In my last blogpost I mentioned Jim Wallis, a nationally-renowned Evangelical Christian writer and badass extraordinaire. In this secular-obsessed nation of ours it become rarer and rarer we find open praise for such a great example of what a contemporary spiritual leader should be. So I’ve decided to write my own little praise for a great figure entitled “Why Jim Wallis is Awesome.”

You don’t have to read a past a few paragraphs his Wikipedia entry to get a note of how awesome he is from the get-go. Political activist, fighter for social justice, active in the actual civil rights movement, professor at Harvard, leader in the new evangelical Christian movement, this man just is just 180 pounds of sexy. I could take forever listing all the things that makes Jim Wallis awesome, but one of his best notes of accomplishment, with all due respect to Waillis, is what he is not.

Jim Wallis is NOT Jerry Falwell.

Why is this significant? The past decade or so has made it difficult to affiliate oneself with the term “religious” without quickly defending or defining what it means, and Jerry Falwell, along with others, is why.  Fundamentalist Christianity, or as Wallis describes it, a “defensive movement” against modernity, has been front and center thanks to its loudest and most controversial leaders. Unfortunately, over time these front-and-center people became not only the faces of Fundamentalist Christianity but the entire Religious Right…and eventually just the Religious.

It’s no wonder the Left was weary using religious language entering the new millennium. The 2000 and 2004 elections proved disastrous for the Democratic Party, and part of the reason was its reluctance to reach out to the religious populace. Yet Jim Wallis is one of the few that noticed that stripping religious affiliation from the Left allowed the Right to define Christianity however it wanted, and eventually dwindled it down to a few hot-button issues like sexual ethics, homosexuality and abortion. Then, instead of getting down to business on the kinds of issues that are relevant to Christian morals (Wallis notes eradicating poverty and finding peace as the highest priority) we get bogged down in legislation that is attempting to ban gay marriage and abortion.

But he doesn’t just stop there. Because pointing out the obvious propagandistic distractions of the current administration isn’t enough. He takes it down to language. Jim Wallis detests the labeling of the “religious Left” and “religious Right” with great reason:

“The best public contribution of religion is precisely not to be ideologically predictable or a loyal partisan. To always raise the moral issues of human rights, for example, will challenge both left and right-wing governments that put power above principles” (God’s Politics).

Oh yes, well said. Sure, he’s just trying to push forth his own religious agenda, but if the rewards are peace and social justice here on Earth, sign me up.

I conclude with a note that whatever your stance on Christianity, religion in general, poverty, abortion, etc, you have to admit Jim Wallis and the emerging army of contemporary religious leaders are a much-needed breath of fresh air to the American stage. One of many who can revive the spiritual heart of a progressive America, for those who want it. He also has a pretty cool blogsite, which you should visit.

And that is why Jim Wallis is awesome.