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lehughes19's review
4.0
A good overview of how Christians can and should engage in politics. I hoped to gain insight and wisdom for this election year. While I did gain some of that, the main thing I got out of this book was feeling seen and heard. I highlighted many sections to return to because I felt the authors putting into words the thoughts I have regarding politics and our government. That’s refreshing.
ddejong's review against another edition
5.0
Simple but not simplistic. This book was a breath of fresh air in our current political climate and brought to bear a level of nuance that I find myself craving. I’m a big fan of The AND Campaign’s work and was encouraged and challenged by their vision of faithful civic engagement. I really appreciated how consistently they brought scripture to bear throughout this book.
jj84k's review against another edition
4.0
A good primer on Christian civil engagement. I highly recommend the (&) Campaign.
nurseduke's review against another edition
5.0
Such a good read for all Christians. It does not try to convince you to be in a specific party, or even how to vote on issues, but rather how your views and actions should represent Christ. Encouraging and convicting! A breath of fresh air.
aegreen's review against another edition
5.0
Politics are fundamentally relational.
That appears to be the underlying assumption made by Compassion (&) Conviction. There is something more genuinely political about, say, an immigrant who organizes other immigrant residents in her city to advocate for policies helpful to her community than, for example, a college-educated person who follows the news, debates the latest developments on social media, and occasionally signs an online petition or throws an online donation at a presidential candidate.[1]
If the first of the two examples appeals to you and you see a need for politics to begin locally, from the ground up, and through and with interpersonal relationships, then this is the book for you.
And who better to model right relationships on than Jesus?
To that end, certain kinds of political activism are widely accepted in evangelical circles. Others are more complicated, to say the least. In my opinion, this is where the book fills a hole. Christians often have much conviction but are lacking in compassion coming from a wellspring of humility. This scripture kept coming to mind while reading:
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." Phillipians 2:6
If God, who knows everything and has unlimited power I might add, humbled himself for us—then it follows Christians are called to do the same. In life, in our relationships, and in our pursuit of the true and the good in the public square.
However, this is so often not the case. Christians can be presumptuous, abrasive, and uncivil. When we are, we then give our namesake a bad name.
This book addresses these things and Justin Giboney et al provide a framework for relating to those whom we disagree with but need to work with in order to participate in the common project of government.
The authors quote Professor [a:John D. Inazu|5638074|John D. Inazu|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1448037654p2/5638074.jpg] with regard to another aspect of humility: "Humility...recognizes that our human faculties are inherently limited—our ability to think, reason and reflect is less than perfect, a limitation that leaves open the possibility that we are wrong."
Acknowledging our limitations, the authors argue, frees us to both act without presumption and without the burden of needing to know all the answers. Or as Tim Keller puts it, most political positions are not matters of biblical command but of practical wisdom in how to respond to those commands.[2] It is in this spirit that we recognize the Imago Dei, or image of God, in all of our neighbors, and we love them. The compassion part of the equation.
There are those who have the compassion part of the equation down, however, and are missing the conviction component. This book presupposes biblical orthodoxy. For those political positions that are biblical commands, as the authors emphasize at one point with racial reconciliation, which "starts with the gospel and ends with the gospel" (p. 100), it would be helpful to read more about what the gospel is, and why it is so compelling—that it quite literally changes everything about us.
Overall, Compassion (&) Conviction is such a step in the right direction and so needed in our current time and place that I give it 5 stars, and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in more a relational politics.
Disclaimer: I was given a digital copy of this book to review by the publisher.
[1] [a:Eitan Hersh|10127887|Eitan Hersh|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], "Political Hobbyists Are Ruining American Politics," The Atlantic, January 20, 2020.
[2] [a:Timothy J. Keller|847789|Timothy J. Keller|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1590152390p2/847789.jpg], "How Do Christians Fit Into the Two-Party System? They Don’t," New York Times, September 29, 2018.
That appears to be the underlying assumption made by Compassion (&) Conviction. There is something more genuinely political about, say, an immigrant who organizes other immigrant residents in her city to advocate for policies helpful to her community than, for example, a college-educated person who follows the news, debates the latest developments on social media, and occasionally signs an online petition or throws an online donation at a presidential candidate.[1]
If the first of the two examples appeals to you and you see a need for politics to begin locally, from the ground up, and through and with interpersonal relationships, then this is the book for you.
And who better to model right relationships on than Jesus?
To that end, certain kinds of political activism are widely accepted in evangelical circles. Others are more complicated, to say the least. In my opinion, this is where the book fills a hole. Christians often have much conviction but are lacking in compassion coming from a wellspring of humility. This scripture kept coming to mind while reading:
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." Phillipians 2:6
If God, who knows everything and has unlimited power I might add, humbled himself for us—then it follows Christians are called to do the same. In life, in our relationships, and in our pursuit of the true and the good in the public square.
