Faithful Politics
IVP Academic, 2024
By Miranda Zapor Cruz
WHO: Miranda Zapor Cruz, professor of historical theology at Indiana Wesleyan University.
SHE SAYS: “While Christian faithfulness can lead to a range of political approaches, underlying any approach should be a discernable Christianness.”
THE BIG IDEA: Equip Christians to engage with politics as faithful servants of Jesus Christ.
THE PROGRESSION: Chapter 1, “Citizens of the Kingdom,” contrasts the kingdom of God with the United States. In Chapter 2, “Biblical Dual Citizenship,” the author examines biblical narrative that form our understanding of citizenship in the kingdom of God and in a country.
Chapter 3, “Salty Citizenship,” provides background on the U.S. political system and examines Christians’ recent political behavior. Chapter 4, “Keeping the Kingdom Out of the Country,” looks at three approaches to Christian citizenship. Chapter 5, “Keeping the Country Out of the Kingdom,” present the separationist options to Christian citizenship.
In Chapter 6, “Bringing the Kingdom Into the Country,” the author introduces the approach of social gospel while in Chapter 7, “Keeping the Country Under the Kingdom,” she discusses two Calvinist options. Chapters 8 and 9, “Invading the Country to Establish the Kingdom” and “Eroding the Distinction Between Kingdom and Country,” take a deep dive into two approaches that she says are incompatible with Christian doctrine: Christian nationalism and dominionism.
“We should not teach or even give the impression that the cause of Christ and the mission of the church is aligned with or obeisant to the Democratic or Republican parties.”
