Political Engagement as Biblical Mandate

by Paul D. Hanson

Publisher:

Cascade Books

, 2010

Overview

How does the Bible shape the perspective from which Christians view politics, the manner in which they engage in public debate, and the strategies they adopt when they translate faith into action? In Political Engagement as Biblical Mandate, Hanson suggests that many believers give insufficient thought to the basic principles that biblical study contributes to the lives of those who simultaneously seek to live in obedience to the central confessions of the Christian faith and to engage constructively in the life of a nation guided by the First Amendment and populated by an increasingly religiously diverse citizenry.

Praise for Political Engagement as Biblical Mandate

"A genuine manifesto! But one charged with and rooted in the words of Scripture, calling the church to a renewed faithfulness in its commitment to the well-being of the human community. Hanson’s passionate convictions are matched by his openness to other views. Like the prophets of old, he sets forth a strong critique of our inattention to the sociopolitical world, but that critique is on the way to an imaginative and biblical vision of the way it should and can be. Some readers may find themselves uncomfortable at times, but that is the reason they should keep reading."
--Patrick D. Miller
Princeton Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title : Political Engagement as Biblical Mandate
• Author: Hanson, Paul D.
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Publication Date: 2010
• ISBN: 9781621890140

About Paul D. Hanson

Paul Hanson has taught at Harvard since 1971, and was Lamont Professor of Divinity until July 2009, when he became Lamont Research Professor. After completing his PhD in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in 1970, he spent a year doing archaeological research in Israel, and he has spent sabbatical years in Israel and Germany and most recently at Princeton. In his courses he focuses on Hebrew prophecy, Jewish literature of the Second Temple Period, the religion of the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt, and biblical theology. He is currently working to complete a book examining the interplay between religion and politics, with emphasis on American faith communities rooted in biblical tradition. The titles of his books give an indication of his range of scholarly interests: The Dawn of Apocalyptic: The Historical and Sociological Roots of Jewish Apocalyptic Eschatology; Dynamic Transcendence: The Correlation of Confessional Heritage and Contemporary Experience in a Biblical Model of Divine Activity; The Diversity of Scripture: A Theological Interpretation; Visionaries and Their Apocalypses; Old Testament Apocalyptic; The People Called: The Growth of Community in the Bible; and Isaiah 40-66.