Campolo, Red Letter Christians

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Tony Campolo, Red Letter Christians: A Citizen’s Guide to Faith and Politics. Regal Books, 2008.

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LifeandLeadership.com Summary

This is Campolo’s attempt to lead evangelicals to the direct teachings of Jesus for insight into issues of politics and social justice. These direct teachings are often printed in red, thus “Red Letter Christians.” He tries to be non-partisan, encouraging readers to align with the positions of political parties only when they uphold the teachings of Jesus. Yet most of his stances are left of center and more in keeping with the liberal democratic platform. Also, when it comes to some issues such as gay rights and abortion, Campolo is weak on scriptural support. Nevertheless, as the publisher’s description says, Campolo has interesting things to say about “fighting poverty, caring for the environment, advancing peace, promoting strong families, and supporting a consistent ethic of life, all viewed as critical moral and biblical values.” The content of this book is similar enough to another volume by Campolo published in the same year, Letters to a Young Evangelical, that one would not need to read both. Red Letter Christians is probably the best place to start in understanding the biblical basis for Campolo’s social vision. The texts by Ron Sider on social justice, however, provide a more even-handed and less extreme approach to the issues.

From the Publisher

Challenging the popular image of Evangelicals is one of the purposes of this book. I want it to be known that there are millions of us who espouse an evangelical theology, but who reject being classified as part of the Religious Right. We don’t want to make Jesus into a Republican.

On the other hand, we want to say loud and clear that we don’t want to make Jesus in a Democrat, either.

Early twentieth-century playwright and social critic George Bernard Shaw once said that God created us in His image—and we decided to return the favor! Clearly there are those on the Religious Right who would make Jesus into a Republican and an incarnation of their political values. And on the other side of the aisle, there are those who would make Jesus into a Democrat who espouses their particular liberal agenda.

But Jesus refuses to fit into any of our political ideologies. Transcending partisan politics, Jesus calls us to make judgments about social issues as best we can when we vote, and to do so in accord with our best understanding of God’s will. In doing so, we are to avoid partisan politics that lead to unnecessary, unproductive and even dangerous divisions.

At election time when you are asked, “Are you a Democrat or a Republican?” your answer should be, “Name the issue!” On any specific social or political issue, we must be ready and willing to work out which party and/or candidate best represents our convictions.

This, of course, will make voting into a difficult decision-making process. But who said following Jesus was easy?

About the Author

TONY CAMPOLO is professor emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE), an organizations that develops schools and social programs in various third world countries and in cities across North America, Dr. Campolo is an ordained minister and is presently recognized as an associate pastor of the Mount Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia. He is a media commentator on religious, social and political matters, having guested on television programs like Nightline, Crossfire, Politically Incorrect, The Charlie Rose Show and CNN News. He cohosted his own television series, Hashing It Out, on the Odyssey Network, and presently hosts From Across the Pond, a weekly program on the Premier Radio Network in England. Dr. Campolo is the author of 33 books, including Letters to a Young Evangelical and Everybody Wants to Change the World.

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