For the last six weeks I have been summarizing the sixteen essays found in Toward an Evangelical Public Policy: Political Strategies for the Health of the Nation. This was my second time through the book and I continue to be amazed at the wealth of information it contains. If nothing else, this book demonstrates that evangelical thinking on public policy is far more diverse and reasoned than many critics of the evangelical movement are willing to acknowledge. I think it also demonstrates that evangelicalism is in a state of flux and becoming ever more sophisticated. Ron Sider and the late Diane Knippers did the Christian community a tremendous service by producing this compilation.
Here is an index of my chapter summaries:
"Toward an Evangelical Public Policy" Book Discussion
PART I: Learning from the Past
Chapter 1 - Seeking a Place: Evangelical Protestants and Public Engagement in the Twentieth Century. John C. Green
Chapter 2 – A History of the Public Policy Resolutions of the National Association of Evangelicals. Richard Cizik
Chapter 3 – Evangelical Denominations at the Foundations of Modern American and British Social-Political Structures and Policies: A Philosopher’s Perspective. Paul de Vries
Chapter 4 – The Mainline Protestant Tradition in the Twentieth Century: Positive Lessons and Cautionary Tales. Max L. Stackhouse and Raymond R. Roberts
Chapter 5 – Insights from Catholic Social Ethics and Political Participation. Kristen E. Heyer
PART II: Toward an Evangelical Methodology
Chapter 6 – Toward an Evangelical Ethical Methodology. David P. Gushee and Dennis P. Hollinger
Chapter 7 – Theological Foundations for an Evangelical Political Philosophy. Nicholas Wolterstorff
Chapter 8 – Justice, Human Rights, and Government: Toward an Evangelical Perspective. Ronald J. Sider
Chapter 9 – Citizenship, Civil Society, and the Church. Joseph Loconte
PART III – Central Themes for an Evangelical Framework
Chapter 10 – The Sanctity of Life in the Twenty-first Century: An Agenda for Homo sapiens in the image of God. Nigel M. de S. Cameron
Chapter 11 – Caring for the Vulnerable. Clive Calver and Galen Carey
Chapter 12 – Family Integrity. Tom Minnery and Glenn T. Stanton
Chapter 13 – Stewardship. R. Scott Rodin
Chapter 14 – The Ethics of War and Peacemaking. Glen H. Stassen
Chapter 15 – Human Rights. Paul Marshall
PART IV – Implementation
Chapter 16 – In the Arena: Practical Issues in Concrete Political Engagement. Stephen Monsma and Mark Rodgers
