Reading Guides

Cultivating Kindness, Civility, and Truth in the Election Season

Civility Election Season  Civility Election Season  Civility Election Season

Although it seems quite odd due to the pandemic, we are now in the thick of another brutal presidential election season in the United States.  

Sure, very important things are at stake in this election, and indeed both the Right and the Left would argue that precious human lives are at stake. Regardless of who we will vote for in November, Christians need to be people of truth, kindness, and civility in a culture in which all three of these virtues are rare. I encourage you to check out our reading guide on being people of the truth, and below you will find several books on the importance of kindness and civility in our political interactions. You’ll find more books than any one person could read between now and Election Day, but perhaps maybe one or two of the books here will stand out as ones you need to read.

Civility Election Season

The Church of Us vs. Them: Freedom from a Faith That Feeds on Making Enemies

David Fitch

We are living in angry times. No matter where we go, what we watch, or how we communicate, our culture is rife with conflict. Unfortunately, Christians appear to be caught up in the same animosity as the culture at large. We are perceived as angry, judgmental, and defensive, fighting among ourselves in various media while the world looks on. How have we failed to be a people of reconciliation and renewal in the face of such tumult?

Claiming that the church has lost itself in the grip of an antagonistic culture, David Fitch takes a close look at what drives the vitriol in our congregations. He traces the enemy-making patterns in church history and diagnoses the divisiveness that marks the contemporary evangelical church. Fitch shows a way for the church to be true to itself, unwinding the antagonisms of our day and making space for Christ’s reconciling presence in our day-to-day lives. He offers new patterns and practices that move the church beyond making enemies to being the presence of Christ in the world, helping us free ourselves from a faith that feeds on division.


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C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com


 
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