BERKELEY: Activists start working on liberal spirituality

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/21/5 | Joe Garofoli

[SmithL]

Conference seeks to morph energy into political clout

Liberals have complained for two decades that conservatives misuse religion for political gain, but it wasn't until well-organized evangelicals powered President Bush's election in November that some decided that they had to do more than gripe.

The latest post-election attempt at transforming the spiritual energy of the left into political clout began Wednesday at UC Berkeley, where 1,200 people attended the opening of a conference on "Spiritual Activism."

The goal of the four-day conference is to create a spirituality-based platform to counter the religious right, but organizers are also intending to connect with "religio-phobic" liberals through seminars such as, "I Don't Believe in God, But I Know America Needs a Spiritual Left."

"This is not an attempt to put spiritual words on the old liberal agenda, " said conference organizer Rabbi Michael Lerner, an antiwar activist in the 1960s who is now editor of the Tikkun magazine in Berkeley. "This is about transforming the society away from materialism and selfishness."

After a follow-up conference scheduled for February in Washington, organizers hope to see a spiritual politics caucus in both the Democratic and Green parties in the coming years. They're counting on participants to return to their communities and launch a spirituality movement that is rooted in values that transcend religion, such as eradicating poverty.

One conference speaker who thinks the culture will be receptive to this message is Jim Wallis, the liberal evangelical author of the best-selling "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It."

Fresh off a tour in which 80,000 people attended his book-signing events in 49 cities, Wallis said, "Something is happening out there.

"It will be easy for the religious right to dismiss...

[TFFKAMM]

I never thought I'd see the day when I saw a Strawberry Alarm Clock quote on FR...

[xzins]

liberal counter-attack ping.

It's too obviously insincere....it'll die on the vine, imho.

[RegulatorCountry]

"We aren't all yahoos in flyover country."

Sorry, should've put that in quotes the first time. I don't believe that, as I'm sort of off the radar for bicoastal media types myself. The phrase does express the apparent sentiment of such people fairly effectively, though.

[blue-duncan]

Nah, let's pray that they carry on and become the spiritual force in the Democrat Party. I haven't been able to use my "Ahithophel" prayer since Campolo and Jackson were counseling Clinton.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Have they finished the list of required drugs yet???

[peacebaby]

Actually, I have expanded my mind, and now I have nothing big enough to put it in.

[redgolum]

Looks like an attempt to "get religion under control" before the Queen makes her entrance.

What is worse is there are some who will fall for it.

[Buggman]

Well, I don't see it going anywhere overnight, but I do plan to keep my eye on it. Bad things tend to sprout up in the unlikeliest of places when we don't do our Christian duty to stand in the gap for our nation.

[oldbrowser]

"I Don't Believe in God, But I Know America Needs a Spiritual Left."

these soulless creatures want to create a soulless religion so they can attend soulless churches.

The First Atheists Church ?
The Church of the Unholy Spirit ?
The Church of the Seventh Day Abortionists ?
The United Socialists Church ?

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

" Turn on, tune in,

and drop out." - [irony]

[NRA1995]

I never thought I'd see the day when I saw a Strawberry Alarm Clock quote on FR

I revert to their lyrics whenever I want to point out the absurdity of the 60's....personally I think SAC wrote nice music but really stupid lyrics....

[TFFKAMM]

They don't make hippie cults like they used to...

[siunevada]

it wasn't until well-organized evangelicals powered President Bush's election in November

I thought that was an urban legend disproved by the actual numbers.

What a shock and surprise that they would cling to a false belief.

"This is not an attempt to put spiritual words on the old liberal agenda, "

Words spoken by an old Clinton adviser. That makes it all the more likely that it is exactly what it is. One speaker certainly has founded his current reputation on that idea:

Lakoff, who has become a favorite among liberals since November for his contention that the left has the right ideas -- it just needs to "frame" issues in a different context.

Yeah, just use different words and your ideas will be more palatable. There's a brilliant new concept.

[siunevada]

Do you have a source for this accusation?

Gee, froggie, 'accusation' seems a bit harsh to me. I didn't see a response from Mr. J, so...

I saw your later post of a paragraph from the CCC. A look at that entire page is worthwhile:

2401 -2463

And, of course, the footnotes lead to the source documents if anything seems particularly interesting.

Actually, Mr. J, I think that whole 'liberation theology' movement is a dead dog. You'll still find isolated adherents but the Church has rather forcefully shown it to be a false ideology contrary to her historic teachings about human nature and society.

As for living in material poverty in imitation of Christ I think the Church tells us that is a charism, a gift from God. And not every member of the body of Christ has the same gifts, just as the Apostle tells us.

[ppaul]

LOL

[Conservative til I die]

How embarassing these people are. THey still don't get that religion wasn't created for political purposes.

[Craig DeLuz]

It would be hysterically funny if it weren’t so sad. The immoral minority continues their quest to define moral values that are devoid of morality.

I believe that there are many in the Democrat Party who support traditional moral values and will not be fooled by this new found “Spirituality” of the left. If Democrats want to truly attract these, as well as other “Values Voters” they are going to have to come to grips with one simple truth: "Moral Values" absent Morality have no Value!

Craig DeLuz

Visit The Home of Uncommon Sense... www.craigdeluz.com