Dear friends, the new book by N.T. Wright and Me on Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracy will be released on 26 March 2024. So expect at least one plug/promo a week until it comes out.
Even better, we now have our own webpage. The page has info on:
- Endorsements
- Table of Contents
- Excerpt from the preface
- Two free chapters available for anyone who pre-orders!
Do check the promo page and pre-order from Amazon, AmazonUK, Logos, or Koorong.
If you think you might pre-order it eventually, I’d encourage you to pre-order it now instead— do not wait. This is for two reasons. First, most places, including Amazon, honor the lowest pre-order price. So if the price drops later, you’ll get the better price. I know it’s not fun to pre-order something and then wait for two months to get the book. Second, pre-orders make a really big difference: it’s a signal to bookstores to take notice and to stock the book. And it really helps publishers plan for printing and shipping.
To sum it all up, this book is an urgent call for Christians everywhere to explore the nature of the kingdom amid the political upheavals of our day.
Should Christians be politically withdrawn, avoiding participation in politics to maintain their prophetic voice and to keep from being used as political pawns? Or should Christians be actively involved, seeking to utilize political systems to control the levers of power? We call on Christians everywhere to discern the nature of Christian witness in fractured political environments. In an age of ascending autocracies, in a time of fear and fragmentation, amid carnage and crises, Jesus is king, and Jesus’s kingdom remains the object of the church’s witness and work.
If you want a book to read about political theology that is relevant to America, but is not just about America, then you’ll appreciate this book.
I made a two-minute video about the book, not exactly Spielberg, but you’ll get the idea:
Here’s my elevator pitch: The world feels combustible right now—the U.S. primaries, Trump’s ongoing legal battles, continuing discussion about Christian nationalism, the ongoing war in Ukraine, evolving conflict in the Middle East, persecuted Christians in Myanmar, and the list goes on—this book will be important for helping the church think through Christian witness about what it believes about the State, what kind of governments it should support, and what kinds governments it should resist.
Already have!!
Thank you for this book! It will come at a perfect time for a class I am teaching this semester on US History at the evangelical (granted, a contested term) Pillar College in Newark, New Jersey, US. The students are mostly first-generation Latino immigrants from evangelical or Roman Catholic backgrounds. The class will be in English and Spanish. Some of the students are taking the class in preparation to take the US citizenship exam. Along with learning and reflecting on US history, we will also work to shape a biblical theology of citizenship — a kind of public theology prolegomena. In this process, we’ll benefit from RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A SECULAR AGE and, soon, from JESUS AND THE POWERS. Thank you Professors Bird and Wright!