Five Views on the Church and Politics

Counterpoints

by Amy E. Black (Editor), Stanley N. Gundry (Editor), J. Brian Benestad

Few topics can grab headlines and stir passions quite like politics, especially when the church is involved. Considering the attention that many Christian parachurch groups, churches, and individual believers give to politics—and of the varying and sometimes divergent political ideals and aims among them—Five Views on the Church and Politics provides a helpful breakdown of the possible Christian approaches. Readers will find themselves equipped to think more deeply about the relationship between church and state in a way that goes beyond mere policy debates and current campaigns.

 

General Editor Amy Black brings together five top-notch political theologians in the book, each representing one of the five key political traditions within Christianity:

 

     Anabaptist (Separationist)—Thomas Heilke

     Lutheran (Two Kingdom)—Robert Benne

     Catholic (In Tension)—J. Brian Benestad

     Reformed (Integrationist)—James K. A. Smith

     Black Church (Prophetic)—Bruce Fields

 

Each author addresses his tradition’s theological distinctives, the role of government, the place of individual Christian participation in government and politics, and how churches should (or should not) address political questions. Responses by each contributor to opposing views will highlight key areas of difference and disagreement.

 

Thorough and even-handed, Five Views on the Church and Politics will enable readers to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the most significant Christian views on political engagement and to draw their own, informed conclusions.

Genres: Theology, Politics, Christianity, Christian, Religion, Nonfiction

237 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2015

Reviews

[T.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very interested to read this book and especially to read the interactions between the representatives of the various views. I think each representative wrote well and aptly communicated their view's distinctive characteristics. I did encounter a glaring mistake on the very first page of the book which nearly undercut my entire trust in the book's editor. Amy Black writes,

"...[Jesus] offered this enigmatic response: 'So give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Matt. 22:21). With this reply, Jesus refused to take a side in the fierce political debate of his day over the poll tax and 'implied that loyalty to a pagan government was not incompatible with loyalty to God."[1] 1. Gordon J. Wenham et al., eds., New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition

By quoting Wenham affirmatively, Black somehow ascribes the exact opposite meaning to Jesus's words. In no way is Jesus endorsing divided loyalty toward God. How any scholar could make that mistake, much less a Christian scholar, is beyond me. Jesus's reference to the "image" was an allusion to the Torah and to the "image of God" which every human being bears. If the coin bears Caesar's image, then it belongs to Caesar. Give it back to him. But what bears the image of God? Give God what has God's image on it—our whole selves. This is the exact opposite of endorsing divided loyalty. It is the message of the Shema: Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. (Not divided!) And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Not divided!) Perhaps it is mistakes like this that has led to Christians having such diverse opinions on engagement with politics.

The essays I found most compelling were the Anabaptist view by Thomas Heilke and the Black Church view by Bruce Fields. They were also the two which seemed to have the most resonance with one another. The Reformed view by James K. A. Smith was frustrating to read considering it did not represent those who make the most noise, calling themselves "Reformed," in the United States today. Rather than representing the Neo-Puritan "Reformed" theology which now dominates Evangelical institutions, Smith represents the Kuyperian Reformed view which is a much smaller minority view and is far more rational. However, this essay will no doubt embolden more Neo-Puritans to engage haphazardly in social justice work with little to no concern for the unintended consequences of their ignorance. The "Reformed" movement in the U.S. that is dominating Evangelical seminaries, conferences, and publishers is not the measured and nuanced Kuyperianism of Smith, but is the ham-fisted Conservative culture-warrior brand of Al Mohler, John MacArthur, and John Piper. But uninformed readers of this volume are sure to conflate the two and give more credence than is deserved to these latter voices on all matters political. That is the biggest drawback of this book.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good. Nice to see various traditions in conversation. Black Church chapter was my favorite.

