Kingdoms in Conflict [Paperback]

Charles Colson (Author), Ellen Vaughn (Author), Charles W. Colson (Author), Ellen Santilli Vaughn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 16, 1989

' ...Definitely worth reading' -Billy Graham 'Colson's criticisms of the Religious Right are especially noteworthy...Colson's warnings echo a concern that religious conservatives would be reckless to ignore.' -Richard N. Ostling, Religion Editor, Time 'The timing could hardly be better for an author with a new book.' -Newsweek 'Kingdoms in Conflict speaks with wisdom and 'guts' to the major issues of our day.' -Charles R. Swindoll 'Kingdoms in Conflict is a classic that belongs on every Christian's bookshelf.' -Dr. James C. Dobson 'This was a book waiting for Chuck Colson to write. As no other evangelical author can, Colson brings his political experience, thoroughly changed life, and lucid writing together at just the right time...' -Moody Monthly 'The arguments- church-state, the correct admixture between the two- are familiar grist for controversial mills, but Colson does wonderful theatrical instruction in his book...' - William F. Buckley, Jr. 'In Kingdoms in Conflict Charles W. Colson masterfully weds the two subjects he knows best- politics and Christian faith.' -Russell Chandler 'Kingdoms in Conflict offers a welcomed new insight into an age-old question.' - Jack Anderson 'One cannot be a passive reader of Chuck Colson's Kingdoms in Conflict.' -Mark O. Hatfield

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

" ...Definitely worth reading" -Billy Graham "Colson's criticisms of the Religious Right are especially noteworthy...Colson's warnings echo a concern that religious conservatives would be reckless to ignore." -Richard N. Ostling, Religion Editor, Time "The timing could hardly be better for an author with a new book." -Newsweek "Kingdoms in Conflict speaks with wisdom and "guts" to the major issues of our day." -Charles R. Swindoll "Kingdoms in Conflict is a classic that belongs on every Christian's bookshelf." -Dr. James C. Dobson "This was a book waiting for Chuck Colson to write. As no other evangelical author can, Colson brings his political experience, thoroughly changed life, and lucid writing together at just the right time..." -Moody Monthly "The arguments- church-state, the correct admixture between the two- are familiar grist for controversial mills, but Colson does wonderful theatrical instruction in his book..." - William F. Buckley, Jr. "In Kingdoms in Conflict Charles W. Colson masterfully weds the two subjects he knows best- politics and Christian faith." -Russell Chandler "Kingdoms in Conflict offers a welcomed new insight into an age-old question." - Jack Anderson "One cannot be a passive reader of Chuck Colson's Kingdoms in Conflict." -Mark O. Hatfield

About the Author

Chuck Colson is a popular and widely known author, speaker, and radio commentator. A former presidential aide to Richard Nixon and founder of the international ministry Prison Fellowship, he has written several books that have shaped Christian thinking on a variety of subjects, including Born Again, Loving God, How Now Shall We Live?, The Good Life, and The Faith. His radio broadcast BreakPoint airs daily to two million listeners. In 1993, Colson was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. The one million dollar prize---along with all speaking fees and book royalties---is donated to Prison Fellowship. In 2008, President Bush conferred on him the second highest civilian award of the U.S. government, the Presidential Citizen Medal, for his humanitarian work with Prison Fellowship. He is a graduate of Brown University and George Washington Law School, receiving his juris doctor with honors. He served in the United States Marine Corps, attaining the rank of Captain. He and his wife Patty have three children and five grandchildren. SPANISH BIO: Charles Colson es comentarista, columnista y autor conocido internacionalmente. Es el fundador de Prison Fellowship. Su programa de radio Breakpoint, se trasmite diariamente a dos millones de oyentes. Habiendo sido asesor del presidente Nixon, Colson se convirtio a Cristo antes de ir a la carcel por un cargo relativo a Watergate. En los ultimos treinta y tres anos ha visitado mas de 600 carceles en cuarenta paises y con la ayuda de unos 50, 000 voluntarios., h a llevado a las carceles mas grandes del mundo el programa Prision Fellowship y como reconocimiento a su trabajo recibio en 1993, el prestigioso Galardon Templeton de un million de dolares, por Progreso en la Religion, el cual dono a Prision Fellowship.

