Can Christianity be reclaimed from the right wing?

A group called Sojourners has proposed a different way to "confess Christ in a world of violence," to put Christian faith into action in a complicated world. This is a five-point statement which seems to me to get a bit closer to what the religion is really about than the viewpoint of Bob Jones. From its introduction:

Faithfully confessing Christ is the church's task, and never more so than when its confession is co-opted by militarism and nationalism.

- A "theology of war," emanating from the highest circles of American government, is seeping into our churches as well.

- The language of "righteous empire" is employed with growing frequency.

- The roles of God, church, and nation are confused by talk of an American "mission" and "divine appointment" to "rid the world of evil."

The security issues before our nation allow no easy solutions. No one has a monopoly on the truth. But a policy that rejects the wisdom of international consultation should not be baptized by religiosity. The danger today is political idolatry exacerbated by the politics of fear.

The subsequent list of principles has been signed by a deluge of eminent theologians and others studying and working on religious and human issues. I hope this is merely the first step in reclaiming fundamental moral precepts from the distortions introduced by their recent politicization... (Images like this one aren't helping anybody's long-term goals.)
(via BookNotes)

Afterward: Somehow I missed a lovely post over at Real Live Preacher from July called "There's Something About the Way You Use the Bible" that gets at my problem with the great Crusaders of Certainty in our modern age. I recommend it.

The bible is not a book for those who need a weapon. It is not a book for those who know where they are going and what questions they will ask. It is not a book for those who are in a hurry and looking for the shortest route.

The bible is a book for pilgrims and wanderers. It is a book for children and for those who wish to become children again. It is a book for seekers and searchers and dreamers.

Thanks, Gordon, for all the welcome you offer to wanderers locally and globally . . .