Votewise

General Election?

VOTEWISE
By Nick Spencer
SPCK. 100 pages
ISBN 0 281 05683 8

Were you one of only 59% of the electorate who voted in 2001? Do you intend to vote in May's general election?

This short and readable book assumes that Christians are right to be concerned about increasing voter apathy not least because 'democracy implies individual accountability before God', and sets out to help us 'engage more confidently in the election and in subsequent political debates'. As the granddaughter of a suffragette and an elected politician, I can only applaud such aims! More seriously, this book does well in encouraging the thinking Christian to turn his thoughtfulness towards the pressing political issues of today.

Nick Spencer does not tell the reader who to vote for or even describe 'that mythical beast, the Christian Political Party'. What he does do, in eight short chapters on such subjects as asylum, transport, criminal justice and healthcare, is to helpfully sketch out the main issues of today and then look to the wisdom of the Bible. Each chapter also lists publications and websites for further engagement.

So read this book, lend it to non-Christian friends to provoke discussion - and don't forget to vote!

Cllr. Sarah Creedy,
Guildford

© Evangelicals Now - March 2005
Please consider supporting this ministry by subscribing.

• Request Free Sample

Main Articles

• Why I resigned from the BBC
  Antony Pitts, Senior Producer from BBC Radio 3, explains
• The Commentary
  Hope I die before I get old?
• They believed God!
  L'Abri 50 years on
• Alien at home 3
  What's good about non-Christian parents?
• Bribery and corruption
  Sir Fred looks at a worldwide phenomenon
• Give her a break!
  A Christian family helps a wayward niece
• Demonstrating what?
  As Easter approaches, Bob Horn asks: 'What does the apostle Paul teach about the cross?'
• Foxed for a witness? ... try hunting
  As fox hunting is banned, Phil Sampson gives a perspective on the issue
• Monthly media and arts column
  Art behind the headlines in Turkey and Iran
• Monthly youth leaders column
  Keeping ahead of the game
• Letter from America
  A hug says it all
• The Music Exchange
  The last trumpet
• The Third Degree
  The big 'seven five' - UCCF's best year ever!
• A brother indeed
  An interview with Brother Andrew, reflecting on 50 years of his ministry

Other articles

• Assessing Europe's 'headscarf law' debates
• Vera Drake
• Votewise
• Where is God when things go wrong?
• The best of Sixpence None The Richer
• Dying thoughts
• Straw dogs - Thoughts on human and other animals
• Evil and the Cross
• Deaf perspectives - Challenging Dominant Christian Thought Conference papers from Deaf Christian Link UK and The London School of Theology
• Peace, toleration and decay
• The essence of family
• Understanding Islamic terrorism
• The parables of Jesus
• The NIV/Message Parallel Bible
• Hope, respect and trust - valuing these three
• The case for traditional Protestantism
• The Ultimate Christian Library DVD
• An iron pillar - the life and times of William Romaine
• Counsellors & Counselling
• David and Goliath - (and three other 3D childrens books)