God & Government: An Insider's View on the Boundaries Between Faith & Politics

Front Cover
HarperChristian + ORM, Oct 5, 2010 - Religion - 643 pages

How should Christians live their faith in the public arena?

Twenty years ago, the first edition of Chuck Colson's Kingdoms in Conflict became a bestseller, a must-read for people interested in politics and the relationship between church and state. Now, with a passion for truth and moved by the urgency of the times we live in, Colson has written God and Government, re-voicing his powerful and enduring message for our post-9/11 world.

In an era when Christianity is being attacked from every side--books being written charging Christians with being theocrats and trying to impose their views on an unwilling culture--what is the message of the Christian church? What does the Bible say, and what do we learn from history about the proper relationship between faith and culture? Appealing to scripture, reason, and history, this book tackles society's most pressing and divisive issues. New stories and examples reflect the realities of today, from the clash with radical Islam to the deep division between "reds" and "blues."

In an era of angry finger-pointing, Colson furnishes a unique insider's perspective that can't be pigeonholed as either "religious right" or "religious left." Whatever your political or religious stance, this book will give you a different understanding of Christianity. If you're a Christian, it will help you to both examine and defend your faith. If you've been critical of the new religious right, you'll be shocked at what you learn. Probing both secular and religious values, God and Government critiques each fairly, sides with neither, and offers a hopeful, fair-minded perspective that is sorely needed in today's hyper-charged atmosphere.

From inside the book

Contents

Presence of the Kingdom 16 Benefits of the Kingdom
267
Christian Patriotism
276
Little Platoons
286
The Problem of Power
300
Christians in Politics
313
Signs of the Kingdom
333
Perils of Politics
343
People Power
356

For the Good of the Nation
106
The Cross and the Crown
122
Part Three Absence of the Kingdom
139
Roots of War Part I 141
172
Year Zero
194
Marxism and the Kingdom of God
204
Conflict and Compromise in the West
232
The Naked Public Square
257
Part Four
265
The Political Illusion
380
The Indestructible Kingdom
391
Epilogue
418
With Gratitude
422
Notes
425
For Further Reading
435
Index
437
Copyright

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Popular passages

Page 241 - Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Page 90 - The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord'.
Page 134 - That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence, and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience, and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.
Page 130 - Bring me my spear ! O clouds, unfold ! Bring me my chariot of fire ! I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusalem 15 In England's green and pleasant land.
Page 72 - His religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection.
Page 50 - Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
Page 134 - The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate.
Page 114 - Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils ; but if God be for you, who can be against you ? Are all of them together stronger than God ? Oh ! be not weary of well-doing.
Page 259 - Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot. Religion is much more necessary in the republic which they set forth in glowing colors than in the monarchy which they attack; it is more needed in democratic republics than in any others. How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie is not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people who are their own masters if they are not submissive to the Deity?
Page 194 - A new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it profound concern, both for our future security and the survival of civilization. The destructiveness of the war potential, through progressive advances in scientific discovery, has in fact now reached a point which revises the traditional concept of war. Men since the beginning of time have sought peace.

About the author (2010)

Chuck Colson was a popular and widely known author, speaker, and radio commentator. A former presidential aide to Richard Nixon and founder of the international ministry Prison Fellowship, he wrote several books that have shaped Christian thinking on a variety of subjects, including Born Again, Loving God, How Now Shall We Live?, The Good Life, and The Faith. His radio broadcast, BreakPoint, at one point aired to two million listeners. Chuck Colson donated all of his royalties, awards, and speaking fees to Prison Fellowship Ministries.

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