The Ballot and the Bible

How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here

By: Kaitlyn Schiess

Narrated by: Kaitlyn Schiess

"A nuanced look at America's legacy of scriptural language." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

How do Bible passages written thousands of years ago apply to politics today? What can we learn from America's history of using the Bible in politics? How can we converse with people whose views differ from our own?

In The Ballot and the Bible, Kaitlyn Schiess explores these questions and more. She unpacks examples of how Americans have connected the Bible to politics in the past, highlighting times it was applied well and times it was egregiously misused.

Schiess combines American political history and biblical interpretation to help listeners faithfully read Scripture, talk with others about it, and apply it to contemporary political issues—and to their lives. Rather than prescribing what listeners should think about specific hot-button issues, Schiess outlines core biblical themes around power, allegiance, national identity, and more.

Listeners will be encouraged to pursue a biblical basis for their political engagement with compassion and confidence.

©2023 Kaitlyn Schiess (P)2023 eChristian

A must read/listen

I read the kindle version, but getting to listen to Kaitlyn read her own work is 🔥

Humbling by Scripture!

The author’s deep dive into the histrical misuse of passages by dueling parties is both eye opening and humbling. The impact of our culture, circumstances, and biases leads all of us to grave errors in trying to seek self-supporting applications from the Word. A relatively small book that requires (and merits) much time, thought, and discussion. I highly recommend this book to all believers … and some non-believers. WOW!

Thoughtful and Intentional

Kaitlyn presents a thoughtful and Intentional approach to a Christians place in the public and political landscape of the U.S. This is a must read.

A neat and thorough treatise

A neat and thorough treatise on the use & abuse of the church in politics and government.
This book is a relatively short and detailed analysis of the involvement of the church in politics. The author describes how Christians ought to respond to the politics of the day. She goes into the history of the church and the state and in particular the United States. However, she does not tell you which party to support or whom to vote for. She has been both balanced and pragmatic in her conclusions. If you're one of those who believes that the Republican Party is the "Christian" party, she has a lot to say about that. She also makes it clear that neither the Republican nor the Democrat Party is the "go to" party for Christians. She explains how the church ought to be involved in politics- as demonstrated by Dietrich Bonhoeffer or Martin Luther King- and the difference between that sort of involvement and Christian nationalism.
All together an easy read, very informative and highly recommended for all Christians wondering how to apply the Christian worldview to politics.

Insightful Words for Essential Times

This book is not partisan propaganda. It is a faithful engagement of political theology with scripture in its contexts and with the 21st century western political and ecclesial contexts the author and readers find themselves today. Models and hopes for a path forward where scripture and the Christian faith is not flattened to the political language of the present day but rather calls the partisan questions of this age to be reassessed in light of a proper hermeneutic of the kingdom of God. It encourages the reader to become self-aware about whether we are filtering scripture through 21st century standards or filtering our 21st century political landscape through the lens of the entire counsel of God.

Such an insightful and helpful resource

I highly recommend this book anytime but especially this election year. I appreciated the author’s diligent scholarship presented with clarity and humility.

Great to hear it from Schiess!

Overall, loved this book—both in written form and audio. Schiess is a gifted writer, story-teller, and teacher! Fantastic work.

A thoughtful, faithful, & rich dive into scripture

Kaitlyn tackles tough questions by focusing on the content and context of scripture. Rather than packing a book with easy answers and watered down bullet points that are so commonly the norm for books like this today, Kaitlyn is willing to sit in and grapple with the challenging issues we face as Christians today and unpack what the Bible has to say about them. She confronts the hard reality that there often aren't simple answers but offers great encouragement in demonstrating how we are connected to a long history of believers who have grappled with these or other hard questions. Drawing from that history, the content of scripture and the context of scripture, she paints a picture of not WHAT the answers are, but HOW to pursue them faithfully.

nuance

welcomed nuance in a world severely lashing it. helpful historical perspective and context on our current political existence as Christians in America.

Does not keep your attention

I am not sure what I was expecting, but I had to stop after about 2 hours of listening. It is hard to follow, and might be better suited for a Bible study. The author doesn't really seem to get to any particular point. She just kind of rambles on about how the Bible can be used to support both sides of a political argument, which is just stating the obvious. Maybe if I had kept listening she would have gotten there, but too boring to keep on going. I would not recommend.