A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
by Fred G. Zaspel
This book is a refreshing blast of fresh air. Informed, sensible, biblical, candid discussions on topics of increasing relevance to the Christian today. Highly recommended!
About the Authors
Darrell B. Harrison serves as Dean of Social Media at Grace to You, the media ministry of John MacArthur, located in Valencia, California. Darrell is the cohost of the Just Thinking podcast, one of the leading Christian podcasts in America. He is a Fellow of the Black Theology and Leadership Institute (BTLI) at Princeton Theological Seminary and holds a C:TM from Princeton Theological Seminary. Darrell and his wife, Melissa, reside in Valencia, California.
Virgil L. Walker serves as the Executive Director of Operations for G3 Ministries with Founder and President, Joshua Buice. Virgil is the cohost of the Just Thinking podcast. Virgil completed his Master of Business Administration (MBA), is a Fellow of The Freedom Center, and serves on the Steering Committee for the Conservative Baptist Network (CBN). Virgil and his wife, Tomeka, have three children.
Table of Contents
Foreword by John MacArthur
Introduction by Tom Ascol
- Government
- Socialism
- Capitalism
- A Social Savior
- The Born-Alive Act
- Black Lives Matter and Abortion
- Politics and the Black Church
- Reparations
- The Equality Act
- Elections
Endorsements
Darrell and Virgil are the familiar voices on Just Thinking— the most popular and most influential long-form evangelical podcast in the world. They have a well-deserved reputation for careful analysis, bold clarity, biblical wisdom, and quotable phrasing. Those same qualities distinguish their writing, and that makes this book not only a joy to read but also an indispensable resource—especially in an age of increasing conflict between Christ and Caesar.
~ Phil Johnson
Executive Director | Grace to You
Rooted deeply in the Scriptures, this book tackles the difficult issues for Christians to balance the role of government and their faith. It’s a great resource for any believer who wants to enter such discussions with facts and not just emotions.
~ Dr. Curt Dodd
Senior Pastor | Westside Church
Christianity has always had a complicated relationship with civil government, yet as American culture races away from biblical values at an alarming rate, Christians are being forced to think more carefully about what the Bible says about government than they have in the recent past. In Just Thinking: About the State, Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker have provided an invaluable tool to help Christians do just that. The greatest strength of this book is its reliance on the sufficiency and authority of God’s Word in thinking carefully about relevant issues such as the nature of government, capitalism, abortion, politics, ethnicity, and elections. The Bible is not silent about civil government—indeed, God himself instituted it—so Darrell and Virgil wisely and pastorally guide modern Christians to think biblically about these matters in an age when so many extrabiblical ideologies battle for our attention. This is a must-read resource to help Christians discern how to live faithfully in their dual citizenship in the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men.
~ Scott Aniol, PhD
Associate Professor and Director of Doctoral Worship Studies | Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
The ministry that God has entrusted to me is known for engaging false doctrine and false teachers, but I have never witnessed anything so destructive that has been accepted so quickly and so uncritically by so many evangelicals as the social justice movement. It has swept into the church like wildfire and has, to varying degrees, been promoted by voices long been trusted as theologically conservative stalwarts of truth. Many Christians are confused as to how to even understand these issues, much less how to biblically engage them—understandably so. Many are afraid of being called a racist if they do not acquiesce to the prevailing cultural winds. This is why I am so profoundly grateful for Just Thinking: About the State. In this book, Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker engage hot-button issues with intellectual rigor and theological precision. They pull no punches and make no apologies in diagnosing the root problems our society faces and in calling Christians to boldly stand on God’s unchanging Word. I am honored to count both Darrell and Virgil as personal friends and could not be more enthusiastic in commending this tremendously helpful resource to you.
~ Justin Peters
Justin Peters Ministries
There is not one single aspect of the Christian life for which a biblical worldview is not both necessary and practical. Every believer in Jesus Christ had better think critically, biblically, and faithfully about engagement in today’s ever-changing public square. Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker make this case abundantly clear in Just Thinking: About the State. It is a must-read for any serious Christian.
~ Ryan Helfenbein
Executive Director | Standing for Freedom Center at Liberty University
In this excellent work, Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker faithfully contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). As we journey onward toward our eternal home, where we will finally and forever be under the visible reign of King Jesus, we must keep our eyes fixed on Christ and exercise biblical discernment along the journey. This is the time for the church to live out the gospel in the public sphere, and Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker point out the Christian’s call while urging us to be faithful in this age of compromise.
~ Josh Buice
Pastor | Pray’s Mill Baptist Church Founder and President | G3 Ministries
So nice, I had to read it twice! As expected, Darrell and Virgil pull no punches in Just Thinking: About the State. It is convicting, biblical, and at times, uncomfortably uncompromising. The church needs this book, and we need it now.
~ John L. Cooper
Singer | Skillet Author | Awake and Alive to Truth Host | Cooper Stuff podcast
The unpredictable events of the past five years—and especially the last year and a half—have caused believers to give unprecedented consideration to Scripture’s teaching on the Christian’s relationship to government. Spheres of authority, church-state relations, the Christian’s role in the political process, avoiding both escapism and transformationalism, giving to Caesar what is his and to God what is His, showing compassion without devolving into the social gospel, matters of race, justice, and church unity—it has been overwhelming! So many have had to confront these issues in more practical ways than we could have imagined.
Through this tumultuous time, over and over again I have retreated to the sound, biblical counsel of my dear brothers Darrell and Virgil. They have been God’s gifts of courage and faithfulness in a season of the church’s confusion, obfuscation, and mission drift—prophetic voices of reason to a church gone astray. This book represents the best of that sane, Scripture-saturated commentary that has blessed so many. How must believers bring the Bible to bear on our political views, our participation in the public square, and the hot-button social issues confronting the church today? Just Thinking: About the State is an invaluable resource for answering those questions. Read and be blessed.
~ Mike Riccardi, PhD
The Master’s Seminary Pastor | Local Outreach Ministries, Grace Community Church
Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker have served the church well in this superb foundational work as they encourage biblical thinking about the issues of government that are increasingly relevant in our day. May God use their efforts to help shape the thinking of our generation so that generations to come may benefit and Christ’s kingdom may expand and advance.
~ Anthony Mathenia
Pastor | ChristChurch