Church Politics

Victor Gold is dismayed and saddened by what has happened to the GOP he respected and supported. The party he joined in the 60s once believed that religion was a personal matter, that the natural environment should be protected, and that George Washington's warning against "foreign entanglements" should be heeded.

On a hot and dusty December day in 1980, the bodies of four American women - three of them Catholic nuns - were pulled from a hastily dug grave in a field outside San Salvador. They had been murdered two nights before by the US-trained El Salvadoran military. News of the killing shocked the American public and set off a decade of debate over Cold War policy in Latin America. The women themselves became symbols and martyrs, shorn of context and background.

The United States - the world's great bastion of freedom - is sliding toward socialism. High-profile bailouts and a stimulus bill have toppled the walls between government and private sectors. Federal control now extends in various ways to education, health care, financial markets, real estate, businesses, and religion. And as out-of-control government spending and debt increase, America is drained of the economic and political strength its people fought for and worked so hard to achieve.

Evangelical Christianity and conservative politics are today seen as inseparable. But when Jimmy Carter, a Democrat and a born-again Christian, won the presidency in 1976, he owed his victory in part to American evangelicals, who responded to his open religiosity and his rejection of the moral bankruptcy of the Nixon Administration. Carter, running as a representative of the New South, articulated a progressive strand of American Christianity that championed liberal ideals, racial equality, and social justice - one that has almost been forgotten since.

Long before he was considered a top prospective presidential candidate for 2012, Governor Tim Pawlenty had already earned legendary status in conservative circles. In his hard-left-leaning home state of Minnesota, the man known as "T-Paw" somehow erased a $4.8-billion budget deficit while simultaneously reforming health care, creating jobs, improving education, and supporting renewable energy reform—all without raising taxes. In Courage to Stand, Pawlenty reveals for the first time how he found the resolve to get the job done.

In Sweet Freedom, Sarah Palin invites you to draw strength and inspiration from 260 meditations based on guiding Biblical verses. You are not alone in your doubts and anxieties - we all bear the burdens of everyday stresses, and for most of us, our concerns spread beyond our selves to our families, communities, and country. But Palin shows that with abiding faith, and by opening ourselves to the truths that have saved mankind for generations, we can thrive - and experience true freedom.

While "missions" used to be the territory of experts and missionary professionals, globalization has made the issues and needs of our world accessible to average Americans. Many American Christians feel overwhelmed by the scope of the brokenness in the world and conclude all they can do is go on with their lives. Others respond by giving and praying, and still others want to do more. What Can I Do shows that global mission is something we all can be part of in tangible ways.

The United States of America was founded by ordinary citizens who willingly sacrificed their lives and fortunes in order to hand down the precious legacy of freedom we enjoy today. In American Patriots, Rick Santorum shares the true-life accounts of 25 unsung heroic men and women from the Revolutionary War era. These citizen patriots fought valiantly and made significant sacrifices to secure our God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - not only for themselves, but also for countless future generations.

Rise of ISIS gives a better understanding of the modern face of terror, and provides an overview of the laws of war and war crimes. These laws differentiate between the guilty and innocent, and explain why the US military and the Israeli Defense Forces are often limited in their defensive measures. The authors’ firsthand experience, including multiple appearances before the Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court at The Hague, along with direct contact battling jihadists during operation Iraqi Freedom lends insight into this important geopolitical issue.

Jay Sekulow - one of America's most influential attorneys - explores the current political landscape in which bureaucracy has taken over our government and provides a practical road map to help take back our personal liberties.

No one has ever been in a position to see the presidents, and the presidency, so intimately, over so many years. They called him in for photo opportunities. They called for comfort. They asked about death and salvation; about sin and forgiveness. At a time when the nation is increasingly split over the place of religion in public life, The Preacher and the Presidents reveals how the world's most powerful men and world's most famous evangelist, Billy Graham, knit faith and politics together.

History's final chapter will be written in Jerusalem. When an Iranian president thunders a murderous threat or an obscure Turkish drunkard has a dream in Mecca or a Jewish couple from Brooklyn lands at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, these events might seem disconnected. But they’re not. In Dateline Jerusalem, CBN News correspondent Chris Mitchell connects the dots and unveils Jerusalem as the epicenter and crossroads of the spiritual, political, and, yes, supernatural worlds. Jerusalem’s powerful draw has always transcended simple economics, military strategy, and religious affiliation.

Does America have a special mission, derived from God, to bring liberty and democracy to the world? How much influence does the Christian right have over U.S. foreign policy? And how should America deal with violent Islamist extremists? Madeleine Albright, the former Secretary of State and best-selling author of Madam Secretary, offers a thoughtful and often surprising look at the role of religion in shaping America's approach to the world.

Was wäre die Moderne ohne Religion? Welche Position nimmt Religion im Gefüge unserer modernen Gesellschaft ein? Ist sie nur ein Anachronismus, der den Wachstumskurs im globalen Wettkampf stört? Nur eine Spielart des Aberglaubens, der man privat gerne nachgehen darf, öffentlich aber bitte verschweigen soll? Dass die christlichen Kirchen hierzulande – auch unabhängig der aktuellen Skandale – ein massives Problem haben, ist kein Geheimnis. Nicht nur der Mitgliederschwund belegt dieses Resonanzproblem.

Black churches in America have long been recognized as the most independent, stable, and dominant institutions in Black communities. Drawing on interviews with more than 1,800 Black clergy in both urban and rural settings, combined with a comprehensive historical overview of seven mainline Black denominations, C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya present an analysis of the Black church as it relates to the history of African Americans and to contemporary Black culture.

If you've wondered why you've generally felt worse rather than better after watching world and national news, here's your answer. At what point are we supposed to resist government—or is there even such a point? Zender's Beyond Politics will at first rock your political boat, but then anchor you to the most peaceful shore imaginable.

Racial Justice and the Catholic Church examines the presence of racism in America from its early history through the Civil Rights Movement and the election of Barack Obama. It also explores how Catholic social teaching has been used - and not used - to promote reconciliation and justice.

God in the White House explores the paradox of Americans' expectation that presidents should simultaneously trumpet their religious views and relationship to God while supporting the separation of church and state. Balmer tells the story of the politicization of religion in the last half of the 20th century, as well as the "religionization" of our politics. He reflects on the implications of this shift, which have reverberated in both our religious and political worlds, and offers a new lens through which to see not only these extraordinary individuals, but also our current political situation.

In The Simple Faith of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, religion journalist and author Christine Wicker establishes that faith was at the heart of everything Roosevelt wanted for the American people. This powerful book is the first in-depth look at how one of America's richest, most patrician presidents became a passionate and beloved champion of the downtrodden - and took the country with him. Those who knew Roosevelt best invariably credited his spiritual faith as the source of his passion for democracy, justice, and equality.

So Help Me God relates the compelling story of Chief Justice Roy Moore, including his controversial Ten Commandments displays, his refusal to obey an unlawful order of a federal court, and why the critical legal and political question of our time is, 'Can the state acknowledge God?'