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Francis J. Beckwith. Politics for Christians: Statecraft as Soulcraft. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2010. 171 pp. $18.00, ISBN 9780830828142.
Francis Beckwith's volume of the Christian Worldview Integration Series has much to offer the undergraduate student or novice newly considering the relation of faith and politics. The text's subtitle indicates Beckwith's Aristotelian assumption that "man is by nature a political animal."5 Contrary to some theological interpretations which might discourage the faithful from political thought and engagement, Beckwith asserts that Christian "students of politics must concern themselves with . . . what it means to be a citizen . . . [and] whether the government ... is just or unjust" (33), rather than withdrawing to a focus solely on self and salvation. His argument, that attempts to divorce one's foundational beliefs from political actions - which inevitably produce moral choices ("soulcraft") - are problematic, is fairly persuasive. Despite modest shortcomings, this work adds a much-needed introductory level approach to this branch of political thought.6
For the newcomer to political science, Beckwith first unpacks the essentials of the more prominent subfields of the discipline-political theory, comparative politics, American politics, international relations, political economy, and public law-their relations to each other as well as the relevance of scriptural questions, such as which form of government is just, within these areas. While most subfields are attended to with a concise focus that still provides a sense of their scope, he shortchanges the subfield with which most readers would have most familiarity - American politics. In his discussion, Beckwith suggests that questions in this subfield can simply be answered by quantitative assessments, when in fact they require as rich and complex of methods as the other areas within the disciplines that he addresses. Nonetheless, this chapter otherwise provides a fair first cut for the political science novice.
By introducing the reader to the compatibility between a Christian worldview and liberal democracy in chapter 2, Beckwith primes the issue of what it means to live under such a form of government and how structures might vary from country to country. Furthermore, he contends the political realm is of particular relevance to Christian citizens for four reasons. First, while both the government and church have authority over society and have a similar...