via Eric, via The Other Journal
Campolo is one that I wish would do some extensive Bible commentary—or pull together a collection of sermon and book explorations of Scripture. His is a “sociological” theology on which I place a very high value.

An Interview With Dr. Tony Campolo by Brian Munz

Campolo:
I think He would come down hard on the Republicans because they are not committed to justice for the Palestinians, they are so pro-Israel that they forget that there are Palestinian people who are getting their teeth kicked in. I think that they have in fact made patriotism into something that is idolatrous. I really raise questions about the militarism. I really feel that the Evangelical community is overwhelmingly in favor of Capital Punishment, and the Republican Party is there. I believe in a Jesus that says, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.”

I think that the Evangelical Community does not ask enough questions about war, and I’m not talking about whether we should have gone to war or shouldn’t have gone to war with Iraq, primarily because I think the time has come to raise questions about whether or not a just war is even possible.

Emphasis mine. And no, I don’t believe it is, whcih should be the dominant moral consideration for avoiding war at all costs (otherwise, we come to bear with costs unforessen, consequences unforseen, and increased world insecurity. And throw into that mix the insane Neocon administration’s “tough talk” and suggestions that we would use them (at a level of suggestion unoprecedented ), then we have a dangerous scenario set up for us by these war-lovers. Yes, I do believe they love it, because they love the money, and the power.

Back to Campolo where I left off:

I mean, I’m not even talking about whether this was a just war, that’s for the politicians to argue over. That’s not the issue. Can there be a just war if a just war means that innocent people don’t die, only combatants die?

The Republicans have this new budget which gave an incredible tax cut to the rich. In order to bring about that new budget, 500,000 boys and girls in inner city tutoring programs lost their tutoring slots. I would think that every Evangelical Christian would be irate. How can they support a party that does such terrible things to the poor?

Becuase they have severely TRUNCATED the gospel. They’ve “sniped out” whole sections of procalmati on of jubilee, calls for justice, emphases in Jesus’ own words to minister to the “least of these”. They have replaced the Scriptures with an American Bible (proclaimed by Americans who seek instead the comforts and materialism of the world, but justify it by ignoring large chunks , and therefore bascially all of it.

The environment as a Sacred Trust:

On environmental issues, this administration has been abominable, and I’m asking a very serious question: how can Christians support a party that is reducing all the regulations on the environment to such a degree that we have to worry about our future?

Abominable is the right word. Downright scandalous, and most Republicans who WOULD care about such wholesale gutting of the regulations, and rewarding contributors with regulatory responsibilities. This is like handing over the protection of our Children from excessive negative TV influence over to the advertisers who want to exploit children for their own purposes. Bush handed over responsibility to the former lobbyists for the very industries the EPA was designed to protect us from in their irreponsible tendencies to forgo the public good for the sake of profit.

More:

On what the parties hold up as important:

So, when I look at the political elections, I see the Republicans over here, holding up personal morality, and I think they’re doing a good job with it. I see the Democrats over here, holding up social justice issues, and I think they’re doing a good job with it. We need the best of both, and we need to eliminate the worst of each

I don’t give them points on personal morality, because I am appalled at the absolute dishonesty, decption, and disregard for the health, safety, and education of Americans, for the purposes of monetary and political gain (and the added “under the table profiteering” they reap through their alarming backroom deals with corporations.