[StephenM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of this is very helpful, some of it is just tedious. Most of the authors do not appear to be experts in this subject, and their chapters are rather laborious as they attempt to lay out some distinctives for their church traditions while making constant caveats that what they're saying doesn't apply to everybody. James K. A. Smith clearly knows this subject better than any other contributor, and runs rings around everyone else in his chapter. (Perhaps it helps that Neo-Calvinists have been leading the way on political theology among theologically conservative Protestants for a century now, so he just has more to work with.)

[Charlotte Toyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this as it treated the many different categories of Theology and politics like a spectrum. It was especially interesting to see the different authors responding to each other's writing! Highly recommend

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

especially excellent during election season

With electioneering in the air and all around the 'net, to claim Five Views on The Church and Politics is just in time is classic understatement. In this relatively short overview, five scholars from five theological traditions outline their ecclesiastical traditions' practices, habits, perspectives, and theology of church/government/politics, with government referring to the organized structures that contain and enable political processes of individual or group participation and interaction. "Quite distinctive" because of the tremendous theological similarities of Lutheran and Presbyterian churches rooted in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Also, you might take note―in this particular book, most everything about contemporary Lutherans references the liberal mainline ELCA; almost all the presbyterian info is about the mainline liberal PC(USA)..

The broad descriptive categories echo H. Richard Niebuhr's in his Christ and Culture: Anabaptist – separationist; Lutheran – paradoxical; Black Church – prophetic; Reformed – transformationist; [Roman] Catholic – synthetic. On page 8, General Editor Amy E. Black observes, "Not every theological tradition has a robust and distinctive set of teachings that we might call a 'political theology,' but four in particular stand out for their enduring influence on conversations about church and state over many centuries." On page 229 she reminds us, "By design, this book highlights the differences between five traditions of political theology." Counterpoints in the series title refers to each author's rejoinder at the end of each other author's section mostly explaining ways their tradition disagrees – rather than agrees – with the material presented.

To be human is to be political. I've tried to mellow a bit, so I'll say in my own experience, to follow Jesus of Nazareth means to be active in ways that help people and the planet get treated with justice and equity, and frequently that means involvement in more formal local, regional, and national politics. In any case, whatever your denominational affiliation, your religious persuasion or lack thereof, reading Five Views on the Church and Politics to get a glimpse of how others have interpreted and lived into the same scripture passages in quite different ways can be an excellent starting point for considering or reconsidering your own responses.

[Brent Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of Zondervan’s Counterpoint series, where essays presenting a number of different perspectives are collected in a single volume, Five Views on the Church and Politics explores the interaction between the Church and the political world with respect to a wide range of Church traditions.

Represented in the book are the views from the Anabaptist (Isolationist), Lutheran (Two kingdom), Black Church (Prophetic), Reformed (Integrationist) and Catholic (In Tension) perspectives. Within these five traditions there is no single answer to how the Church should interact with politics and so each author opts to present a predominant view within their tradition.


Of particular note are the first three essays by Thomas Heilke, Robert Benne and Bruce Fields representing the Anabaptist, Lutheran and Black Church traditions. These are outstanding in their explanation of the history behind each tradition that has helped to shape their view of the political sphere and why each is particularly skeptical, to various degrees, of the Church’s interaction with political systems of governance.

After each essay, a response is presented from the other four perspectives. These are mostly focused on highlighting points of agreement and matters of disagreement and do a wonderful job of sharply identifying the boundaries between each tradition that can often seem unclear.

Finally the book is wrapped up with a look at the US political landscape and how the various traditions affiliate with the two main political parties. The information and statistics contained within will hardly be surprising, but it was interesting to learn that some traditions seem to drift more readily between parties.

Overall the book manages to achieve the difficult goal of clearly communicate what are often confusing distinctions between various Church traditions with regards to political interaction. Anyone looking for a respectful and academic examination of the topic will be rewarded by a thoughtful presentation of a wide spectrum of views that manages not to insult or champion any particular view over another.

