God and Governing: Reflections on Ethics, Virtue, and Statesmanship

Abortion. Poverty. Pornography. More than thirty years ago evangelical conservatives, moderates, and liberals alike began tackling these and other major social problems head on through concerted political effort. The intervening decades witnessed the rise of groups such as the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition, which supported numerous politicians and religiously driven policies. Why is it, then, that despite the seemingly great potential of these and other similar groups, the same pervading social problems still persist? How is it that evangelicals have been so ineffective at changing the political and social landscape of the United States in a positive way?

God and Governing brings together theologians, politicians, law professors, and cultural critics in order to examine the root causes of evangelical political failure over the past thirty years. With a Foreword by Charles Colson, the additional contributors and the topic of their respective essays include:

David Wells - Why Being Good is so Political

Paul Marshall - The Travails of Evangelical Politics

Os Guinness - The Golden Triangle of Freedom

Patrick Nolan - Lessons on Fleeing Temptations

Vishal Mangalwadi - The Future of Virtue and Statesmanship in Pagan American

Dallas Willard - The Failure of Evangelical Political Involvement

Donald McConnell - Practical Ways Forward

Stephen Kennedy - Justice in Evangelical Political Theology

The book, God and Governing: Reflections on Ethics, Virtue, and Statesmanship, based on Trinity Law School's "God and Governing" conference in 2008, was released in July 2009.