Book Reviewed
by Darold H. Morgan,
President Emeritus of the Annuity Board of the SBC
Speaking of Religion and Politics
Edited by John B. Cobb, Claremont, CA: Pinch Publications, 2000.
This book comes with a guarantee: it is controversial! The sub-title points specifically to this as it states: “The Progressive Church Tackles Hot Topics.” In this the book succeeds!
Regardless of one’s ethical position, it is helpful to come to this book with an open mind. Controversy lurks in every chapter, but it is definitely possible to glean some new insights from these pages. And considering the wide range of topics that are covered, new insights are urgently needed. There is a substantial amount of basic biblical directives in the volume.
Like it or not, Christians and churches must face these ethical issues which are becoming more numerous than ever. For example, who would have thought a generation back that the globalization of economic life would have such far-ranging ethical challenges as they do today? Could any among us have concluded that debt-forgiveness, especially to a whole bevy of poverty-stricken African nations, would be a very live area of discussion? When did environmentalism enter the ranks of a first-class Christian ethical issue?
Ordinarily when one has an edited book such as this one, there is an uneven quality in the writing and in the subjects handled. This is not the case here. Though there must be a host of unknown contributors, the editor maintains a balance throughout.
The reader will find fresh insights to many old problems. The initial chapter is on “Religion and the Public Schools.” Most of us bring our preconceived ideas to the table on this issue, but the chapter is strong, particularly with reference to some needed historical background and its connection with religious liberty as it pertains to the prickly issue of school prayer. However, the chapter is unexpectedly weak in its approach to the voucher controversy.
ˆ One could approach each chapter and subject in this same way, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses around the issue being discussed. However, it will help to keep in focus the announced philosophical bias of the entire volume. The ecumenically committed “Mobilization for the Human Family” is seeking to oppose or enlighten (depending upon one’s point of view) the ethical positions of the American Christian Right. The book clearly accuses this movement as being far more interested in politics than in biblical criticism or theology (p. 263), which ultimately should be the basis of an ethical posture. In fact, the final chapter is entitled “A Short History of the American Christian Right.” It makes for very interesting reading indeed, but probably it should have been relocated to the beginning of the book.
One of the genuine values of this ethical discussion is the input of updated statistics. Ordinarily statistical evaluation can be short-sighted, out of date, or even supernaturally dull; but not so in such chapters as “Pro- Human Family: Another look at Abortion,” and the chapter on “The Global Population Crisis.” Arresting, compelling, and electrifying are just a few of the words that come to mind as one reviews these issues in the light of the world community.
Here is a book that ought to be read because it hits directly the key ethical challenges that face every single person alive today. Not one of us is exempted from these problems. Widely held divergent opinions appear here. Some conservative Christians will definitely be offended by much that is in the book. Some, however, will read into these mandates new ideas that will expand their horizons. Some who love the classification of “liberal” may conclude that the book doesn’t go far enough. Regardless of one’s position, here is a book that ought to be read because it daringly challenges most of the critical and controversial ethical issues that are here to stay — at least in our lifetime.
