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Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals | 
 enlarge | Authors: Shane Claiborne, Chris Haw
Publisher: Zondervan
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
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Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 9728
Media: Paperback
Pages: 348
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0310278422
Dewey Decimal Number: 261.70973
EAN: 9780310278429
ASIN: 0310278422
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
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Product Description
Amid all the buzz of politics and elections, Jesus for President is a refreshing reminder that our ultimate hope lies not in partisan political options but in the Jesus who gave his life for us. Politics for ordinary radicals who want to love the world into the kingdom of God.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 33 more reviews...
 The Most Important Christian Book Published in the Last 50 Years March 12, 2008
Just Bill (Grand Rapids, MI United States)
99 out of 112 found this review helpful
I'm a writer. Yet, I'm at a loss for words to describe Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw's new book Jesus for President. Let me break this review down into two sections: (1) Design, and (2) Content.
DESIGN
Put simply, Jesus for President is a wonder to behold. I've never seen a book designed with as much attention to detail and visual impact -- not on the outside, mind you; on the INSIDE. The only thing comparable is House of Leaves, the debut novel by American author Mark Z. Danielewski...and Sandman graphic novels designed by the incomparable British artist Dave McKean. Sure, Jesus for President contains regular text just as you'd expect to find in a book. But, in addition, this groundbreaking new book also sports hand-written margin notes, little doodles and drawings, photos with typewritten descriptions, pieces of fabric, pressed flowers, varying type-faces and -sizes, arrows drawn in ink pointing to important passages, circled words, underlines, pages that look as though somehow took a pink highlighter to them, and a bibliography so clever that it, alone, is worth the price of admission.
In other words, everything about this book screams "I HAVE BEEN CRAFTED WITH LOVE." You can pick up this book, turn to a page at random and simply enjoy what your eyes behold. If Jesus for President doesn't win an award for its design, attention to detail (recycled paper, printed in America), and its ability to grab -- and hold -- one's attention from the very first page, there is no God.
CONTENT
Studies show that Americans today are changing their religious faiths almost as quickly as they change their underwear. They jump from church to church, from religion to religion, and hover -- at any given moment -- somewhere between a creeping agnosticism and a growing, bitter, atheism. And I haven't even mentioned the rampant pessimism that's coloring everyone's outlook, especially in the area of politics.
Once-committed Christians are not immune to this modern-day spiritual malady. In fact, many of them lead the exodus away from churches. Or, they remain in church out of a sense of duty to parents, spouses, or friends (or simply out of fear of reprisal from God), and become burned out and depressed, growing ever more frustrated that their Christian faith doesn't seem to mean anything, do anything, or change anything.
Like Neo in The Matrix, Christians everywhere have begun to ask questions about the nature of reality. They want answers because what they're getting now -- from the media, from Hollywood, even from their own churches -- doesn't ring true.
In that now-famous scene in The Matrix, Morpheus offers Neo two pills: one red and one blue. "You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland. And I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." As Neo reaches for the red pill, Morpheus suddenly says, "Remember. All I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more."
Jesus for President is like taking the red pill.
And, like Morpheus, all Shane and Chris offer is the truth. Nothing more.
And, baby, that rabbit hole goes pretty deep.
At the heart of Jesus for President is the answer to the question, "Why does the Bible seem so dynamic, yet my church seems so bland, spineless, and ineffectual?" Or, to put it another way, "Why does America -- one of the most heavily-churched countries in the world -- seem to continue going down the drain...economically, politically, morally, and spiritually?"
The answer is found in the first few pages of Jesus for President:
"Too often the patriotic values of pride and strength triumph over the spiritual values of humility, gentleness, and sacrificial love."
"We in the church are schizophrenic: we want to be good Christians, but deep down we trust that only the power of the state and its militaries and markets can really make a difference in the world."
"Rather than placing our hope in a transitional church that embodies God's kingdom, we assume America is God's hope for the world, even when it doesn't look like Christ."
