Why We Wrote Jesus and the Powers

Tom Wright and I wrote Jesus and the Powers - releasing on 26 March, in six literal days, so pre-order now - because we were convinced that our political age is fraught with peril and Christians need to know how to respond to it with wisdom, courage, and grace. (For UK and outside North America, click here).

The perils are the increasing aggression of totalitarian regimes in Russia, China, Iran, and Myanmar. In some jurisdictions, there is an aggressive secular ideology that seeks to intimidate religious communities and restricts the extent of religious freedom. Also, the dysfunction in democratic countries where people live in alternative factual universes and want a political order where the state imposes their vision of human existence on others. There is also the danger of Christian Nationalism in places like the USA.

A few one-minute videos I’ve made sum up the dangers of the day that we hope to alert people to and equip them on how to faithfully confront when the days are evil.

First, the Australian Capital Territory Government seized Calvary Hospital from the Catholic church because the Catholics would not perform abortion services. That’s an attack on liberal democracy, religious freedom, and even the secularity of government. This continues to haunt me!

Second, why does the Russian Orthodox Church support Putin’s regime? Well, it comes down to power and privilege over gospel and witness. American Christian Nationalism runs the risk of making a similar Faustian pact with a political regime that promises to make Christianity powerful but not necessarily practiced.

Third, here’s a clip I made with Tom Wright about a recent interview he did about Romans 13 and speaking truth to power.

Fourth, here’s a podcast that Tom and I did with Matthew Bates for OnScript, which was lots of fun.