" Abe Lincoln had it right. Our task shouold not be to invoke religion and the name of God by claiming God's blessing and endorsement for all our national policies and practices - saying, in effect, that God is on our side. Rather, Lincoln said, we should pray and worry earnestly whether we are on God's side.
Those are the two ways that religion has been brought into public life in American history. The first way - God on our side - leads inevitably to triumphalism, self-righteousness and bad theology, and, often, dangerous foreign policy. The second way - asking if we are on God's side - leads to much healthier things, namely, penitence and even repentance, humility, reflection, and even accountablility. We need much more of all these, because these are often missing values of politics.
Of course, Martin Luther King Jr. did it best. With his Bible in one hand and the Consitution in the other, King persuaded, not just pronounced. He reminded us all of God's purpose for justice, for peace, and for the "beloved community" where those always left out and behind get a front row seat."
Jim Wallis, God's Politics
: Why the Right gets it wrong and the Left doesn't get it
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