Faith and Politics in a World Gone Awry

Faith in Jesus Christ shapes the whole of the Christian life not merely the parts that are safe and convenient requiring little if anything of us. The realm of faith involves not only the interior life of the spirit but everything that disciples of Jesus Christ think and do and are including the way we participate in the politics of our communities nation and world. Do you ever wonder about the relationship between your theology and whats happening in the politics of our nation and world or ponder how your views might change if the biblical narrative were formative for your political opinions and beliefs? If so this book is for you. Looking over Americas hot-tempered politics and deep divisions Plunkett asks: Can grace save us? His answer eschews shaming caricatures and magic fixes. Instead Plunkett points--with humility and hope--to the hard work before us and to the grace that will lead us home. We desperately need sign-posts like this. --Scott Black Johnston Pastor Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church New York City There is so much to rejoice about in Steve Plunketts fine book about the intersection of faith and politics. In an adversarial season when cultural division is so severe it threatens to wither ones spirit Plunketts voice is strong clear and hopeful. He blends the confidence and courage of the biblical prophets with the parabolic imagination of Jesus to summon a ministry and a church faithful not just in the quiet places and the hidden recesses of the heart but also in the noisy and conflicted public square. This book is truly a welcome word for such a time as this. --Thomas G. Long Bandy Professor Emeritus of Preaching Candler School of Theology The reader will hear in Plunketts prose the persuasive voice of a preacher the curiosity of a biblical interpreter and the passion of a disciple of Christ who wants all people everywhere to share together in Gods grace. Pastors and other church leaders will find in Plunkett a companion who insists that unity inclusivity and mutual caretaking are biblical and theological principles that can remedy many of the ills of our broken and polarized culture. --Cynthia L. Rigby W. C. Brown Professor of Theology Austin Theological Seminary Stephen W. Plunkett is an honorably retired minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) having served as the pastor of churches in Texas Kentucky Connecticut and Ohio. He served for twenty-five years as pastor of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton Texas. He is the author of This We Believe: Eight Truths Presbyterians Affirm (2002).