Scandalous Witness
A Little Political Manifesto for Christians
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- $22.99
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
Christian identity is in moral and political crisis, scandalized by the many ways in which it has been coopted and misrepresented. Addressing this painful reality, Lee Camp writes that Christianity in America has been made into a bad public joke because of “our failure to rightly understand what Christianity is.” From this provocative claim, Camp’s manifesto makes the convincing case that a renewed Christian politic is more essential than ever, one that is “neither left nor right nor religious,” but a prophetic way of life modeled after Jesus of Nazareth.
Camp’s robust vision exposes modern parodies of faith—the American concept of “Christian values,” for one—and challenges Christians to rethink who they are and how they participate in the modern world. Authentic gospel truth is a scandal to the American myth, he argues, and we are called to be scandalous witnesses.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this short, powerful manifesto, Camp (Mere Discipleship), a professor of ethics and theology at Lipscomb University, argues that Christianity has lost its virtuous influence in America by becoming a partisan tool. True Christianity, he says, is a scandalous politic and a shocking belief system that impacts society in practical, tangible ways. Because Christians adhere to the teachings of Jesus, he writes, their beliefs should impact their behavior in a manner beneficial toward their communities. He argues that faith teaches that history has a goal of realizing God's kingdom, and Christians can either further God's plan or lose their direction and work against it. The author rejects the idea that America was founded as a Christian nation, and argues that the historical truth that every empire eventually falls should be a reminder to Christians of their global connection to others. Such a perspective should drive the faithful, he believes, to fight to improve America and to also fight for God as the hope of the world. Thoughtful Christians will find this insightful work packed with logical and potentially paradigm-shifting arguments.