| Jesus and Justice: Evangelicals, Race, and American Politics An examination of the rise of political evangelicalism and what it tells us about the relations between religion, race, and politics in America The political motives and actions of evangelical groups are founded upon their conceptions of Jesus Christ, Heltzel contends. He traces the roots of contemporary evangelical politics to the prophetic black Christianity tradition of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the socially engaged evangelical tradition of Carl F. H. Henry. Heltzel shows that the basic tenets of King's and Henry's theologies have led their evangelical heirs toward a prophetic evangelicalism in a shade of blue green--blue symbolizing the tragedy of black suffering in the Americas, and green symbolizing the hope of a prophetic evangelical engagement with poverty, AIDS, and the environment. This fresh theological understanding of evangelical political groups shines new light on the ways evangelicals shape and are shaped by broader American culture. Peter Goodwin Heltzel is assistant professor of theology, New York Theological Seminary, and an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He lives in New York City. |