Jim Wallis expresses my kind of religion

Jim Wallis at Davos:

"What we need is nothing less than a whole new set of religious actors and new religious actions for the world to see - from those called 'the moderates.' Specifically, the world needs to see faith leaders and communities from around the globe on the front lines of social movements seeking to change the planet - working on all the big issues that the people at Davos are here discussing, such as climate change, global poverty, pandemic diseases, basic education access (80 million children in the world don't have it), and, crucially, helping to resolve our most pressing and violent conflicts.

The 'religious moderates' must become the most passionate of all for social justice. If we did that, we would accomplish two things at the same time. First, we would provide a clear and compelling alternative to extremist religion. And, second, we would be helping to change the facts on the ground - the oppressive circumstances that often lead to and help recruit for extremist religion.

I just came out of an extraordinary panel on 'The Promises to Africa,' with Tony Blair, Bill Gates, Bono, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and other political, business, and civil society leaders from Africa, Germany (the site of the 2007 G-8 Summit), and Japan (the site of the 2008 G-8).

The moderator's opening comments were these: 'I am the moderator, but I hope I am not 'moderate' about Africa. I hope, today, that I will be an accelerator, not just a moderator.' After hearing the panel, I was convinced that that's just what we need - religion that doesn't just moderate, but rather accelerates the struggle for social justice and peace."