Covering such timely issues as witness in a multifaith society and political engagement in a pluralistic world, this compelling book highlights things Christians can do to serve the common good. Now in paperback. Praise for the cloth edition Named one of the "Top 100 Books" and one of the "Top 10 Religion Books" of 2011 by Publishers Weekly "Accessible, wise guidance for people of all faiths."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Highly original. . . . The book deserves a wide audience and is one that will affect its readers well after they have turned the final page."--Christianity Today (5-star review)

Celebrated Theologian Offers Wisdom for Civic Engagement Christian citizens have a responsibility to make political and ethical judgments in light of their faith and to participate in the public lives of their communities--from their local neighborhoods to the national scene. But it can be difficult to discern who to vote for, which policies to support, and how to respond to the social and cultural trends of our time. This nonpartisan handbook offers Christians practical guidance for thinking through complicated public issues and faithfully following Jesus as citizens of their countries. The book focuses on enduring Christian commitments that should guide readers in their judgments and encourages legitimate debate among Christians over how to live out core values. The book also includes lists of resources for further reflection in each chapter and "room for debate" questions to consider.

Over the past fifteen years, associations throughout the U.S. have organized citizens around issues of equality and social justice, often through local churches. But in contrast to President Bush's vision of faith-based activism, in which groups deliver social services to the needy, these associations do something greater. Drawing on institutions of faith, they reshape public policies that neglect the disadvantaged. To find out how this faith-based form of community organizing succeeds, Richard L. Wood spent several years working with two local groups in Oakland, California—the faith-based Pacific Institute for Community Organization and the race-based Center for Third World Organizing. Comparing their activist techniques and achievements, Wood argues that the alternative cultures and strategies of these two groups give them radically different access to community ties and social capital. Creative and insightful, Faith in Action shows how community activism and religious organizations can help build a more just and democratic future for all Americans.

Celebrated Theologian Offers Wisdom for Civic Engagement Christian citizens have a responsibility to make political and ethical judgments in light of their faith and to participate in the public lives of their communities--from their local neighborhoods to the national scene. But it can be difficult to discern who to vote for, which policies to support, and how to respond to the social and cultural trends of our time. This nonpartisan handbook offers Christians practical guidance for thinking through complicated public issues and faithfully following Jesus as citizens of their countries. The book focuses on enduring Christian commitments that should guide readers in their judgments and encourages legitimate debate among Christians over how to live out core values. The book also includes lists of resources for further reflection in each chapter and "room for debate" questions to consider.

Filipinos are now the second largest Asian American immigrant group in the United States, with a population larger than Japanese Americans and Korean Americans combined. Surprisingly, there is little published on Filipino Americans and their religion, or the ways in which their religious traditions may influence the broader culture in which they are becoming established. Filipino American Faith in Action draws on interviews, survey data, and participant observation to shed light on this large immigrant community. It explores Filipino American religious institutions as essential locations for empowerment and civic engagement, illuminating how Filipino spiritual experiences can offer a lens for viewing this migrant community’s social, political, economic, and cultural integration into American life. Gonzalez examines Filipino American church involvement and religious practices in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the Phillipines, showing how Filipino Americans maintain community and ethnic and religious networks, contra assimilation theory, and how they go about sharing their traditions with the larger society.

Faith and religion is a hot topic at the moment, and this text explores key issues for faith and religious groups. Understanding the role of faith in the policy world is of increasing importance, and chapters are arranged around themes, which helps students understand the concepts.

Faith and Action is the complete collection of the essays of R. J. Rushdoony written for the Chalcedon Report between 1965 and 2001 along with several transcripts of his recorded talks. The large volume The Roots of Reconstruction only contained his Chalcedon Report essays up until 1985, so most of the essays included in Faith & Action were unavailable to readers for many years until now. In order to make the author’s knowledge more accessible, this three-volume collection features some of the most extensive indexing we’ve ever done including a General Index, a History Index, a Scripture Index, a Works Cited Index, and a Chalcedon Report Directory. A total of 183 pages of indexing! This handsome set of books is a must have for any serious library. The central theme of this collection of essays is Christian Reconstruction, which to Rushdoony meant the responsibility of Christian citizenship in the Kingdom of God. For him, his central drive behind his research and writing was to move men to faith and action. Rushdoony was primarily an essayist who vigorously and prolifically wrote on a multiplicity of subjects, issues, and dis­ciplines. Despite his being critical of both the contemporary church for its compro­mise and the humanistic state for its will to be as God, these essays are replete with Rushdoony’s undying faith in the victory of God in history. Rushdoony’s “big idea” was Christian Reconstruction which centered not on a pursuit of political power but rather an equipping of Christians to take back government by means of self-government in terms of God’s law. This three-volume collection will no doubt serve the larger church for many generations as they seek first the Kingdom of God in their spheres, and in their times.