Jesus For President: Politics For Ordinary Radicals [Paperback]

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.

"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.

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!

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 74 reviews  4.1 out of 5 stars