A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 The Fundamentals
3 The Argument
4 The Evidence
5 The Law of the Lord
6 The American Way
7 The Way of Freedom
8 The Way of Love
9 The Way of Wisdom
10 The Way of Exile
Selected Quotes
- From a Christian standpoint, an irreligious society is a dysfunctional society. Thus, if one of the basic duties of government is to promote human flourishing and a healthy society, that must entail promoting religion. (xvi)
- Although foreign to most Americans today, the idea that the public good includes religion is a very American idea. (7)
- I believe that political power is a good thing. It was instituted by God (Rom. 13:1). How can we call evil what God calls good (Isa. 5:20; 1 Tim. 4:4–5)? (8)
- Public officials must obey God—and the people must obey their public officials (1 Peter 2:13). That’s the natural hierarchy God designed for humanity. (13)
- In summary, we have seen that God designed government with many responsibilities. Officials are duty-bound to obey God, glorify Him, seek the public good, increase the godliness of the people, and protect the church (to list a few). (18)
- So far, we have seen that Jesus is the head of the government. As God, He created government for the promotion of the public good. Moreover, we’ve also seen that true religion is part of the public good. So for government officials to do their job well, they must promote true religion. (31)
- Under the authority of King Jesus, all lesser rulers must promote true religion. The argument for this idea is strong. The evidence from the Bible is clear. (41)
- According to Scripture, government must promote true religion. That’s the duty of all civil officials. However, civil officials must also act with wisdom and prudence. They must carefully lead the people toward piety and order, not ungodliness and rebellion. That’s what it means to seek the public good. (57)
- In summary, the way of Jesus is love and power. He is the author of both! If we do not love, then we cannot wield power rightly, but if we have no power, then our love falls short of real action. The two need each other. As a result, we should wield our political power for the sake of loving our neighbors. (73)
- We may have the power to do something loving, but that doesn’t always mean that it’s wise, especially in politics and government. We must ensure that we check all three boxes. Strength, goodness, and wisdom. Power, love, and prudence. We must get the right things done, but we must get them done in the right way. (76)