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Few topics can grab headlines and stir passions quite like politics, especially when the church is involved. Considering the attention that many Christian parachurch groups, churches, and individual believers give to politics--and of the varying and sometimes divergent political ideals and aims among them--Five Views on the Church and Politics provides a helpful breakdown of the possible Christian approaches. Readers will find themselves equipped to think more deeply about the relationship between church and state in a way that goes beyond mere policy debates and current campaigns.

General Editor Amy Black brings together five top-notch political theologians in the book, each representing one of the five key political traditions within Christianity:

Anabaptist (Separationist)--Thomas Heilke

Lutheran (Two Kingdom)--Robert Benne

Catholic (In Tension)--J. Brian Benestad

Reformed (Integrationist)--James K. A. Smith

Black Church (Prophetic)--Bruce Fields

Each author addresses his tradition's theological distinctives, the role of government, the place of individual Christian participation in government and politics, and how churches should (or should not) address political questions. Responses by each contributor to opposing views will highlight key areas of difference and disagreement.

Thorough and even-handed, Five Views on the Church and Politics will enable readers to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the most significant Christian views on political engagement and to draw their own, informed conclusions.

James K. A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin College where he holds the Gary & Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology & Worldview. The author of many books, including the award-winning Who's Afraid of Postmodernism? and Desiring the Kingdom, Smith is a Cardus senior fellow and serves as editor of Comment magazine.

Stanley N. Gundry is executive vice president and editor-in-chief for the Zondervan Corporation. He has been an influential figure in the Evangelical Theological Society, serving as president of ETS and on its executive committee, and is adjunct professor of Historical Theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He is the author of seven books and has written many articles appearing in popular and academic periodicals.

Thomas W. Heilke (Ph.D., Duke University) is associate dean of graduate studies and professor of political science at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. He is author, co-author, or co-editor of more than 40 publications, including Voegelin on the Idea of Race and Nietzsche's Tragic Regime: Culture, Aesthetics, and Political Education.

Amy E. Black (Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is professor of political science at Wheaton College. She is the author of Honoring God in Red or Blue, Beyond Left and Right, and Helping Christians Make Sense of American Politics, as well as many articles, reviews, and commentaries that have appeared in publications such as Christianity Today, Books & Culture, and the Christian Science Monitor.

Thomas W. Heilke (Ph.D., Duke University) is associate dean of graduate studies and professor of political science at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. He is author, co-author, or co-editor of more than 40 publications, includingVoegelin on the Idea of RaceandNietzsche's Tragic Regime: Culture, Aesthetics, and Political Education.

J. Brian Benestad (PhD, Boston College) is the D-Amour Chair of Catholic Thought at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. The editor of Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly, his published works include The Pursuit of a Just Social Order and Church, State, and Society: An Introduction to Catholic Social Doctrine.

Robert Benne (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is Jordan-Trexler Professor Emeritus and research associate at Roanoke College. He founded the Roanoke College Center for Religion in 1982 and is the author of twelve books including Good and Bad Ways to Think About Religion and Politics, Reasonable Ethics, and A Christian Approach to Social, Economic, and Political Concerns.

Bruce L. Fields (Ph.D., Marquette University) is associate professor of biblical and systematic theology and chair of the biblical and systematic theology department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of Introducing Black Theology: Three Crucial Questions for the Evangelical Church.

James K. A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin College where he holds the Gary & Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology & Worldview. The author of many books, including the award-winning Who's Afraid of Postmodernism? and Desiring the Kingdom, Smith is a Cardus senior fellow and serves as editor of Comment magazine.