This book, yep, another one by Tim Keller (what can I say? he writes excellent books), was also great. I think it's probably one of the most important christian books currently in existence. I'd kind of skim-read it a couple of years ago, but recently we've been trying to get more christian students at Sheffield uni involved with social justice campaigns, and so I reread it more thoroughly to refresh my theological motivation for Jesus-style activism. Having just finished it I feel very convicted and challenged and encouraged and joyously grateful for God's grace and goodness, so I guess that implies that to that end my rereading the book worked somewhat. We'll see over the coming months and years how truly I stick my life to it though (hopefully very). I'm also doing a philosophy module this semester about moral obligation, and christian ethics has a lot of interesting stuff to say on the matter (not least from everyone's favourite Danish existentialist with an "ø" in his name).
The book itself is easy to explain. It's an instrument for kickstarting christians who aren't actively concerned with justice, and spurring onward those who are. Strong biblical foundations (from both old and new testaments) and theological bases are laid for a vision of justice that we should be striving toward. The reasons why we should be striving as such are given with Keller's usual calm clarity that drives home enormous truths warmly, comprehensibly, and in a way which forces you to reassess your attitudes and habits. Methods in which we could strive as such are explained broadly but helpfully. Powerful challenges are drilled down through the question of "who is my neighbour" through and extended analysis of the Good Samaritan, and powerful encouragements similarly offered through consideration of God's intentions, plans and character.
We are to care about justice as Jesus did: serving and embracing and loving the marginalised poor. Doing so, argues Keller compellingly, is the true mark of the Spirit's work in one's heart.
My reception, as a relatively-left-wing ethically-concerned liberal young christian aspiring-economist-and-philosopher, was as you may predict wholeheartedly positive. I don't think there was anything in the entire book which I disagreed with in any meaningful way (there was a certain aspect I thought maybe could have been good but I'll discuss later why I think its exclusion was probably a good thing). I sincerely hope and pray that this book is read and absorbed extremely widely across the world, especially in America (as God knows there's far too many "christian" bestsellers over there that turn out to be as heretical as they are badly-written and generally wrong). Much of what discourages non-christians from engaging properly with the gospel is the elitism, materialism, and general hypocritical evil which so many "christians" espouse. Such likely-to-upset-Jesus folk in the extreme form are fortunately quite rare, with a pseudo-theological preacher of prosperity here and an entire political party bent on remoulding christianity into neoliberalism there, but the vaguer attitudes of individualism and not-caring-about-the-poor have seeped into the wider christian community. This hasn't been too difficult given the overwhelmingly middle-class status of most western christians. Anyway, the prevalence of these hypocrisies make christianity unappealing, laughable, false in the eyes of observers who can very easy read Jesus' words about feeding the hungry and watch a churchful of his supposed followers do their utmost to ignore the homeless man sat in the doorway near where they parked their SUV. More christian involvement in active development of social justice would be as excellent for alleviating human suffering as it would excellent for creating opportunities to share the gospel by actually living its implications and demands out properly.
The one gripe-that-isn't-really-a-gripe I had with it, as I mentioned earlier, was that Keller steered away from engaging with christian involvement in politics. The methods he outlined as ways in which to work towards God's justice in society were all to do with altering personal habits, reinvigorating communities, collectively solving problems - which is all very well and good, but I think if we have a moral responsibility from God to care for the vulnerable then that must influence whether/how we vote, protest, campaign and act politically. Keller avoided having to discuss this by allowing some flexibility in his readers' definitions of justice (especially economically), to cater to liberal and conservative readers, though I'm sure that thought through properly, his arguments strongly imply that a conservative position is simply contrary to Jesus' position.*
However, he didn't include an extended discussion of how christians should engage with the political sphere: why? Because the book is a motivation-changer for all christians. In keeping his arguments as theological as possible without straying too far from political neutrality, he doesn't automatically alienate and so lose the readership (and potential to motivate into action) of more conservative christians. I therefore think it's reasonable for him to exclude such a section, but also I prayerfully hope that conservative christians, having read the book, will have their attitudes reshaped, and give serious thought to the implications Christ's ethics have on their politics.
