“If you relish the inane partisanship that characterizes American political life, The Politics of the Cross is not for you. But if you are looking for a judicious assessment of the deep history and contemporary challenges of Christian faith and American politics, this is the book you've been waiting for.”
— Thomas S. Kidd
author of Who Is an Evangelical? The History of a Movement in Crisis
“Daniel Williams is one of our finest historians of evangelicals and politics. In The Politics of the Cross, he draws on his previous works, but takes us even deeper into these issues through timely theological reflections on how evangelical Christians should engage in public life. His chapter on abortion alone is worth the price of the book.”
— John Fea
author of Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump
“We live in a time when far too often partisan politics and catchy slogans replace thoughtful Christian engagement. Fiery rhetoric is often detached from fair-minded assessment of the past and present. It occurs on both sides of the aisle. Thankfully we have people like Daniel K. Williams, who offers both the nuance of a historian and the concerns of one committed to the fullness of ancient Christian concerns. This book will at times surprise, but also hopefully inform and encourage, those seeking to more faithfully navigate the debates of our age.”
— Kelly M. Kapic
Covenant College
“Partisanship in the United States has reached unsustainable levels. With characteristic care and earnestness, Daniel K. Williams proposes a practical and satisfying way forward for our national discourse that is deeply informed by history, Scripture, and Christian tradition. Operating from the assumption that church and state interests need not be at odds, and Democrats and Republicans need not be mortal enemies, Williams offers a needed voice of wisdom, compassion, and maturity to a nation that seems on the brink of moral, political, and spiritual collapse. If ever such a voice was needed in American civil discourse, it is now. And if ever there was an example of a Christian thinker for such a time as this, it is Daniel K. Williams.”
— John D. Wilsey
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Christianity Today
“In The Politics of the Cross: A Christian Alternative to Partisanship, Daniel K. Williams takes aim at the facile Christianization of partisan politics, on both the Left and the Right. . . . The intuition behind Williams’s project is that a truly Christian politics—which he calls ‘cross-centered’—will likely adopt policies from the Left and the Right. While he thinks the moral values of the right tend to be more biblically informed, he suggests that they are often best protected through a strategic appropriation of progressive politics. For instance, he suggests, the most effective way to reduce the number of abortions may not be through the Supreme Court, but through progressive social policies that make it less likely for an impoverished teenage girl to think abortion is her only choice.”
Religious Studies Review
“As a Christian Political Scientist, I find much hope in this book. Hope that my brothers and sisters in Christ can look beyond the sectarian politics of the moment and present a better reflection of Christ in the public square.”