Wednesday, May 05, 2021
Book Review: Liberty For All by Andrew T. Walker
In this thought-provoking and circumspect thesis, Andrew ties together many strands of theological, historical and philosophical thought to making a compelling case that Religious Liberty must truly be for all, because it is the design in which God has created this world and the freedom He has given to humanity to seek His face and know Him, even as we are known. I really appreciated the eschatological basis, the already and not yet, as it tied in both our assurance and our future hope into the importance of religious liberty. We lament at the brokenness around us, yes, but for the joy set before us we utilize every moment to share the good news that there is a King reigning from on high, and He is reconciling all things to Himself.
Perhaps due to book length and the main thesis, this topic was not able to be addressed in fulness, however the main issue I had was the glancing affirmation and approval of Christ-followers pursuing public office and seats of political power. Personally I think there is strong biblical and theological grounds for abstaining from taking office or "running" for office. The author seems to endorse and support Christians taking office, but in my opinion does not seriously ask the questions of "should this even be so, and if not, why not?" However, the overall theme of the book did not detract from but even gave further ground to a claim of not being involved in politics, so perhaps it was simply wisdom (whether Andrew's or the publisher) to not open the can of worms too much.
Overall a great read and I highly recommend to any one who is concerned about the so-called "erosion" of religious liberty in the west. As my previous post mentioned, we often think of America as "the land of the free and defenders of religious liberty" and while that claim certainly has grounds to stand on, the government of Iowa just 100 years ago made it illegal for our brethren to worship God in their own churches, and during covid19 we have all seen how God works even in the midst of the government closing access to buildings. So....let's not be so quick to arbitrarily think America has always had it all together, or to think it is all bad and sinister. Don't throw the baby out with the bathe water, but don't think the tub is the essential thing either. You can get clean a lot of ways.
