For Christian DUers..

[Jackpine Radical]

This was originally posted as a thread on a link with a caption that might discourage some from entering it. On the chance that some here don't know of Sojourners magazine and its parent organization, I'm posting this in a somewhat friendlier environment:

http://www.sojo.net/

Mission Statement
Sojourners, www.sojo.net, is a Christian ministry whose mission is to proclaim and practice the biblical call to integrate spiritual renewal and social justice.

In response to this call, we offer a vision for faith in public life by:

publishing Sojourners magazine, SojoMail and other resources that address issues of faith, politics, and culture from a biblical perspective;
preaching, teaching, organizing, and public witness;
nurturing community by bringing together people from the various traditions and streams of the church;
hosting an annual program of voluntary service for education, ministry, and discipleship.
In our lives and in our work, we seek to be guided by the biblical principles of justice, mercy, and humility.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. In other words, the Sojourners walk their talk

peace be with them.

[pelagius]

4. I'm liberal because I'm Christian

The Sojourners were instrumental in forming my commitment to Christian activism. Raised a fundamentalist, I was taught to believe that the Bible was the ultimate authority in all matters of faith, science, and history.

(Looking back, I can see that -- for all practical intents -- my people worshiped a book more fervently than they did God.)

The trouble started for me when I read the Bible seriously and took it literally. What was all this stuff condemning the rich for oppressing the poor? There was sure a lot more of that than talk about sex, the preoccupation (then and now) of Christian fundamentalists.

My church had no answers for this. They were in the process of becoming a linchpin in then-emerging Christian right and taught, none too subtly, that wealth was God's gift to the righteous and the primary responsibility of those who had was to give a cut to the building fund.

(This "health and wealth" gospel is a primary feature of the so-called megachurchs and other fast-growing Christian groups in varying degrees.)

Luckily I found _Sojourners_ magazine. Through them, I became acquainted with the storied history of evangelical involvement in social action, from abolition to women's suffrage to civil rights and beyond.

Sure there were some earnestly silly topics, like "Can a Christian committed to simplicity own a really good stereo?" Answer: Yes, because you're not attached to the stereo, you're just interested in the music.

But at the time, there were very few evangelical churches where you could find a Sojourners-style commitment to Christian living and activism. So I joined the Episcopal Church and got exposed to lots of other approaches to theology and left, for the time, the evangelical mainstream.

But I've kept up my connection to Sojourners and with it my commitment to activism.

[sweetheart]

2. Wow! Christians!

What a rare beast in a land of heathens. /Irony sadly...

[AntiCoup2K4]

3. Praise Jesus!

Literally, in this case :)

[stray cat]

5. Thanks for the site

nt

[Misunderestimator]

6. How do they feel about homosexual rights?

[pelagius]

8. Their website has links to gay Christian organizations...

...but I wasn't able to find any policy statement. They're very strong on human rights, so I suspect they would be unlikely to promote any discriminatory laws or policies.

One thing that might rankle secular liberals is that they are not keen on abortion. They have a consistent "pro-life" policy that is against needless abortion, war, capital punishment, and the whole gamut of violence we do to each other. I suspect they would be moderates on abortion, preferring that it be "safe, legal, and rare."

But again, I'm just speculating based on articles I've read in the past. Sojourners is very good about allocation editorial space for divergent points of view within the progressive evangelical community.

[Dob Bole]

7. I get Sojourners magazine...

My first experiences with the left were actually Christian, after September 11. I hung out with this group, and still do when I can:

http://www.koinoniapartners.org

They had been attacked by terrorists before themselves. They are the ones who made proper leftists out of this RR fundie :)

[Selwynn]

9. This magazine is very great -

I've followed it for some time now, and they have really been a breath of fresh air.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. I first encountered them during the Reagan administration

through people in my then-church in Minneapolis who were involved in the nuclear freeze and anti-intervention movements.