An urgent call for Christians everywhere to explore the nature of the kingdom amid the political upheaval of our day.
Should
Christians be politically withdrawn, avoiding participation in politics
to maintain their prophetic voice and to keep from being used as
political pawns? Or should Christians be actively involved, seeking to
utilize political systems to control the levers of power?
In Jesus and the Powers,
N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird call Christians everywhere to discern
the nature of Christian witness in fractured political environments. In
an age of ascending autocracies, in a time of fear and fragmentation,
amid carnage and crises, Jesus is king, and Jesus’s kingdom remains the
object of the church's witness and work.
Part
political theology, part biblical overview, and part church history,
this book argues that building for Jesus's kingdom requires confronting
empire in all its forms. This approach should orient Christians toward a
form of political engagement that contributes to free democratic
societies and vigorously opposes political schemes based on autocracy
and nationalism. Throughout, Wright and Bird reflect on the relevance of
this kingdom-oriented approach to current events, including the
Russian-Ukraine conflict, the China-Taiwan tension, political turmoil in
the USA, UK, and Australia, and the problem of Christian nationalism.