Jesus for President is nothing less than reality-shaking, butt-kicking, rock-solid TRUTH. It presents a Jesus -- and a Christianity -- wholly foreign to today's pew-warmers. It presents a Jesus who is strong in his humility, bold in his compassion, and more concerned with feeding the poor among us than taking up arms to fight those on the other side of the world.
Yes, Jesus for President is heavily critical of American politics. Yes, Jesus for President is a slap in the fat face of mega-church dilettantes who cruise to Sunday school in their Hummers...and leave without dirtying their Manolo Blahnik shoes, scuffing their Hermes handbags, or smudging their Armani suits.
Jesus for President is for those who are sick to death of political lies, bloated lifestyles, and a Christian faith so far removed from the one found in the Bible that they teeter on the brink between pitching it all and...pitching it all. This is a get-off-your-butt-and-roll-up-your-sleeves Christianity. If you don't want to get down and dirty with the world, forget about Jesus for President.
But...
If you're tired of living an anemic version of the faith Jesus espoused in the Bible, you're ready to take the red pill.
I've been reading Christian books for 20 years. Not just books published within the last two decades; rather, books published within the past 150 years or more. I've never seen anything like Jesus for President. I can honestly say, without hyperbole, that Jesus for President is the most important Christian book published in the last half century. Follow it, and you WILL see a change in your life. You will also see a change in your community, and in your country.
 It's Sad: Legitimate theological issues are hampered by awful logic. April 29, 2008
P. Kallberg (Springfield, MO)
78 out of 107 found this review helpful
I borrowed this book from a friend of mine and because of the subject matter I spent a great deal of time working my way through it in an attempt to evaluate it as honestly as I could. Some of the authors' ideas and positions (a more community based Christian Church and non-violence) have merit and are worth further exploration. If you like these ideas, I recommend you read an essay by Theodore Koontz titled "Christian Nonviolence: An Interpretation." I really do think these are points that are worthy of consideration.
That said the logic, scholarship, facts, reasoning, and rhetoric in Jesus for President is awful. If this book were written as a persuasive essay, any good professor would fail the authors. Two logical fallacies that the authors make are circular reasoning and the straw man fallacy. On pages 67-69, the authors argue that because within the gospels Christ uses words that have political connotations within the Roman/Greek world there is an inherently political nature in Christ's teaching. These are terms like "evangelion," "Savior," "Lord," and "Emmanuel." The problem is that Christ would have spoken in Aramaic and Christ himself did not write the gospels. His disciples and followers wrote the gospels down somewhere between 30-80 years after his death and resurrection. When the gospels were written they were intended for a mostly Greek/Roman world audience so the authors translated Christ's words into the language and terms that the Greek/Roman world understood and identified with. This is very similar to modern publishing. There are British and American versions of the Harry Potter books. The reason is that there are terms and idioms within the British version that the American audience will not understand, so the publisher translates the novel from British English to a more American English. The writers of the gospels did the same thing. They used terms and idioms that their target audience would understand. Therefore, this means that the authors' argument that Christ used political language is based on a translation and writing technique that only leads around in circles. It is possible that Christ did use political language, perhaps even some of the terms the authors credit to him, but we cannot determine so from this argument. While they don't always commit this particular fallacy in reference to Biblical passages the authors do often impose a modern understanding of politics and life on Biblical passages rather than evaluating them in the original context.
