Escaping the Beast-Politics, Allegiance, and Kingdom

In this book, I will seek to first lay out, in Section 1, a comprehen-sive examination of the scriptural worldview of the kingdom and how that calls us to approach our discipleship and our place in the world. In Section 2, I will consider the role of nations and the politics of the nations and where the kingdom of God stands in those domains. Fi-nally, in Section 3, I will look at the more practical elements of how a Christian community should navigate through the murky waters of worldly politics and specific issues. We will work hard to ensure that Jesus is our guide throughout the journey.

The third section will take the identity that I have attempted to describe and show it lived out in the real world. The first section is like running on a paved trail. The footing is secure and stable. As we move into the second section, we move to a dirt trail cut through a for-est. The route is a bit more winding and less sure than the pavement, but still quite secure and straightforward. By Section 3 we are running through a swamp. The path is not set and the ground is often unsure, but we move forward trying to find our way as best we can. Because the third section is an attempt to apply principles in concrete situa-tions, there is more room to disagree. Each topic broached in Section 3 could be its own book. I have attempted to introduce an approach to each subject without being so brief that it is unhelpful or counterpro-ductive. My goal in that section is not to provide the absolute answer but to show how we might work our way through difficult and thorny topics with a kingdom-minded approach.