However, this is so often not the case. Christians can be presumptuous, abrasive, and uncivil. When we are, we then give our namesake a bad name.
This book addresses these things and Justin Giboney et al provide a framework for relating to those whom we disagree with but need to work with in order to participate in the common project of government.
The authors quote Professor [a:John D. Inazu|5638074|John D. Inazu|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1448037654p2/5638074.jpg] with regard to another aspect of humility: "Humility...recognizes that our human faculties are inherently limited—our ability to think, reason and reflect is less than perfect, a limitation that leaves open the possibility that we are wrong."
Acknowledging our limitations, the authors argue, frees us to both act without presumption and without the burden of needing to know all the answers. Or as Tim Keller puts it, most political positions are not matters of biblical command but of practical wisdom in how to respond to those commands.[2] It is in this spirit that we recognize the Imago Dei, or image of God, in all of our neighbors, and we love them. The compassion part of the equation.
There are those who have the compassion part of the equation down, however, and are missing the conviction component. This book presupposes biblical orthodoxy. For those political positions that are biblical commands, as the authors emphasize at one point with racial reconciliation, which "starts with the gospel and ends with the gospel" (p. 100), it would be helpful to read more about what the gospel is, and why it is so compelling—that it quite literally changes everything about us.
Overall, Compassion (&) Conviction is such a step in the right direction and so needed in our current time and place that I give it 5 stars, and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in more a relational politics.
Disclaimer: I was given a digital copy of this book to review by the publisher.
[1] [a:Eitan Hersh|10127887|Eitan Hersh|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], "Political Hobbyists Are Ruining American Politics," The Atlantic, January 20, 2020.
[2] [a:Timothy J. Keller|847789|Timothy J. Keller|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1590152390p2/847789.jpg], "How Do Christians Fit Into the Two-Party System? They Don’t," New York Times, September 29, 2018.
acasualreadersrecord's review against another edition
5.0
This was a very thought provoking, gospel saturated, humble presentation of ideas. I appreciate the approach and the conclusions, and I feel like I'm walking away with a lot to chew on!
megpsmit's review against another edition
4.0
This book gave me a lot of things to think about to regards to how Christians can and should engage in politics in America. It goes though a lot of things I had never thought through in detail and gave lots of great examples and biblical foundations. I did not love the way it was structured but I think it could probably work well for a small group better then just reading through.
rachel_23's review against another edition
4.0
"Politics is ugly and imperfect because our world is broken - because we as individuals are broken. Nothing was unaffected by the fall (Genesis 3), and politics is no exception."
This book was thought-provoking and a helpful resource in trying to navigate politics as a believer. Our primary focus must always be to reflect Christ's love, but political action can be a means to love and advocate for our neighbor. There were some areas where I thought the book could have dived deeper, but I am thankful for this movement and this book.
This book was thought-provoking and a helpful resource in trying to navigate politics as a believer. Our primary focus must always be to reflect Christ's love, but political action can be a means to love and advocate for our neighbor. There were some areas where I thought the book could have dived deeper, but I am thankful for this movement and this book.
timhoiland's review against another edition
4.0
As headlines, polls, and everyday Facebook interactions remind us, we're a country divided. Sometimes it seems we're living on separate planets, with wildly different, seemingly incompatible conceptions of what constitutes reality. We need to take a timeout.
In this book from the AND Campaign, the authors invite us – that is, U.S. Christians – to take a deep breath, to reconsider our political categories with something closer to a resting heartbeat. Giboney, Wear, and Butler probably don't agree on every issue. Nor are they writing from a position of neutrality (as if such a thing were possible). But they do consistently demonstrate a commitment to principle over partisanship; humility over hubris. Here's just one line of many I could highlight: “When it comes to political ideology, to be conservative or progressive at all times and on every issue is not only to be intellectually lazy and easily manipulated, but also it’s unfaithful.”
Wherever you find yourself on the political spectrum in the year of our Lord 2020, you'll be challenged by this book. But I promise, you won't be called names.
In this book from the AND Campaign, the authors invite us – that is, U.S. Christians – to take a deep breath, to reconsider our political categories with something closer to a resting heartbeat. Giboney, Wear, and Butler probably don't agree on every issue. Nor are they writing from a position of neutrality (as if such a thing were possible). But they do consistently demonstrate a commitment to principle over partisanship; humility over hubris. Here's just one line of many I could highlight: “When it comes to political ideology, to be conservative or progressive at all times and on every issue is not only to be intellectually lazy and easily manipulated, but also it’s unfaithful.”
Wherever you find yourself on the political spectrum in the year of our Lord 2020, you'll be challenged by this book. But I promise, you won't be called names.