Steve Monsma - Healing for a Broken World: Christian Perspectives on Public Policy

"Steve Monsma avoids the modern-day tendency to believe that the kingdom of God will arrive on Air Force One. Instead he offers a balanced, thoughtful perspective on how Christians should engage in the political process. His solid biblical grounding, as well as his concrete applications of Christian principles to public policy, provides wise guidance."

-Charles W. Colson, Prison Fellowship

"Urgent, compelling, readable. An important book on a crucial topic. Monsma's entire life-as a successful politician and a gifted professor of political science-has prepared him to write this clear, compelling book. Every Christian with any interest in politics should read it."

-Ronald J. Sider, Evangelicals for Social Action

"If you need to know in advance whether the author is a conservative or a liberal, you may not like Monsma's approach. He asks you to set aside such simplistic labels and go back and ask instead what the Bible says about each of a dozen key public policy issues. And then if you disagree with some of his personal conclusions-just as he expects you to-you will always appreciate his candor and honesty. This is a thinking person's book."

-Joel Belz, Founder, World Magazine

"Wise, helpful, and comprehensive, Healing for a Broken World shows the way for a Christian engagement with politics that is constructive. If it had been read thirty years ago, it would have saved us from all the excesses of the religious right that are creating such a backlash today."

-Os Guinness, author of Unspeakable: Facing up to the Challenge of Evil

"Monsma hit a home run just at the time evangelicals need to reassess the assumptions on which we voice our views on a whole range of critical issues."

-Robert Andringa, President Emeritus, Council of Christian Colleges and Universities

"This is an important introduction to issues arising at the intersection of faith and politics, written from a disciplined Kuyperism/Calvinist theoretical stance and resulting in a nuanced centrist evangelical perspective. The book is reader-friendly, biblical, holistic, and wise. Monsma's wide experience and excellent research make this a quite valuable resource."

-David Gushee, Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University

"If believers will read this book-or better yet, discuss it in groups-there's a strong possibility a fresh Christian chorus may be heard in the land. It is my hope that believers will read, ponder, and discuss."

-Judson Poling, Willow Creek Community Church

"An essential guidebook for evanglicals seeking to navigate the complexity of faith and public life while remaining grounded in their faith. For people of all faiths and persuasions, this book is a valuable resource for understanding the history and depth of evangelical thinking about the public square."

-Rev. Jennifer Butler, Executive Director, Faith in Public Life

"Monsma is one of the most important scholars writing on church-state issues today. This latest contribution is perhaps his finest work. It brings together his wide-ranging knowledge of the history of politics and juris prudence with a theological seriousness that is often lacking in much church-state scholarship. For Monsma, Christian theology is a knowledge tradition, not simply private piety that has its rightful place only in a sequestered sphere from which it cannot count against the deliverances of so-called 'secular reason.' On the other hand, Monsma is a thoughtful defender of religious liberty and liberal democracy as necessary bulwarks that help protect the rights of Christians and non-Christians alike. Thus, this book should be in the hands of anyone who takes theology and politics seriously."

-Francis J. Beckwith, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies, Baylor University

"Monsma calls evangelicals to careful thinking about our political re sponsibilities. This book requires a careful reading by any Christian who is seriously committed to engaging their mind, heart, and strength to the world of politics and government. But be warned. Monsma will challenge you to re-think assumptions about political ideology, power, tactics, and the emphasis on charisma in American political life. He takes the reader back to the basic biblical premise that Christians must be committed to justice for all-believer or not-for the sake of Christ's kingdom, rather than for the construction of some idealized political or economic society."

-Ron Mahurin, VP for Professional Development & Research, Council of Christian Colleges and Universities

"Politics can be a perilous subject to tackle in the church, but this book offers a way to deal with important concepts in a mature and healthy way. This is the ideal resource for a church or small group wanting to explore what it looks like to be faithful citizens."

-Jason Poling, Senior Pastor, Our New Hope Community