progressive" world, no amount of Israel-bashing will ever alleviate that suffering; it can only further embitter the lives of Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Until an political genius happens to arise who can find ways of protecting both the Palestinians and the Israelis from bloodshed, the only morally honest thing to do is to stop demonizing either side, stop politically interfering in a war that is far more complex than anyone wishes to admit, and simply pray for peace.

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For the words and the awareness. As a progressive turned Orthodox Christian returned to progress through divorce, I hear you. I am astounded at the prejudice I experience among my peers towards Christianity, but I understand, I was there my self. Now I walk the fence, wanting to fall neither to the left or the right. The Christians and the Pagans want to burn me alive because I am transgressed them both. The Christians are mad at me for being Progressive and the Pagans are mad at me for being Christian. It is a catch 22. Can't we just all get along? I do not like fighting.

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linked textGreat topic. I was just getting ready to begin finding some tools to do the very same tasks.

The hard part after collecting the data is deciding what's actionable and how.

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