"Thirty years ago, Ron Sider prophetically challenged the evangelical world with Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. Now he raises the bar with a new challenge to develop a holistic, biblically grounded political philosophy. If you''re wondering what it means to say Christ is Lord of our political life, Sider has, as always, credible and compelling answers. This book again establishes why Ron Sider is one of our most important public theologians."--Jim Wallis, president, Sojourners; author, God''s Politics"For decades now, Sider has been the evangelical Christian world''s clearest, sanest, and most biblically faithful voice on politics and public policy. Now, in The Scandal of Evangelical Politics, Sider serves up his most compelling statement ever on how Christians can and should influence American government to promote the common good both at home and abroad. It would be a scandal for anyone who truly cares about the subject not to read and heed this marvelous book by the evangelical thinker who puts the fact-based in faith-based and practices what he preaches. Sider is a civic and intellectual treasure.
"--John J. DiIulio Jr., first director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives; author, Godly Republic"Ron Sider could well be our nation''s best professor of Christian social activism. He not only equips us to understand the Bible''s teaching on current issues, he also trains us for loving and effective political involvement. This book should be a guidebook for Christians who want to be a voice for Jesus in shaping social policy. This book is becoming a part of my personal discipleship process."--Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor, Northland, A Church Distributed; executive committee member, National Association of Evangelicals"The Scandal of Evangelical Politics is in some ways a culminating achievement of Ron Sider''s remarkable life of service to God''s kingdom.
The fulfillment of a dream he has long cherished, Sider here offers a mature, balanced, well-informed, richly biblical Christian political ethic for a broad audience. "Far less a work of critique than of constructive thought, the book reflects Sider''s commitment to both/and rather than either/or thinking, his hopeful spirit, and his wide reading and dialogue both nationally and internationally. "This is a significant contribution to the emerging evangelical center in Christian political ethics."--David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer University; president, Evangelicals for Human Rights; author, The Future of Faith in American Politics"For decades now Ron Sider has been a rare voice in the public square calling believers to both a broader agenda that includes the poor and to an approach to public life that is less sectarian and more grounded in a principled pluralism and love of neighbor. Here, Sider systematically offers a badly needed public philosophy to ground that work, one reflective of biblical ethics and history, and one that points to both the promises as well as the limits of the State in settling the great moral and social issues of society. "Reflecting well his own Anabaptist history, Sider consistently brings a quiet, thoughtful yet compelling voice to the policy table. Ron''s work has undoubtedly helped usher in an era in which fewer believers rush to embrace the secular ideologies of either Left or Right--and even less the rancorous behavior associated with them--and instead embrace a deeper biblical ethic as a guide to political positions as well as public conduct.
"--Don Eberly, author; White House aide to presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush"This is vintage Sider: an abundance of biblical texts to ground and inspire the kind of civic action Christians should take to serve God and neighbors. American Evangelicals should read and discuss this book and think hard about the kind of organizing that will be needed to fulfill genuine political responsibility."--James W. Skillen, president, Center f.