City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era
An era has ended. The political expression that most galvanized evangelicals during the past quarter-century, the Religious Right, is fading. What's ahead is unclear. Millions of faith-based voters still exist, and they continue to care deeply about hot-button issues like abortion and gay marriage, but the shape of their future political engagement remains to be formed.
Into this uncertainty, former White House insiders Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner seek to call evangelicals toward a new kind of political engagement -- a kind that is better both for the church and the country, a kind that cannot be co-opted by either political party, a kind that avoids the historic mistakes of both the Religious Left and the Religious Right.
Incisive, bold, and marked equally by pragmatism and idealism, Gerson and Wehner's new book has the potential to chart a new political future not just for values voters, but for the nation as a whole.
TOPICS COVERED:
* An evaluation of our unique political moment
* Looking back: mistakes of the Religious Right and Left
* A renewed Christian political philosophy
* St. Augustine on the City of God and the City of Man
* The limits of politics
* Moving beyond Democrats and Republicans
* Constructing a fully Christian platform
* Politics for the good of the church--and the country
In recent American history, the mixture of religion and politics has all too often produced inflated rhetoric, demonization of opponents, runaway hyperbole, and mindless demagoguery. This book is different. It pulls back from the heat of conflict to seek light from Scripture, Christian tradition, and a measured analysis of American political history. Although I have voted "none of the above" in many presidential elections, I'm confident that what these veterans of the Bush White House have written will help Christian believers of any political persuasion to act more responsibly in the public square. Their discussions of the purposes of government (order, justice, virtue, and prosperity) and of the urgent need for patient persuasion in political debate are especially insightful.
Mark A. Noll
Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame
In an age when many of the battles between religion and politics are nearing the boiling point, City of Man is a primer for Christians seeking to find their rightful place in the political arena. Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner issue a clarion call for active Christian involvement in the form of calculated and thoughtful engagement. Chock full of historical and theological wisdom, City of Man reminds Christians that they should care about politics and – win or lose – never give up the fights that matter most.
William J. Bennett
Washington Fellow, The Claremont Institute
A thoughtful, creative articulation of a new agenda for conservative politics by Christians. One need not agree with all the assumptions or arguments to find this book a significant contribution to Christian reflection on where our nation should go. The book offers a significant challenge to both liberals and conservatives.
Ronald J. Sider
Professor of Theology, Holistic Ministry, and Public Policy at Palmer Theological Seminary
Figuring out the appropriate relationship between politics and religion for Christians is a daunting task. Yet Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner have succeeded brilliantly. In City of Man, they spell out a political theology for 21st century Christians that rejects the narrow thinking of the Religious Right and the creeping secularism of the Religious Left. City of Man is a two-fer. It's an enormously important book on politics and on religion.
Fred Barnes
Executive Editor, the Weekly Standard
In City of Man, two of our nation’s most gifted public intellectuals address the question: How should religious believers understand their obligations as citizens of a modern constitutional democratic republic? Michael J. Gerson and Peter Wehner warn their fellow Christians against, on the one hand, reducing religion to politics, and, on the other, imagining that Christian faith has no relevance to our political duties. Addressing a range of challenging and timely issues, they show how the resources of Christian faith can be marshaled to bring public policy more fully into line with the inherent dignity of human beings as creatures fashioned in the very image and likeness of God.
Robert P. George
McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University
This is book is a wonderful gift to all of us who care deeply about Christian engagement in the political arena. Drawing on their experiences of having worked day-to-day in the inner corridors of political power during times of crisis, the authors offer us a marvelously clear and candid perspective on what it means to seek the welfare of “the City of Man,” while taking with utmost seriousness our identity as citizens of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Richard J. Mouw
President, Fuller Theological Seminary
Wisdom in the biblical sense is nourished at the intersection of God's character and our experience. Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner write out of both a rich experience in the national political arena and a deep immersion in biblical faith, and have given us a book of uncommon wisdom. Their reflections on how religion and politics interact in our rapidly changing culture are perceptive and challenging, combin[ing] a broad, historical understanding of the issues with a thoroughly accessible style.
Dr. Stephen A. Hayner
President, Columbia Theological Seminary
Product Details
- Title : City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era
- Authors:
- Gerson, Michael
- Wehner, Peter
- Keller, Timothy
- Publisher: Moody Publishers
- Publication Date: 2010
- ISBN: 9781575679280
PETER WEHNER, former deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives, is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He writes widely on political, cultural, religious, and national security issues for Commentary, the Weekly Standard, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other publications.