A New Kind of Conservative [Hardcover]

Dr. Joel C Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 2008

Conservative spokesman, author and pastor Dr. Joel C. Hunter forges a new path with A New Kind of Conservative. Hunter takes a provocative look at how faith and politics have interacted in America, giving civic-minded people a balanced and biblically-based approach to political involvement. The author speaks as a conservative Christian with traditional biblical stands regarding abortion and homosexuality, but expands it to include other biblical concerns, such as the environment, poverty, justice issues, AIDS, etc. This is not the ideology and rhetoric associated with the extreme religious right, but rather a broader look at politics that the Bible would have us address. Hunter shows how religion and politics do not have to be at odds with one another, and offers the information and motivation needed to take responsible action. Can a Christian/biblical world view effectively mesh with postmodern society and secular government? Should Christians be involved in political action and, if so, how? How can Christians more effectively relate and present their faith in the context of contemporary and political society? Readers, regardless of their beliefs, will find this thoughtful, helpful and compelling reading.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Are You a New Kind of Conservative? Conservative spokesman, author and pastor Joel C. Hunter forges a new path with A New Kind of Conservative. Hunter takes a provocative look at how faith and politics have interacted in America, giving civic-minded people a balanced and biblically-based approach to political involvement. The author speaks as a conservative Christian with traditional biblical stands regarding abortion and homosexuality, but expands it to include other biblical concerns, such as the environment, poverty, justice issues and AIDS. This is not the ideology and rhetoric associated with the Religious Right, but rather a broader look at politics that the Bible would have us address. Hunter shows how religion and politics do not have to be at odds with one another and offers the information and motivation needed to take responsible action.

Read this book and underline portions of it, and then quietly think about politics with the mind, love and concerns of Christ. Learn to see issues through a biblical worldview and then…get your sword out and, with Luther, stand in the places “where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved.”
—STEVE BROWN
Author, Teacher and Key Life Network Radio Host

Joel Hunter remains firmly conservative in his theology, but he believes that the Bible also calls us to be a voice for the poor and to care for creation. A New Kind of Conservative represents this emerging centrist evangelical political movement.
—RONALD J. SIDER
President, Evangelicals for Social Action

About the Author

DR. JOEL C. HUNTER is senior pastor of Northland, A Distributed Church, in Longwood, Florida. Each weekend, approximately 12,000 people worship together in real time at multiple distributed sites throughout central Florida and at hundreds of smaller sites worldwide via the Internet. Dr. Hunter has become an internationally known spokesperson for compassion issues outlined in Scripture. He has a Bachelor of Science in education (history and government) from Ohio University, a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry in culture and personality from Christian Theological Seminary, and an honorary Doctor of Humanities from Belhaven College. He serves on the board of directors of six organizations, including the National Association of Evangelicals.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Regal (January 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830745335
• ISBN-13: 978-0830745333
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,600,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New direction and new hope to disenfranchised evangelicals, June 12, 2009

By 

James H. Boyd (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A New Kind of Conservative (Hardcover)

On the surface, it seems like a dark time for the conservative movement. The Republican party is imploding and shows little hope of making a real comeback. Many of the "old guard" leaders of the Christian right have either died (Jerry Falwell and D. James Kennedy) or have suffered from seriously diminished credibility (Pat Robertson and James Dobson). Yet from the shadows, Florida megachurch pastor Dr. Joel Hunter issues a vital clarion call which my be just the answer they need.

In his insightful book "A New Kind of Conservative," Hunter calls for the conservative Christian community to rethink the political tactics that have defined it in recent decades. While maintaining the traditional conservative views on issues such as abortion and gay marriage, he rightfully says that the church must expand its thinking to include issues such as poverty, justice and the environment.

As we read further, it becomes obvious that Hunter has his finger on an important pulse. He examines how numerous religious activist groups on both the left and right have ultimately failed to produce lasting change. He further exhorts evangelicals not to fear those with whom they disagree, and to seriously think about issues rather than to simply react out of emotion.

An especially provocative section is the "Pilate Process" outlined in chapters seven and eight. Here Hunter uses the trial of Jesus to show how the various parties involved were so focused on both religion (the angry mob) and politics (the cowardly Pilate) that both sides missed the larger picture. In contrast, "Jesus quietly and calmly told the truth when under fire. The truth was His strength. He did not need any other justification."

The book also contains a very helpful "FAQ" section in which Hunter thoughtfully addresses such "hot-button" issues as church-state relations, Just War theory and whether or not a Christian should support a non-Christian candidate. His answers may surprise some, but they always provide food for thought. Even the concluding "Recommended Reading" section contains a very balanced selection of works from both the right (David Barton, Richard John Neuhaus) and the left (Ron Sider, Jim Wallis).

One need not agree with all of Hunter's ideas to appreciate his refreshingly civil approach to faith and politics. Seeking to expand the conservative base without compromising key principles is not an easy task, but he does a masterful job. Most of all, he always come back to the fact that God is ultimately in control, and that politics is not the only avenue through which believers can make an impact: "Live a life of Christian integrity and service-in other words, `vote with your life'-and you will change the world." Amen, Pastor.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommend to Christian Studies and politics collections alike., May 6, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A New Kind of Conservative (Hardcover)

Not speaking of the traditional religious right of politics, pastor Dr. Joel C. Hunter preaches a new brand of politics in his book "A New Kind of Conservative". Religion and Politics have been intertwining constantly in recent years, and Hunter takes a new stance widening the scope of the bible on politics. While he shares the typical conservative viewpoints on topics such as abortion and homosexuality, he brings focus to topics like the environmental, justice, and social welfare. Highly recommend to Christian Studies and politics collections alike.

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joel Hunter and Rick Warren-"New Generation" of Evangelical Leaders, January 25, 2008

By 

R. ANDRESCIK - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A New Kind of Conservative (Hardcover)

Quote from PBS' NOW program:

"The new generation of evangelical leaders is best symbolized by two well known pastors. One is Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church in California, who was the author of The Purpose Driven Life, a best selling book about spiritual matters. And the other is Joel Hunter, who is a pastor of a church in Florida, who has also written books about religion and politics.

"And both of them have a very different style. To them the word of God applies to all aspects of life and not just to the conservative social issues, where, in fact, they are quite conservative. But they believe that the church ought to be speaking out on things like AIDS in Africa and ought to be speaking out on economic questions and ought to be urging Christians to be good stewards of the environment. There's a stylistic difference. These are individuals who grew up in a world where evangelicals were active in politics. They didn't have to be brought to that idea, but their idea of being a good citizen and being active in politics is broader, and it's less confrontational and more cooperative.

"These are gentlemen that would like to see evangelicals cooperating not just with each other, but with other religious communities and even with people who don't necessarily share their faith in order to achieve certain goals through the political process. So this generation has a different style and a different set of priorities and a much broader agenda than the leaders that preceded them."