Anyway. Should you read this book? Well, as a general all-round, yes. If you're a christian who's actively concerned with social justice, it'll give you enormous boosts of motivation and plenty of theological grounding for your actions that will aid evangelism alongside it. If you're a christian who's not that actively concerned, it might start making you one. If you're not a christian, it may give you a radically new understanding of the character and purposes of God and the world and our place in it, which may provoke you to rethink your stance on them.
Praise God for his glory as the Father's sovereignty, his grace in Jesus' death, his goodness in the Spirit's ongoing work - and for giving us Tim Keller as a popular, intelligent signpost towards his Kingdom!
* Yes, this is genuinely my position. I think that someone who both holds the gospel to be true and holds a neoliberal (or similar) political stance has either not given enough thought to the relationship between their faith and their ethics, or is just an unrepentant hypocrite stubbornly trying to force camels through needle-eyes.
We are to care about justice as Jesus did: serving and embracing and loving the marginalised poor. Doing so, argues Keller compellingly, is the true mark of the Spirit's work in one's heart.
My reception, as a relatively-left-wing ethically-concerned liberal young christian aspiring-economist-and-philosopher, was as you may predict wholeheartedly positive. I don't think there was anything in the entire book which I disagreed with in any meaningful way (there was a certain aspect I thought maybe could have been good but I'll discuss later why I think its exclusion was probably a good thing). I sincerely hope and pray that this book is read and absorbed extremely widely across the world, especially in America (as God knows there's far too many "christian" bestsellers over there that turn out to be as heretical as they are badly-written and generally wrong). Much of what discourages non-christians from engaging properly with the gospel is the elitism, materialism, and general hypocritical evil which so many "christians" espouse. Such likely-to-upset-Jesus folk in the extreme form are fortunately quite rare, with a pseudo-theological preacher of prosperity here and an entire political party bent on remoulding christianity into neoliberalism there, but the vaguer attitudes of individualism and not-caring-about-the-poor have seeped into the wider christian community. This hasn't been too difficult given the overwhelmingly middle-class status of most western christians. Anyway, the prevalence of these hypocrisies make christianity unappealing, laughable, false in the eyes of observers who can very easy read Jesus' words about feeding the hungry and watch a churchful of his supposed followers do their utmost to ignore the homeless man sat in the doorway near where they parked their SUV. More christian involvement in active development of social justice would be as excellent for alleviating human suffering as it would excellent for creating opportunities to share the gospel by actually living its implications and demands out properly.
The one gripe-that-isn't-really-a-gripe I had with it, as I mentioned earlier, was that Keller steered away from engaging with christian involvement in politics. The methods he outlined as ways in which to work towards God's justice in society were all to do with altering personal habits, reinvigorating communities, collectively solving problems - which is all very well and good, but I think if we have a moral responsibility from God to care for the vulnerable then that must influence whether/how we vote, protest, campaign and act politically. Keller avoided having to discuss this by allowing some flexibility in his readers' definitions of justice (especially economically), to cater to liberal and conservative readers, though I'm sure that thought through properly, his arguments strongly imply that a conservative position is simply contrary to Jesus' position.*
However, he didn't include an extended discussion of how christians should engage with the political sphere: why? Because the book is a motivation-changer for all christians. In keeping his arguments as theological as possible without straying too far from political neutrality, he doesn't automatically alienate and so lose the readership (and potential to motivate into action) of more conservative christians. I therefore think it's reasonable for him to exclude such a section, but also I prayerfully hope that conservative christians, having read the book, will have their attitudes reshaped, and give serious thought to the implications Christ's ethics have on their politics.
Anyway. Should you read this book? Well, as a general all-round, yes. If you're a christian who's actively concerned with social justice, it'll give you enormous boosts of motivation and plenty of theological grounding for your actions that will aid evangelism alongside it. If you're a christian who's not that actively concerned, it might start making you one. If you're not a christian, it may give you a radically new understanding of the character and purposes of God and the world and our place in it, which may provoke you to rethink your stance on them.
Praise God for his glory as the Father's sovereignty, his grace in Jesus' death, his goodness in the Spirit's ongoing work - and for giving us Tim Keller as a popular, intelligent signpost towards his Kingdom!
* Yes, this is genuinely my position. I think that someone who both holds the gospel to be true and holds a neoliberal (or similar) political stance has either not given enough thought to the relationship between their faith and their ethics, or is just an unrepentant hypocrite stubbornly trying to force camels through needle-eyes.
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