A review of The Gospel and The Citizen, the new BMH Books release by Florent Varak and Philippe Viguier has been posted at the blog, Parking Space 23. Written by pastor and Masters’ Seminary graduate, John Chester, the review encourages readers to buy the book. A portion of the review appears below. Click here for the complete post.
They Come From France
They come from France. That was the explanation that the conehead family would offer (in the classic SNL sketch and the much less classic movie) when someone noticed that they were clearly aliens from outer space. The response they typically got was a puzzled shrug, that seemed to say “you seem like you are from outer space, but I guess you could be French.” Along with their consuming of “mass quantities,” their deflection “we come from France,” and its reception formed the satirical underpinnings of the sketch.
In this strangest of political seasons, we, as American Christians, could use an alien perspective. And that is just what we get in The Gospel & The Citizen: Essay on the Christian and the Church in Politics by Florent Varak and Philippe Viguier (also available on Amazon for the Kindle).
The authors are not from outer space, they are Master’s Seminary graduates who come from and minister in France. As such they offer a discussion of the role of the individual believer and the church in politics free from the partisan weirdness that seems to pollute most discussions we have in the U.S. Partisanship has so colored our discussion that we simultaneously have a well-respected theologian arguing that voting for Donald Trump is a morally good choice and a well-respected, nationally known pastor arguing that a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to check unpredictable evil. Something is clearly wrong, and our discussion has been corrupted by convictions that have little to do with Scripture.
In this environment any discussion of the relationship of the believer and the church to the realm of politics free from this taint is welcome and this short (82 pages in the print edition) essay is a breath of fresh air.
Click here for the complete post.
