In my mind’s eye, correctly or not, Colson is the Mind and Wallis is the Heart in the argument of a Christian’s moral responsibility in society today. One espouses doctrinal accuracy and the other charitable compassion; one trusts the guiding of the heart and the other the guiding of the intellect. Compassion let’s the heart of God lead the way and intellect looks for safer ground in the immutable Word of God and, in the words of Rudyard Kipling, “and never the twain shall meet�.
It isn’t that Chuck Colson is uncaring or that Jim Wallis is intellectually devoid but I will say that Colson is more of an ideologue while Wallis is more pragmatic… Funny, you would think the opposite would be true.
It is a question of doing good verses being good. Wallis wants to deal with the hurt that is right here, right now and Colson is digging for the spiritual roots of society’s woes and neither may be getting it “right”.
Here’s the latest from the boys:
An open letter to Chuck Colson by Jim Wallis
Moral Equivalency: The Religious Left Gets It Wrong, BreakPoint with Charles Colson
This one makes you think! I think that you have to “be good” in order to genuinely be “doing good.” No human is really that good on his own, because what may seem “good” on the outside typically has a “not-so-good” motive. Life may just be that cynical or negative without the hope that comes from what really matters…the thing that fills you with good and the courage and desire to really love others and seek ways to improve their well being…and that is Jesus. All of the debates on R vs D seem to miss this point all together…I wonder what the point really is to all of the talk? These are Christians who are giving out information for people to live by, but they seem to have missed it, huh?
I have come to the conclusion that be it modern or post, Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative…the only real truth lies in what is greater than this place, what means more than our words or thoughts…and that is knowing the beauty of Jesus, having the reality that you re loved by this God and He receives that love. It changes, it is the beginning of everything good…it heals, it gives life, it is mystical, exciting, it is mysterious and challenging, it is educational, it is fair and honest and intellectual…it overcomes the gaps of opinion and discrepancy, it is HIM who became a human slave for our pitiful selves…He who loves us in our messes and confusion. He is the point.