[Mike Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Informative

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book for a Sunday School class on the Church and Politics. It was a little steep for some laymen frankly, but not all. I have a background in political philosophy and Christian theology so I came in with both familiarity and biases. Probably some smugness too.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the way that each author interacted respectfully with one another without sniping or passive-aggression (something I've noticed in other volumes in this series). Some of the authors in this volume were clear and concise in articulating their viewpoint. The Anabaptist position, Roman Catholic position, and Reformed positions (by Thomas Heilke, J. Brian Benestad, and James K.A. Smith) in particular are notable for this. I felt that the Lutheran view was muddy, perhaps a consequence of it being labeled a "paradoxical" view of church-state relations. The Black church perspective felt a little too "American", grounded as must be in the slave and segregationist history of the United States. I wonder if the Black church "prophetic" viewpoint--one in which the Church speaks truth to power while also cooperating with the state on matters of social justice--was not chosen as a more palatable stand-in for the more extreme theologies of the oppressed church (e.g. liberation theological views in South America.) Let's get real; Zondervan ain't publishing Marxist theologians. Nevertheless, Bruce Fields explains a Black church prophetic approach pretty well.

My other critique is that Smith writes that the Kuyperian view of the church-state relationship is only one of several views in the Reformed tradition, but then only discusses it. No mention of Calvin and Turretin endorsing natural law. No mention of the Presbyterian theonomists (e.g. Rushdoony).

I'm not a theonomist any more than I am a liberation theologian. But they are views that have a robust and clear view of the church-state relationship and support within the Christian tradition.

And finally, I wish Smith (the Reformed guy like me) had interacted more seriously with Benestad. Benestad brought natural law and Roman Catholic social teaching into the discussion and I felt the only other author who came ready to debate him on it was the Anabaptist Heilke, his polar opposite. I'm pretty open in my Reformed humanism; I want to plunder Roman Catholic social teaching like the Israelites did the Egyptians and drag it kicking and screaming across the Tiber to Geneva (or really Nashville; I'm still SBC). Smith had a chance and didn't take it. Not sure why, except that he may be personally a little too enamored of soft postmodernism to embrace something that robust on general revelation.

Three stars for the above, and for being a little tough for the layman.

[Steven Kopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate these Counterpoints books for helping me understand the range of perspectives on a given topic, and this one does not fail in that regard. Given that within a theological stream there is significant diversity, several of the authors attempted to address that diversity. Alas, that tended to cloud the arguments. I wish more had taken the route of James K.A. Smith who simply elected to acknowledge diversity in the Reformed tradition and then present his particular view. His chapter was the clearest, though all were of value.

[Andrei Rad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative about different historical developments of the relationship between church and politics. The conclusion is, as for many things, there is ”no free lunch”. Each view has its advantages and disadvantages.

Personally I was more persuaded by the Lutheran view. This is called "a paradoxical view" because it acknowledges the difference between the "creation order" and the "Gospel order". It doesn't mix the two (as the Reformation view does) and it doesn't reject the creation order (as Anabaptists do). The disadvantage of this view is that it promotes two ethic standards, one coming from the Gospel fit for the private life, and a more pragmatic one fit for the public (political) life. I don't believe this is necessary bad. We should strive to fix this tension, but the solution shouldn't be universal. Every believer can strive to harmonize the teachings of Jesus with a pragmatic life based on the God given vocation and wisdom.

[Dalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful for thinking through a personal political theology, but does not give specifics as to how that will play out for each individual. At times it felt like the responses didn't really contrast the views all that much. Not a book that gives answers on which policies to support or which party Christians should be a member of, but rather expects the reader to do the hard work of determining how convictions become political action.

[AJ Gebara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Heard from a lot of different perspectives that I was not aware of like Anabaptist and Catholic. Ultimately, this book presents different arguments for how the Church should relate to government. One common thread that they all shared was a commitment for both the Church and government to help provide for the poor and the marginalized.

[David Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the better books in this series, as the contributors were more interested in explaining the context of their viewpoint rather than trashing the views of others. Each of the five views comes.out of a particular context, and while none perfectly aligns to most people in practice, these essays give solid rationalizations for why some perceive government as they do.

