The Politics Of The Cross

Where do Christians fit in a two-party political system? The partisan divide that is rending the nation is now tearing apart American churches. On one side are Christian Right activists and other conservatives who believe that a vote for a Democratic presidential candidate is a vote for abortion, sexual immorality, gender confusion, and the loss of religious liberty for Christians. On the other side are politically progressive Christians who are considering leaving the institutional church because of white evangelicalism’s alliance with a Republican Party that they believe is racist, hateful toward immigrants, scornful of the poor, and directly opposed to the principles that Jesus taught. Even while sharing the same pew, these two sides often see the views of the other as hopelessly wrongheaded—even evil. Is there a way to transcend this deep-seated division? The Politics of the Cross draws on history, policy analysis, and biblically grounded theology to show how Christians can protect the unborn, advocate for traditional marriage, promote racial justice, care for the poor, and, above all, honor the gospel by adopting a cross-centered ethic instead of the idolatrous politics of power, fear, or partisanship. As Daniel K. Williams illustrates, both the Republican and Democratic parties are rooted in Christian principles, but both have distorted those principles and mixed them with assumptions that are antithetical to biblical truth. Williams explains how Christians can renounce partisanship and pursue policies that show love for our neighbors to achieve a biblical vision of justice. Nuanced, detailed, and even-handed, The Politics of the Cross tackles the thorny issues that divide Christians politically and offers a path forward with innovative, biblically minded political approaches that might surprise Christians on both the left and the right.

Jesus died, not peacefully in bed, but on the cross, the instrument of execution used by the Romans to keep potential disturbers of the established political order in their place. Until the pioneering work of Jürgen Moltmann, the cross has been the “elephant in the room” in Christian political theology. This book explores the difference Jesus’s crucifixion makes (or should make) to Christian political theology, by examining the crucifixion in the theologies of the Mennonite John Howard Yoder and the liberation theologians Leonardo Boff and Jon Sobrino. In the light of the cross and of the kenotic God revealed by the cross, questions of political power are explored, and a kenotic political ethic outlined. In conclusion, suggestions are made as to how the contemporary church can live out a cruciform, or cross–shaped, political spirituality and ecclesiology.

This book is about the collapse of Canadian party politics in the early 1990s, about the end of a party system that had governed Canada's national politics for several decades, and about the ongoing struggle to build its successor.

To help Christians apply the person and work of the incarnate Christ as they think about the nature of politics or engage in political activity.

In an increasingly multicultural world, the relationship between language and identity remains a complicated and often fraught subject for most societies. The growing political salience of questions relating to language is evident not only in the expanded implementation of new policies and legislation, but also in heated public debates about national unity, collective identities, and the rights of linguistic minorities. By taking a comprehensive approach that considers both the inclusive and exclusive dimensions of linguistic identity across Europe and North America, the studies assembled here provide a sophisticated look at one of the global era’s defining political dynamics.

The Politics of Jesús is a powerful new biography of Jesus told from the margins. Miguel A. De La Torre argues that we all create Jesus in our own image, reflecting and reinforcing the values of communities—sometimes for better, and often for worse. In light of the increasing economic and social inequality around the world, De La Torre asserts that what the world needs is a Jesus of solidarity who also comes from the underside of global power. The Politics of Jesús is a search for a Jesus that resonates specifically with the Latino/a community, as well as other marginalized groups. The book unabashedly rejects the Eurocentric Jesus for the Hispanic Jesús, whose mission is to give life abundantly, who resonates with the Latino/a experience of disenfranchisement, and who works for real social justice and political change. While Jesus is an admirable figure for Christians, The Politics of Jesús highlights the way the Jesus of dominant culture is oppressive and describes a Jesús from the barrio who chose poverty and disrupted the status quo. Saying “no” to oppression and its symbols, even when one of those symbols is Jesus, is the first step to saying “yes” to the self, to liberation, and symbols of that liberation. For Jesus to connect with the Hispanic quest for liberation, Jesús must be unapologetically Hispanic and compel people to action. The Politics of Jesús provocatively moves the study of Jesús into the global present.

A study of John Howard Yoder's writings on community, social issues, pacifism, and the church.

Learn how political marketing and public relations affect the electoral process! Communication of Politics: Cross-Cultural Theory Building in the Practice of Public Relations and Political Marketing examines how communication and marketing experts influence politics. The book reviews the state of the art in political communication management and marketing through a cross-cultural integration of research and theoretical approaches. An international panel of authors presents a comparative assessment of the impact of candidate and party appeals on the electorate, examines case studies from elections in the United States and Europe, and offers innovative models of voter behavior in the United States, Poland, and Slovenia. Communication of Politics provides valuable insights into the merger of political marketing and public relations. The book examines the cause and effect of the increasing role of communications professionals in the political process and documents the relationship between politicians and communications professionals working in electoral committees, political parties, governments, government agencies, consultancies, and polling agencies. Topics addressed by the international panel of scholars and practitioners include: a critical assessment of strategies used in the 2000 United States Presidential election branding as a means of establishing party values and winning support the expanding roles of polls, focus groups and Internet-based research on elections the relationship between foreign affairs/diplomacy and media/public relations Quangos (Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organizations) and much more! Communication of Politics: Cross-Cultural Theory Building in the Practice of Public Relations and Political Marketing examines the innovative—and sometimes controversial—uses of contemporary electoral marketing. The book is an essential resource for academics, journalists, and political practitioners, including campaign managers, charity fundraisers, public service managers, party-policy-makers—even candidates.