Free Downloads How Would Jesus Vote?: Do Your Political Views Really Align With The Bible?
If Jesus were a voting man, living in twenty-first century America, on what side of our many political issues would he stand?As we approach another election year, we hear politicians on both sides of the aisle as well as religious leaders of every stripe claim to know—with absolute certainty—where Jesus and Christianity stand on their favorite issues. Jesus, of course, would vote exactly as they do. He would most certainly stand where they stand and fight for and against what they do. End of discussion. But would he? This book presents the values of Jesus and the Scripture in a way that challenges simple conclusions about complex issues. Examining some of the most contentious political topics of our time in light of Scripture and the teachings of Jesus, the end goal of this book is not to promote a particular point of view but to objectively portray what the Bible says on political and cultural topics. Author Darrell Bock intends to provoke a different kind of conversation—a conversation where differences are heard and respect is shared, a conversation where we can disagree passionately yet dialogue peacefully and well. Examining the weighty issues of our political and cultural world, author Darrell Bock looks at racial conflict, economics, poverty, health care, immigration, gun control, foreign policy, war, education, sexuality, abortion, and more through the teachings of Jesus and biblical teachings as a whole.
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Howard Books (May 17, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1439190704
ISBN-13: 978-1439190708
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #80,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #102 in Books > History > World > Religious > Religion, Politics & State #104 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Church & State #166 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > History
If Jesus were walking the earth today, for whom would he vote for president? That is, assuming he was in the U.S. and able to vote. Assuming he even would vote. On the one hand, we have a professing Christian who thinks it's OK to kill unborn babies. On the other hand, we have a professing Christian who is married to his third wife and is not sure whether he needs to ask God for forgiveness. Far be it from me to definitively determine whether someone else is a Christian or not, but, well, neither of these characters is very inspiring to me.But what about Jesus? In How Would Jesus Vote? Do Your Political Positions Really Align with the Bible?, Dallas Theological Seminary professor Darrell Bock looks at several policy areas and provides a solid, biblical discussion of each. Does he tell us how Jesus would vote? No. Not at all. What he does is help followers of Jesus to examine their political views in light of Jesus' teachings and the Bible as a whole. His thoughtful examinations will challenge believers to think outside of party politics of left and right, and to think in terms of mutual respect and valuing human life.Knowing that Bock teaches at Dallas Seminary, which is very conservative theologically, I expected his conclusions to lean to the right. While his analysis is decidedly nonpartisan and leans on scripture, not party platforms, his conclusions have a much more Democratic than Republican flavor, tending toward the evangelical left. On almost every issue, Bock comes down on the side of--no side. "Be willing to listen." "Sorting through competing concerns demands a civil and respectful conversation to find a way through." "The to-and-fro of genuine debate and reflection with mutual respect is what we need.
The title to this book may be a bit misleading. Bock admits he is not sure if Jesus even would vote. Jesus intersected little with politics except to tell his disciples to pay taxes. Perhaps a better title would be something about relating the teachings of Jesus and of Scripture to current issues.Bock examines current political issues in the light of Scripture. The issues are complex and often simple conclusions are not possible. The values and teachings of Jesus challenge us to think deeply and not make snap decisions.He covers a number of topics including racial conflict, economics, health care, immigration, gun control, foreign policy, war, education, sexuality, abortion, and more. He gives much background material on the topic and frequently includes statistics. He then looks at Scripture and gleans principles from it.Many of these issues are not up for a vote, at least for we individual U.S. citizens. The emphasis of this book seems to be more in the area of engaging one another in discussion. These issues are very complex and frequently there is not a clear cut answer found in Scripture. On the issue of health care, for example, Bock admits that he has no concrete ideas how to fix the situation. He does present the biblical and moral values that tell us we should be better at caring for one another.This would be a great book for a “current issues” discussion class at church. There would be much to discuss guided by principles from the Bible. It is also a good example of how one explores Scripture to find principles when engaging in a complex issue in our modern world.You may be convinced you know how Jesus would vote on a particular issue. I suggest you read this book as you may find some surprises.
The elections are coming! We've gotten the phone calls, our mail boxes are being filled with all kinds of ads for the propositions and candidates, and on television, we have witnessed the debates coming from both sides of the spectrum for this presidential election. As a believer in Christ, we find it hard to sort through all the propaganda being streamed in from all kinds of sources. It seems no matter how much you research it, you can't get a straight answer on what you should vote for in order to line up with biblical standards.So you find yourself wanting to fill in the blank or opt out of voting when no real candidate meets our criteria and perhaps that is the problem. In fact it makes you wonder, How Would Jesus Vote? Darrel L. Bock has written a great novel that digs into the meat of what makes our country what it is. How did our founding fathers so long ago deal with differences in both religious beliefs, race and a diversity that seems to be driving us apart more than united us together? He tackles all that and more in this wonderful book that gives us a different perspective using the Bible as a source of reference on how we look at such topics like racial conflict, economics, poverty, health care, immigration, gun control, foreign policy, war, education, sexuality, abortion and so much more.Using the Bible to help us see things from Jesus' point of view really gives us something to consider when we look at what direction we want our country to move in and how to deal with difficult task of not only dealing with citizens, but also dealing with illegal immigration and the influx of refugees wanting to enter the country.
How Would Jesus Vote?: Do Your Political Views Really Align With The Bible? One Vote, Two Votes, I Vote, You Vote (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library) Political Theology: Four New Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty (Columbia Studies in Political Thought / Political History) The Enduring Democracy (with MindTap Political Science, 1 term (6 months) Printed Access Card) (I Vote for MindTap) The Louisiana Purchase: Would You Close the Deal? (What Would You Do? (Enslow)) Buyer Personas: How to Gain Insight into your Customer's Expectations, Align your Marketing Strategies, and Win More Business When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics: Attain Remarkable Riding Rapport with Your Horse Driving Horses: How to Harness, Align, and Hitch your Horse for Work or Play A Book in Every Home Containing Three Subjects: Ed's Sweet Sixteen, Domestic and Political Views Creating a Kaizen Culture: Align the Organization, Achieve Breakthrough Results, and Sustain the Gains Value Stream Mapping: How to Visualize Work and Align Leadership for Organizational Transformation The Early Political Writings of the German Romantics (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) Rousseau: The Basic Political Writings: Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, Discourse on Political Economy, ... Contract, The State of War (Hackett Classics) The History of Islamic Political Thought, Second Edition: The History of Islamic Political Thought: From the Prophet to the Present The Political Life of Medicare (American Politics and Political Economy) Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy Political Transformations and Public Finances (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions) Genesis: History, Fiction, or Neither?: Three Views on the Bible's Earliest Chapters (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology) Four Views on Moving beyond the Bible to Theology (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology) What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About: A Survey of Jesus' Bible