[Russ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the lazier entries in this series. Only James K.A. Smith seemed to have a vision of what his position is. Maybe it’s because the other four view are largely driven by pragmatism, and the authors were also-ran experts on their subject.

Smith gives a concise explanation of a basic Kuyperian political approach.

[Kari McDowell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it was a little dry in places, and I was a bit intimidated at first, this book really opened my eyes to some big questions about faith and politics. I thought the case study was quite helpful. I so appreciate the format of this series in general. So glad I read it!

[Miguel Benitez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected less historical theology and more systematic theology. I expected the authors to try to make more of a biblical case for their positions than was offered in these essays.

[Isaac Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen, if you’re really curious about the Church and politics, could be worth the read…

It’s got a few errors of various sorts, but it does a fair job of doing exactly what it says it’s going to do. Basically you’re reading a big ol’ debate/discussion between 5 people representing their traditions, who are all pretty charitable with one another—though there’s occasionally a sense of things getting a lil’ heated.

I resonated with or found major points of agreement in the Reformed, Black Church, and Lutheran Traditions (pretty much in that order). No doubt, I learned plenty, and I’m definitely interested to learn more. If it’s your rabbit hole, go for it.

[Robert Durough, Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part of Zondervan’s Counterpoints series, Five Views on the Church and Politics includes perspectives on the church and politics from five traditions, as well as an introduction and conclusion by editor Amy E. Black. Views and authors include the following (as labeled in the text): Anabaptist (Separationist) – Thomas W. Heilke; Lutheran (Paradoxical) – Robert Benne; Black Church (Prophetic) – Bruce L. Fields; Reformed (Transformationist) – James K. A. Smith; and Catholic (Synthetic) – J. Brian Benestad. The authors were asked to provide the following for their respective tradition’s view of the relationship between the church and governmental politics: a brief historical development, it’s view of the role of government; how Christians should engage and participate in government, and a short case study illustrating the latter. A response from the other authors follows each of the main essays.

This book really is about tradition. There is little to no biblical reasoning for these positions (the Anabaptist tradition does point back to Jesus, his example, and his words in the Sermon on the Mount). The essays may be summed up as follows: Anabaptist: because Jesus via Yoder; Lutheran: because Luther; Black Church: because oppression(?); Reformed: because Calvin via Kuyper; Catholic: because popes and unquestioned documents. Responses are hardly engaging with respective essays, usually boiling down to something akin to, “I read it, and now here’s what my tradition says.” Heilke and Smith do appear to be more honest and sincere in their essays and responses and engage better than their peers.

Black misses the mark altogether, introducing the text with extreme bias and poor exegesis. On the first page, she quotes a 1994 commentary on Jesus’s response to paying taxes (Matthew 22:21), stating, “With this reply, Jesus refused to take a side in the fierce political debate of his day over the poll tax and ‘implied that loyalty to a pagan government was not incompatible with loyalty to God’”(7). What?! Jesus implies nothing of the sort—he does, however, say something to the contrary concerning two masters (Matthew 6:24). In fact, we couldn’t even substitute “fealty” for “loyalty” in the quote and come out any better. Black’s skewed perspective comes out in the conclusion when she misattributes commonalities among all represented traditions, seemingly ignoring or misrepresenting that for which she is not in favor, and promotes the perpetuation of a two party system (Democratic & Republican) in American government as if those parties are all that matter.

This is a very disappointing addition to the Counterpoints series. I cannot recommend the whole of this book for any worthwhile purpose.

*I received a temporary digital copy for review from Zondervan via NetGalley.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five Views on the Church and Politics is an excellent introduction to how five denominations view the intersection of their church and politics. Each of the five give an overview of their theology and how it applies to the topic at hand, then the other four respond with the differences and similarities between the the two denominations. This format is ideal for an academic setting but is also accessible to a layperson who wants to learn about various theologies.

