New Book Proves Faith and Politics Do Mix

Some perceive mixing faith and politics as socially uncouth while others believe it downright heresy, but Dr. Wayne Grudem, bestselling author and Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary, avows the opposite – not only should faith and politics mix, they must mix.

“I think there is a biblical responsibility that Christians have in following the patterns of Scripture to seek good for the nation that they live in,” said Grudem in an interview with the Alliance Defense Fund about his latest book release. Politics – According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture was published by Zondervan last month.

Monday on Point of View Radio, Grudem shed new light on a Scripture often used to defend political apathy amongst Christians in America. Romans 13:1 states: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Grudem clarified, “To be subject to the governing authorities is to be subject to the Constitution.” In this country, we do not live in a monarchy or under a totalitarian government. Our Founding Fathers established a free republic to be governed by the people, for the people.

Specifically, the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States of America to establish five things, as outlined in the Preamble:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Grudem contends that first, Christians must decide what government should do. Then Christians must use their influence to vote for those who they believe will accomplish those goals. Grudem also suggested people consider what they are driven by – an ideology, or what’s best for the U.S.

Ultimately, Grudem concludes in his book that the Bible supports more conservative policies than liberal, and our responsibility as citizens in a democracy is to elect leaders who will uphold such policies. He argues that the Bible emphasizes liberty within boundaries, private ownership of property, the punishment of evildoers, and limited government. His book calls for a revival of Christian influence for good in our nation.

Politics—According to the Bible is a comprehensive resource book, covering over 50 issues in 18 chapters such as the protection of life, marriage, family, economics, environment, national defense, internationalism, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and special interest groups. Grudem not only defends his argument for Christian involvement in politics using the Bible, he also defends his positions with solid reasons from science, philosophy and other foundations.

Dr. Grudem holds degrees from Harvard (BA), Westminster Seminary (MDiv), and Cambridge (PhD). He is the author of over fifteen books including the bestselling resource Systematic Theology, and has taught ethics at the seminary level for 29 years.

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