The straw man logical fallacy is where you misrepresent the other side's position so it will be easier to argue against it. The authors commit this error numerous times. One good example is on page 106. Here they assume what all people mean in a specific statement. "In regard to Christian politics, some might say, "Sure my citizenship is ultimately in heaven, but I have to live in the `real' world now." In other words acting heavenly on earth is too risky; or, Jesus was the Son of God, but he was not realistic; or, following the Sermon on the Mount will not work on earth, so it will have to suffice in heaven. This interpretation basically comes to mean that my citizenship in heaven means nothing in the real world." The reason this is a misrepresentation is that people could and do mean several different things by "live in the `real' world." Couldn't they simply mean the earth is not heaven? Couldn't they mean that what Christ says is an ideal that does not exist on earth? I sometimes use this phrase and I have never meant it this way. I have always understood it to mean something like that in this `real' world (which includes many more places than luxury loaded America) there are people who are in horrific situations where they will have to choose between two evils. This is far from an ideal thing and is certainly not good; but problems and questions like this really do exist and need resolution. I find it irresponsible and arrogant for those of us in peaceful, free countries (America and the western world especially) to assume our definition of the `real' world is something that applies everywhere else.
The authors also commit internal factorial inconstancies on pages 281 and 331. On page 281 the authors cite a specific source and claim that as of 2006 there have been 654,965 civilian deaths in Iraq since the US invasion. While this figure sounded a bit inflated to me, knowing the exact number of war related deaths in Iraq is a near impossibility, so I was willing to accept it may be right. However, on page 331 the authors explicitly state, "And publicly remember the Iraqis (around one million) who have died since the US invasion of 2003." So somehow in fifty pages another 350,000 people died? Which figure is right and why does this discrepancy exist?
An additional example of this book's factorial inconstancies occurs on pages 184 and 256. On page 184 the authors state that 36% of the US government's budget ($0.36 of every dollar of tax paid) goes to the Department of Defense or Military. Then on page 256 they claim that nearly half of every tax dollar goes the Department of Defense. So which percentage is it? Is it 36% or something close to 50%?
Both of these inconstancies could have any number of explanations that are not malicious, and I am not accusing the authors of deliberately misrepresenting the facts. They (the facts) could be a hazard of having dual authorship, a lazy editor, or the use of multiple, conflicting sources for the same information. The reason I am pointing out these inconstancies is that they suggest the authors did not do their homework, take the material seriously, or did not know very much about the subject they were discussing.
In addition, several 'facts' in the book are just wrong. Calling AK-47s US made weapons (they're Russian, you can look it up on Wikipida), claims made about Biblical passages and history that scholars and historians will heavily dispute, and a statement on page 178 that the US has the greatest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world (once again it's Russia) all weaken the authors' arguments. Anyone of these errors in facts or logic could be forgiven individually, but taken collectively they are quite condemning. Is it really reasonable to take the arguments of anyone seriously if he cannot get simple facts right and disagrees with himself?
These errors do not mean the authors' main points are invalid. But it does seem they did not do the basic research needed for a high school essay, much less a published book. For this reason alone, I will not recommend this book to anyone. Read the essay I mentioned above as it supports many of the same positions and commits none of the fallacies these authors do. I really do wish these authors had written a better book as arguing poorly for these points helps no one and brings us no where.
The Jesus who makes you tremble February 27, 2008
Mark Doorley (Philadelphia, PA USA)
32 out of 39 found this review helpful
I recommend this book to anyone who is dissatisfied with current versions of Christianity. The authors return us to the biblical texts and present a reasonable and text-based interpretation of the Jesus who died as a political prisoner. The centrality of the politics of Jesus allows the authors to challenge the current mainstream Christian community to re-commit itself to a way of living that challenges most, if not all, of the political and economic power structures of our day. it is an invigorating and provocative read; I hope that many people take the time to reflect on it, if not, indeed, to pray with it!
Looking at Our Country with Fresh Eyes March 5, 2008
J. V. Cook (Greeley, CO USA)
27 out of 35 found this review helpful
Set aside its creative, engaging format. Set aside the fact that it is a page turner. Jesus For President is an important book. Claiborne and Haw speak with a challenging, even prophetic voice. Some will unfortunately dismiss the pair as ultra-liberal, but this is an easy and irrelevant mistake. Their interpretations are important. Their arguments sound. For those of us who love America and the political system of our forefathers, this book is essential reading. At its most surface level, the book rightly reminds us that sometimes such love is misplaced--even idolatrous.
