CRCD review

The Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy has posted an online review of Citizenship Without Illusions: Local Politics and Concrete Communities, by Stephen O. Presley. An excerpt:

The book is a wonderful complement to his earlier volume and both books should be read together. Christians today need to have some hard conversations about the notion of citizenship in the worlds where alternative political ideologies are proliferating. Christian citizenship and political loyalty are significant because Christians claim that ultimate citizenship is in the kingdom of God, but at the same time Christians “have responsibilities to the communities of which we are part.” For this reason, I pray that Koyzis’s work is read widely [and] motivates Christians to seek the welfare of the city.

I am of course grateful for another positive review. But I need to correct a misunderstanding of one section of the book. Presley writes: "He also advocates against forming a Christian political party on the grounds that such an organization would not insulate members from the larger social context and would likely lead to more internal challenges within the Christian community." Not exactly. Here is the relevant passage:

In the epilogue to my first book, I weighed the prospects of a Christian democratic movement and hinted that it might be a good idea. I still think that taking the Kuyper route and establishing a party at least open to a biblical worldview is an option we should definitely consider. To those who might object to faith-based parties, I would point out that there is a sense in which all political parties are faith-based insofar as they reflect the ultimate commitments of their members and leaders. So a Christian political party would not be an outlier with respect to existing partisan groupings. However, I would offer a few caveats (78).

From there I counsel the words of caution Presley correctly picks up on. Other than this, I am pleased to read one more positive review of my work and echo his prayer at the end.