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Thanks for these insights. I really feel bad about Jim Wallis. He could have been an honest man in the mold of (I think) Ron Sider, who --- whatever his left-wing politics --- DOES engage with the "other side" on a respectful level, and DOES modify his ideas on the basis of other people's perspectives and new infusions of facts.

Sider --- who started off not knowing bloop about economics, and took some harmful and ill-informed positions because of that --- still strikes me as fair and sane, and able to assimilate new information. Wallis --- sigh --- at some point, just -- stopped -- listening. Does he still pray? Probably. What a mystery.

I suspect (and all I know about the man is from some of the articles that he has writen) that his problem is what CS Lewis described in "Mere Christianity". Wallis started out as a Christian who was interested in social affairs, and very slowly, very gradually, he has moved to become a social commentator who happens to be Christian. He no longer identifies with being a "mere" Christian - he is a left-wing Christian, a progressive evangelical Christian, a socially-concerned Christian.

Now, if that is what his problem is (and as I say, I dont know the man), that is a form of idolatry, because he is effectively saying that Christianity is not enough. It has to be value-added in some way. It is a very subtle temptation to all of us, and all the more dangerous when the bits added onto the gospel are in and of themselves very good things. I would suggest its very good for Christians to be socially aware. It no bad thing for Christians to want to make the world a better place. Its even ok for them to point out other people's errors - but none of those things are more important than the actual relationship with God that should be the foundation of a Christian's life.

So I'm quite sure he prays very regularly, and probably more than I do, but that doesnt matter if his prayers do not help in the transforming of his mind. If he has reached the stage where his social conscience and political outlook are his guide, and his prayers are only calls for God to rubber-stamp the decision he has already come to, he will derive little benefit from them.