Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies

Should Christians be politically withdrawn, avoiding participation in politics to maintain their prophetic voice and keep from being used as political pawns? Or should Christians be actively involved, seeking to control and utilize political systems to control the levers of power? In Jesus and the Powers, N.T. Wright and Michael Bird argue that Christians should pursue active involvement in ways that encourage and sustain liberal democratic systems while opposing both totalitarianism and nationalism. They argue that Christians should faithfully and earnestly contribute to free democratic societies and vigorously oppose political schemes based on autocracy and nationalism. Wright and Bird outline a Christian approach to political engagement with reflections on their relevance to current events, including the Russian-Ukraine conflict, China-Taiwan tension, political turmoil in the USA, UK, and Australia, as well as to the problem of white Christian nationalism.