Just a quick post to let everyone know that I'll be on Air America's "State of Belief" program this weekend, hosted by Welton Gaddy, Director of the Interfaith Alliance. I'll be talking about the book, the emerging progressive religious movement, and how these new religious voices for justice and the common good are changing the conversation this election cycle.

You can tune in to your local Air American station, airing in most markets Saturdays at 10am ET and Sundays at 7pm ET. Or you can listen live online here.

If you miss the show this weekend, you can:

• Download the podcast of the program from iTunes for free here.
• Listen to the archive of the show on "State of Belief" here (my segment begins half way through the show at 23:25).
  

Labels: interfaith alliance, interview, progressive religious movement

Note: This entry cross-posted from Beliefnet's Progressive Revival blog.

In one of the most explicitly theological questions of Saturday night's "Saddleback Civil Forum," Pastor Rick Warren asked both candidates, "Does evil exist in the world today? If so, what should we do about it?" While both Obama and McCain affirmed their belief in the existence of evil, their responses revealed deeply different theological orientations in two major areas that have direct policy implications: human responsibility and the location of evil in the world.

Obama began his answer by declaring that we have a clear responsibility to confront and resist evil, but that it is "God's task" to ultimately defeat evil. . Obama went on to clarify that we can be "soldiers" in that effort but that we must have humility to realize that good intentions are not enough to guarantee good actions. McCain, on the other hand, interrupted Warren's question to flatly state that we should and can "totally defeat evil" in the world.

While McCain's bravado garnered more applause among Saddleback's evangelical audience, it is theologically problematic from a Christian point of view. If America is in charge of defeating evil in the world, this literally puts America in the role of God, a position that theologically speaking is blasphemy. Despite McCain's popularity at the evangelical Saddleback forum, it was ironically Obama's worldview--where God guarantees the defeat of evil while we have faithful parts to play--that reflected not only the more orthodox Christian worldview but also the best of American public theology. This more chastened position, which is rooted in a theological understanding of human finitude, reflects biblically based Christian thinking from St. Augustine through Martin Luther. This stance is also reflected in what is perhaps the greatest theological statement by an American President, Abraham Lincoln's (a Republican) second inaugural address, where he declared at the end of a war where both sides had claimed divine favor that "the Almighty has his own purposes."

....

__________________________

You can read the rest of the article posted on Beliefnet's Progressive Revival Blog here.

Labels: election, evangelicals, evil, mccain, obama

My new book, Progressive & Religious: How Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist Leaders are Moving Beyond the Culture Wars and Transforming American Public Life is now available and shipping at a discount (List: $22.95, Now: $17.96). I want also to express my gratitude to so many of you who have been supporters of this three-year journey to tell the story of the emerging progressive religious movement.

I want to invite everyone not only to buy the book but to join the growing progressive & religious community. You can subscribe to our mailing list to receive:

• The latest podcasts with religious leaders
• Highlights from the progressive & religious blog, and other things happening in the growing progressive & religious community.
• Monthly updates on my upcoming book tour.

You can also join the growing Progressive & Religious group on Facebook.
Advance Praise for Progressive & Religious:

“Robert P. Jones understands that progressive faith is not simply a ‘left’ alternative to the Religious Right, but a bringing together of religious belief and practice with progressive politics.... Progressive & Religious convincingly shows how people of many different faiths are creating an authentic social vision for a pluralistic America. I commend this book to all who are seeking to join their faith and politics in working for a better world.”—Rev. Jim Wallis, Sojourners, author of The Great Awakening

“Robert P. Jones is one of the most searching, thoughtful and practical thinkers in the revival of religiously-rooted progressivism, and his book is a great blessing for that cause and for the country. Anyone—left, right or center—who wants a guide to this new movement would do well to spend time with this book.” —E. J. Dionne, Jr., Washington Post, author of Souled Out

“This instructive book should be in front of every newspaper journalist and every spiritual progressive. Sensitive to theological as well as political concerns, Progressive & Religious is a valuable introduction to the contemporary struggle for a progressive spiritual transformation of the world that is taking place in most of the world's religions.” —Rabbi Michael Lerner, Tikkun Magazine, The Network of Spiritual Progressives, author of The Left Hand of God

“An illuminating road map to religious re-discovery in contemporary America. With a marriage of journalistic enthusiasm and intellectual rigor, Robert P. Jones skips among the tensions that mar intra-religious relations in our society, smashing erroneous preconceptions and championing a renaissance in the way we look at faith. The result is a thorough examination of religion in modernity that highlights the progressive tendencies shared by all faiths in highly readable form.” —Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, American Society for Muslim Advancement