Red Letter Christians: A Citizen's Guide to Faith and Politics

Tony Campolo is an E Coast pastor with a heart for the less fortunate, the people in uncomfortable situations, the people with conflicted consciences. He points out how far we have gotten from how Jesus would have ministered to those people and how we can get back to the kinder, gentler ways without having to compromise our own values. Highly recommended.

Tony Campolo's political views are compassionate and based on the words of Jesus. I finally feel that I am not alone.

Campolo and his Red Letter Christians base their political views on interpretations of the teachings of Jesus. They believe Jesus, if he voted today, would be neither a Republican or a Democrat; his vote would depend on the issues. I love how Campolo's opinions as well as the opposition's are explained with all due respect... no insults or rude comments or arrogance! His view on the pro-life issue is especially radical... just like Jesus.

Coming from a Massachusetts Northeast liberal, a book by a Evangelical Baptist Minister might not be a perfect read. Yet Tony Campolo has put together a remarkably adept book that puts faith into perspective when addressing political action. The result is a powerful book that may best be summed up by Campolo's opening statement: "when people ask a Christian are they a Democrat or a Republican, you should reply: what's the issue?" Clearly the Bible has been subverted too often to satisfy the needs and agenda of a small minority. Campolo carefully examines the words of Jesus to present a powerful argument that faith based politics is neither the exclusive realm of Democrats or Republicans. His arguments are so well reasoned, in almost every case, he is able to present two sides of the issue convincingly, the lone exception being capital punishment (which he argues Christ would be adamantly against.) Further, Campolo argues that the focus should be on the "Red Letter" words of Christ as Jesus often contradicted (realigned might be a better word) edicts that were found in the Old Testament (example, Jesus countermanded Moses approval of polygamy). Too often it seems, evangelicals seem to base their political choices and ideas on elements found within the Old Testament while simultaneously professing their adherence to the teachings of Christ. Campolo makes a valid argument that the focus ought to be on the words and actions of Jesus, rather than the events that happened in the Old Testament. This isn't to say he rejects the Old Testament, early in his book, he affirms it as the written word of God, but he does move the focus onto the relevancy of the New Testament. For Christians such as myself, this is a wonderful book because it focuses on the importance of the words of Jesus and his teachings and exposes the duality of many elements of the Old Testament. Evangelicals who would condemn homosexuality based on Leviticus seem keen to ignore the fact that slavery and polygamy run rampant through the Old Testament. "Picking and choosing" issues isn't an option for Red Letter Christians, Christ's words are right there and what he says about the poor, foreigners, the sick, the helpless and the underprivileged are in bright red. This book is sure to offer a new perspective for anyone interested in faith-based politics.

Campolo has proven once again that when we Christians actually pay attention to the teaching and message of Jesus the voices of the status quo will come along and say, enough with these "platitudes." We American Christians push Jesus off to the side and carefully keep him marginalized. The Romans disliked his message so much they killed him. Campolo's work asks us to take the teaching of Jesus and put it in the middle of the culture in which we exist. We don't know if it will work because we've never really tried it. As always, Campolo's effort here is filled with sit and wisdom. It is a remarkable call from an evangelical to the USA to "follow" Jesus.