This reminds me of the Bedford Critical Editions within the literature discipline. Those books present a work, usually a novel, then present explanations of various schools of thought, each followed by a critical essay demonstrating how that school of thought might approach the novel in question. Both the Bedford series and this Counterpoints series provide explanation as well as compare-and-contrast opportunities for learners to better distinguish differences.

While intended, I believe, for an academic audience, this would certainly be a wonderful addition to the library of anyone who likes to better understand the views of other people. The disagreements within the book are presented positively and not in a particularly confrontational manner and should be read as educational and not argumentative. The argument can only really begin after one has honestly tried to understand another viewpoint, so read each with a mind toward understanding, not responding, then revisit with an eye toward responding. This will broaden your understanding of both these denominations as well as your own should it not be included here.

I found no entry with which I was in complete agreement yet gained much from understanding these views even if I changed very little of my personal view.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Shaun Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only after I started to read the introduction, did I realise that I'm probably the wrong person to review this book. As a Singaporean, I fail to grasp the rich history of the church in America (which is the probably the target audience of the publisher). While I appreciate reading through the various differences between the Christian groups, I struggled to see how these applied in my reality.

The Churches in Singapore seem to be not as well organised in larger denominational bodies (like America) that seek to have a unified stance on political involvement. Most megachurches are independent and therefore lacking the clout to come forward with the larger body to agree upon significant political ideology, and those that are connected, do so on a more informal basis. Perhaps this could be due to our history of the Singapore church not taking an active role in politics.

This book provided an interesting read but it is a pity that I could not grasp the content as well as an fiercely passionate American would!

I received this book from Zondervan through Netgalley.com in exchange for this review.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since the five views are listed in the description is won't repeat them, but I think this was the most unbiased explaination of differing religious viewpoints in the American christian (ish) church. 5 views of the churches view on politics and how it is shaped by the denominations historical background and doctrine. Some I have a background in more than one of these denominations I was very interested with how they compare and the discussions of one with another. Very easy to read and enough background to understand the view explained, I thought this was a very balanced book! Wonderfully informative!

Each denomination is briefly described, then the remaining book is divided into 5 essays of individuals within each denomination, followed by responses from the other 4 representatives. The primary essay includes historical developments of their tradition, foundational principles, theological distinctives, whether they have a optimistic or pessimistic view of government (or a mix), to what degree individuals should participate in/with government and ends with a case study how their perspective would handle domestic poverty.

[Josh Pannell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful book in Understanding Christ and Culture

Just finished "5 Views on the Church and State."

This book seeks to take Richard Niebuhr's five types from his book "Christ and Culture" and apply them to specifically to politics. Very helpful book continuing a much-needed discussion.

JAMES K.A. SMITH's summary of the Transformationist view (a systematic summary of how Kuyper developed Calvin's thoughts on reforming culture) is worth the price of the book.

ROBERT BENNE's application of Niebuhr's "Christ and Culture in Paradox" is an excellent explanation of Luther's view. He skillfully critiques where Niebuhr is wrong on Luther and then applies his modified view.

The other views were less interesting, but worth skimming.

4/5 stars.

[Jelle Koersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sharpened my understanding of what the represented traditions may believe and their critiques and appreciations of one an other. I enjoyed this work.

[Радостин Марчев]

Кратка книжа, която представя подходите на различни християнски традиции към политиката.
Силната й страна е, че отваря очите за факта, че християните никога не са били единни по този въпрос и е невъзможно да говорим за такова нещо като християнскаТА позиция.
Слабостта й е, че в доста от есетата (по-малко в анабаптистката и реформирана, по-силно в лутеранската и католическата позиция) се усеща силното влияние на конкретните съвременни условия, в които авторите пишат.
За мен най-добро е есето на Д. К.А. Смит (в смисъл на най-добре написано, не задължително най-вярно), но понеже съм твърде пристрастен към автора не трябва да ми се вярва много за това :))).