Jesus for President

Politics for Ordinary Radicals

By: Shane Claiborne, Chris Haw

Narrated by: full cast

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

As a follow-up to his best seller The Irresistible Revolution, Claiborne issues a radical manifesto on Christian political imagination—that our hope lies not in partisan options but in Jesus and the incarnation of the church as "set apart" from this world. A thoughtful and lyrical examination of the relationship between faith and allegiance for modern-day saints.

©2008 Shane Claiborne & Chris Haw (P)2008 Zondervan

Challenging, but falls short in handling Scripture

Jesus for President is certainly challenging. Not so much on an intellectual level as a social / philosophical level. The point of the book is to elicit a political response in Christians, and the book certainly accomplishes this goal. I would say their point is to elicit somewhat of an anti-political stance, one of provocation against human government.

This book certainly caused me to reflect on my current beliefs, and to consider new thoughts I have not yet had. I would take issue with the authors treatment of many texts of Scripture, however, and do not agree with many of their conclusions. To their credit, I believe that they practice what they preach (according to their own testimony), and I applaud their pursuit to be pleasing to God, but wonder how much of their passion is truly tied to Scripture and how much is tied to their political passion.

If you want a challenge to your political views, regardless of what side you take, it's a worthy read. The audio version could do well without the songs interspersed between chapters however... it detracts from the book.

Wow

Got a real glimpse of what this world could be if the people who call themselves followers of Christ actually started following him rather than the states agenda.

Challenging

This is not for the faint of heart. The words of this book are challenging. Whether or not you agree with the theology it will produce much food for thought, prayer and soul searching in your relationship with God.

Great but beware

This book is amazing as it re-contextualizes the Bible with an eye toward social justice and reform. The "musical" interludes however, are highly irritating and detract greatly from the power of this book. I don't know why thought they were a good idea - but they are unbearable.

This is the way

A challenging listen/read most Christians I know in America will benefit from. What does Jesus want from us in a society that values wealth and celebrates violence? Well, they talk about that and some other important things with tear causing stories from laughing with joy or crying in pain. You really oughta give this a try.

If you considers yourself a Christian - Read this

I loved listening to this audiobook and am now considering buying it in print because of the impression it left on me. If you consider yourself a follower of Christ- I highly recommend this book.

You don’t have to agree with everything.

I certainly don’t.
However, there’s enough challenging content here to cause every Christian to sit up straight, rewind, carefully listen again, and examine your own history, allegiances, practices, beliefs, and stereotypes.
A must read for the “comfortable” Christian who believes he/she has all that is needed and yet feels a void in their spiritual journey.

Another beautiful work by Shane

insightful and enlightening. a critical treatment of politics in the context of a Christian kingdom life.

Jesus for President

Although I got the satire in the jingles, they were way too long and became annoying. The ending was a bit laborious.
However, beyond the jingles and wordiness, there is some meat on this bone.

Highly recommended for U.S. Christians

This book is chock-full of sound, Biblical theology, and in my opinion, every Christian in the U.S. should read/listen to it--especially those who grew up in the traditional, Republican, "moral majority/religious right" subculture that seems to define most of U.S. Christianity's voice in politics. It is not full of "support this policy/candidate/party" rhetoric, but information about how many politically-charged statements and ideals Jesus expressed on earth, which we tend to miss when we read the Bible, due to cultural differences. Interspersed with that are anecdotes about actions and lifestyles that Shane and others have carried/carry out in order to strive toward a more Biblical way of living.

Hugely Challenging and Inspiring

I loved hearing the author read His own words and found Shane's words cut straight to the heart of the issue and lays some very real challenges at the feet of those of us who wish to follow Jesus.