Ellen Vaughn is an award-winning author and speaker. Her novels include The Strand and Gideon's Torch, which she coauthored with Chuck Colson. She collaborated with Colson on eight other nonfiction works, including Being the Body, The Body, and Kingdoms in Conflict. Her most recent book is Radical Gratitude. Vaughn speaks frequently at Christian conferences and has been featured at writers' seminars in the United States and Canada. She lives in Virginia with her husband, Lee; daughter, Emily; twins, Walker and Haley; and an enormous dog named after C. S. Lewis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (February 16, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310397715
• ISBN-13: 978-0310397717
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #996,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Striking a thoughtful balance July 17, 2000

By Brad Peters

Format:Paperback

Chuck Colson brings to this book his wealth of experience, passion and intellect. Having lived his life in both "kingdoms" -- the secular state as well as in ministry -- Colson sheds much needed light and balance into the conflict between the role of the church in the world of the state.

What Colson does most strikingly in this work is call for a measured, authentic Christianity by those who most want to affect society for Christ. Is there a role for Christians in government? Colson argues yes. Is goverment the solution to the world's problems? Colson agrues no, or at least not entirely.

Intellectual, yet readable, Kingdoms in Conflict is one of the best books I've ever read. Published in the late 1980's (at the height of the Moral Majority movement) it is still highly relevant to anyone seeking a cogent analysis of American politics today and the part Christians have in it and out of it as we seek to affect our world.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Elaborates on Truth June 28, 2003

By Dr. W. G. Covington, Jr.

Format:Paperback

Colson takes a topic that has been discussed by Christians ever since the disciples questioned Jesus about it when He was in Galilee with them, i.e., the role of God's kingdom and that of man's. Colson contends that the kingdom of God is within a person. It is not an external means of control exercised by political power. In the Epilogue he cites Winston Churchill's last words, "there is no hope." But Colson counters that statement by explaining that spiritual things are not based on the circumstances of this present world.
On the other side of the coin, however, Colson presents specific examples throughout history where Christian have actively been involved in politics and government because of their belief in the eternal, unseen kingdom of God within. Having an awareness of things eternal, while contributing in this life is the balance he is seeking to describe.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking scope, scholarly balance April 12, 2008

By Archimedes2

Format:Paperback

Although not strictly a scholarly work, Colson draws enormous breadth and integrity of expertise into this epochal exposition of the relationship of church to state.

I must confess that it took me 20 years to pick up this book, and that only on a whim. I had no desire to read Colson, having little belief in the value of celebrity or notoriety in lending value to a man's words. Though not a hater of things American, I am not starry-eyed about American mentality, especially when it comes to politics, and rather turned off by the way Americans (and others) confuse the domains of religion and politics, not just on the political right but at all points of the political spectrum. That Colson had been a special advisor to Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal had pretty well put him off my radar.

I could not have been more wrong about him.

This book is the first I have read in which a comprehensive exposition of an appropriate relationship of church to state is laid out. Colson cannot be accused of confusing the two domains, yet he is clear about the valuable relationship between personal, and collective, faith, and public domain politics. A man highly qualified to speak about both, and his education in the school of hard knocks has paid off in spades. Though some reviewers appear to regard the book as a vilification of the religious and political right this is quite unfair -- Colson is balanced in both domains and his writing reveals little pandering to partisan interests. He could equally address a Republican Convention, or a Democrat one, or stand aside and offer telling criticism of both parties. The same balance is evident in his theological writing. I am reminded of the angel leading an army whom Joshua met and asked, "Are you with us or with our enemies?" The angel replied "Neither. I am for the Lord".

As for the book itself, it has an engaging style. The chapters are short, mostly in the form of parables. The first is an account of a fictional American president whose religious zealotry leads the world to the brink of war, a cautionary tale. Other chapters are straight retelling or dramatizations of the lives of men and women who held in their hands the keys to major world events of the 20th Century, retelling in gripping form the rise of the Third Reich, the behavior of the Church in Germany, the weak response of Chamberlaine, slippery dealings in the hallowed halls of American government, murder, redemption and forgiveness in the Phillipines and Northern Ireland, and much more.

The weakest point is a short digression into science and cosmology early in the book, a subject Colson would probably to best to leave untouched in his writing. It's the only blemish I can find on what is otherwise a masterwork.

Although written to the current state of the world 20 years ago, prior to the Fall of the Soviet Union, the Tienamen Square massacre and the First Gulf War, and the rise of globalized Jihadism in its current form, the book is strikingly current and insightful. Perhaps it is because the context of his writing is merely context---he does not write for it, but he draws on that background to write timeless wisdom.

I highly recommend the book not only to Christians but to anyone interested in answers to the unsolvable political and religious conundrums in the world. Although Colson offers few answers beyond Christ, it is perhaps enough to note that the answers he does offer are rock solid, and his book is more of an arrow in a direction than an 'X' marking the spot where treasure is buried.