And idolatry never leads to life.
 Could have been half as long March 24, 2008
Sean Mac (Grand Rapids, MI)
26 out of 29 found this review helpful
"Jesus For President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals" by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw is an accessible yet slightly-revisionist history/review of the Hebrew Scriptures, the world at the time of Christ, and the rest of Christian history. The fourth section of the book consists of jumping-off points and testimonies of people, groups, and situations where the kind of politic and economy described throughout the rest of the book is "fleshed out".
Claiborne is radical. To some, 'radical' is bad, to others, refreshing. But there is no denying that his ideas and his lifestyle are counter-cultural and challenge the status quo. I do not believe this is always a bad thing (more on this later). We can all agree that something is wrong with politics in America today, especially Christians in politics today.
My biggest take-away was the "Third Way" idea he espouses throughout the book, the "prophetic imagination" that should be our primary posture in responding to the needs and challenges of our world today. I think a lot of people my age (18-24), especially Christians, feel torn between blind nationalism ("God bless America") and the angst-ridden anti-establishment attitude we see in the picket lines at anti-war demonstrations. There *has* to be another choice, right? Thankfully Claiborne lays this out pretty clearly, yet with enough room for imagination and creativity.
A note on design: this is one of the most beautiful and interesting books to read. Every page is unique and striking. Some of the text material would honestly be rather dull without all the artwork. This book gets 10 stars out of 5 for creativity in design.
Back to radicalism. I see Claiborne as a modern-day prophet: someone with the eyes to see what's really going on and the balls to do something about it. Prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures (a term I adopted from him in place of 'Old Testament') were hated, persecuted, and even killed, or at least misunderstood. They shook up the establishment. I don't believe he is a "rebel" just for the sake of rebellion. I believe he and his community (and the hundreds of communities like the Simple Way) truly live and breathe the creative nonviolence they preach, much like the Amish (I loved his recommendation of putting the Amish in charge of the Department of Homeland Security).
The reason I gave this book four stars instead of five is because I personally think it could have been 3/4 as long. At times, it seems like he is going in circles, making the same points in different ways. The artwork distracts from this fact: as a standard book it would be much more noticeable.
Another reason it recieved only 4 stars is because I got the impression that there is little or no middle-ground between becoming an "extraordinary radical" - making your own clothes, dumpster-diving for scrap food and parts, killing your TV, living communally, etc. - and incorporating elements of this way of life into a more mainstream lifestyle. For example, in response to the valid question, "What do you do about taxes if you are so concerned about how they are used?" One solution of theirs was to write a letter to the IRS with the amount they were liable for minus 37% (the amount spent on the military) and a note stating they donated that 37% to a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting peace, and that they could not in good conscience finance war. Or else, they make sure to earn so little that their tax liability is zero.
So many things pop into my head: what about health insurance? Retirement? What if God's miraculous provision for your health and welfare are in fact a good job with benefits and a 401(k)? Are those things any less holy than earning nothing and living on "faith"? Can you earn $80,000 a year and drive a nice used car and enjoy vacations (and give generously to your church and community) and not be considered an "ordinary radical"? There has to be some kind of middle ground, and I don't think the authors recognized or acknowledged this, nor did they expressly recognize those "ordinary" middle-class families that fund missionaries and their community foundations and love their neighbors while still enjoying some of the comforts of the "empire". Is it really one or the other? I digress.
Overall - an important read for every Christian, especially in these politically-heated times. Great artwork and design and (as one reviewer pointed out), the most creative and innovative bibliography you will ever see. Read it with a grain of salt (no human author is infallible), let it challenge you (I'm still churning inside) but most importantly - ACT on your convictions. If your heart is stirred by reading this book, don't stifle it - let it work its way through and change your life, however that looks.
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