How Would Jesus Vote?: A Christian Perspective on the Issues [Hardcover]

Dr. D. James Kennedy (Author), Jerry Newcombe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2008

The 2008 election is shaping up to be one of the most important political contests in American history. In fact, Dr. D. James Kennedy believes it will be a watershed moment that could impact our very survival as a nation under God.

Values voters–people whose political views and votes are based on their faith in God–are being targeted as never before. As we move forward in the campaign season, the significant players will debate terrorism, radical Islam, nuclear threats, global warming, social issues, gay marriage, immigration, education, health care, and many other essential issues that can create sharp ideological divisions.

Into this overwhelmingly complex political situation, Dr. Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe bring a clear, compelling, and nonpartisan exploration of what God’s Word has to say on these critical matters. How Would Jesus Vote? isn’t intended to tell you which candidates to support; rather it offers you a Christ-centered understanding of the world to help you draw your own political conclusions.

This election, don’t cast an uninformed vote that fails to reflect your values. Instead, learn how to apply your faith and obedience to God to your ballot. This timely, helpful, and hopeful book will enable you to do just that.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his final book, Kennedy, who died in September of this year, joins his Coral Ridge Ministries colleague Newcombe in proffering this biblical justification of their socially conservative position on issues important to their followers, including abortion, the death penalty, war, education and freedom of religion. Kennedy and Newcombe make provocative claims throughout. Regarding abortion, they cite a study that found that 99% of women who have had abortions now wish abortions were illegal. About allocation of government funds, they argue that money currently spent on school lunch programs would be better spent on national defense against jihadists. When discussing health care, they accuse England and the Netherlands, both countries with national health services, of killing babies and the elderly. Such remarks are paired with what Kennedy and Newcombe characterize as a humble search of the Scriptures, and each chapter ends with a summary of how the authors feel Jesus would have American Christians vote. While most of this book is standard conservative Christian fare, Kennedy and Newcombe give it a distinctive Calvinist flavor, focusing particularly on Calvin's belief that God has distributed this world's goods as he has seen fit, and that not all poor people are deserving of Christian charity.
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Review

“Scripture commands us to ‘influence and occupy,’ to ‘expose the deeds of darkness,’ and to ‘let our light so shine.’  How does the Church do that without bringing a biblical worldview into the ‘marketplace of ideas’? In How Would Jesus Vote?, Dr. D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe brilliantly unravel the argument that Christians should not be involved in ‘politics.’  After finishing this book, dear reader, you will eagerly seek the next opportunity to take the Gospel out into the whole culture, including the political arena.”
–Janet Parshall, nationally syndicated talk show host


“Dr. Kennedy is one of my personal heroes — a man of tremendous courage and faith with a great heart and vision for restoring America’s Godly heritage.  This book is a wake-up call to us, as individual believers and the church, to not stand on the sidelines, but to vigorously defend our faith and values in the public square.”
–Alan Sears, President, CEO & General Counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (January 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400074061
• ISBN-13: 978-1400074068
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,238,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very timely and thought provoking, February 8, 2008

By 

Barbara Warren - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Would Jesus Vote?: A Christian Perspective on the Issues (Hardcover)

It's an election year, as you've probably noticed. The candidates all want to tell us how wonderful they are and how they can solve all of our problems. But how do they measure up in God's sight?
So how would Jesus vote, Democrat or Reublican? If you said neither, you got it right. Contrary to popular opinion, Jesus doesn't belong to any political party, but he does care about how we stand on the issues and how they compare with God's Word. The authors cover a lot of topics we need to consider when deciding how to vote: abortion, stem cell research, suicide and euthanasia, war, education, health-care, environment, etc. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of a campaign, and forget the important things, like where does that candidate stand on the issues, and what is acceptable to God.
The authors don't tell you how to vote. They just examine the issues from a biblical point of view, back it up with scripture, and leave the rest up to you. Very thought provoking, especially for an election year. Recommended.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars So Jesus is a Republican?, January 3, 2009

By 

kristadm (Lakewood, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Would Jesus Vote?: A Christian Perspective on the Issues (Hardcover)

The authors go out of their way to say that clearly Jesus is not on one political side or the other, but then the conclusion at the end of each issue is that Jesus would indeed vote in the way that is typically conservative -- or Republican.
At one point the authors insinuate that if we weren't wasting so much money on social programs for the poor then we would have enough money to protect our country and win the war more effectively. Aak! My blood pressure is going up just thinking about it again!
I've read other books that argue biblically that Jesus would probably vote the opposite way, so really, all these books are just finding a way to make Jesus say what they want Him to say. If you're a Christian Republican, read this book. If you're a Christian Democrat, read God's Politics by Jim Wallis (which, while being on the liberal side, does a better job of giving a nonpartisan examination of the issues).

18 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wow. This is indescribably misleading., July 21, 2008

By 

J. SHARP (Alabama - United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How Would Jesus Vote?: A Christian Perspective on the Issues (Hardcover)

I am an evangelical Christian. I am conservative on many social issues (especially abortion), moderate on most civil liberties and foreign policy, and liberal on a few economic issues. I thought I'd check this book out, based on its claim of nonpartisanship, to see what scriptural wisdom might be applied to political issues that have an element of ambiguity, like entitlement programs or the minimum wage.

Well, there's little help in that regard here. On moral issues, things are pretty clear but whenever there's no scripture to directly back up a claim (some chapters quote no verses to support their position) the authors merely default to a conservative position and try to make it sound like God agrees with them. This is especially true when it comes to economic issues.

I think many honest Christians unconsciously mistake a cultural influence toward conservatism for a scriptural position without really examining it. This book either falls victim to that or takes advantage of it.

How would Jesus vote, according to this book? Straight ticket Republican.