arrogance

Arrogance is assuming that your political view is also God's view. This is what Jim Wallis, leader of Sojourners, has done with his recent declaration of "repentance" for the war in Iraq. Here is an actual quote from an email he sent out recently:

"And so, in this season of Lent, I believe the time has come for us to repent for the Iraq war...

Support for U.S. wars and foreign policy is still the area where Christians are most "conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2). We must commit to put our love for Christ ahead of obedience to a misguided government and ask our brothers and sisters to join us in working for peace."

Did you catch that? According to Jim, if you support the war in Iraq, then you are "conformed to this world." Wow. He goes further. He makes that claim that if you agree with some of the policies of this government, then you are putting "obedience to a misguided government" ahead of your "love for Christ." Did he really just say that? Boy, if we were talking about homosexuality instead of the war, I would think this email was sent by Jerry Falwell.

And what about other moral issues. Wallis wants to gather Christians from all over the nation to "repent" for a war that has been going on for 5 years. But when was the last time he called for repentance because we are in a country that has legalized the killing of our unborn children? And abortion has been going on legally now for 35 years. And yet for those 35 years has Wallis called the church and our nation to repent for all of those millions of murders? Nope.

What about drugs, pornography, rape, alcoholism and a host of other sin issues that are eroding our nation from the inside out? Has Wallis ever called for a time of repentance for those things? Those issues and many more have been going on for a lot longer than the war. Shouldn't we first repent for those as a nation and as the Church? Or are these "sin issues" not in vogue enough for Jim. I guess they just aren't as popular to be against.

Is anyone else irritated with this level of hypocrisy? It seems to me that Jim Wallis is caught up in a level of self-righteousness and arrogance that we haven't seen in Christian leaders since the 90's when the Christian Right took over the Republican party. What is that passage about the plank and the speck of dust?