Persuasion 200 | For God and Country? with Kaitlyn Schiess

As if 2020 wasn’t hard enough already, we have yet another hurdle to jump this fall with the upcoming presidential election. We’ve already seen plenty of the usual rhetoric and outrage that has become the norm in partisan politics. Many conversations about the serious issues our nation faces today devolve into petty attacks and sound-bite responses that do little to bring the true change people need in their everyday lives. Even worse, many Christians have either checked out completely or have married their political leanings to a version of Christianity that can leave both impotent in the face of our present troubles. If our faith is to lead in our public engagement efforts, Christians must grow in their approach as well as their critical thinking. Faith and politics mix, but if we’re not careful, it can be a deadly combination for our gospel witness.

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson kick off their fall series called For God and Country. Each episode of the series will tackle an aspect of how faith and politics collide. To get the conversation started, Erin and Hannah host fellow Christ and Pop Culture writer Kaitlyn Schiess. Kaitlyn is a seminary student and bright thinker with a new book releasing September 8 from InterVarsity Press titled The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor. She wrote this book to help fellow Christians recognize the formative power of the political forces all around us and then to help us recover historic Christian practices that shape us in faith so that our political engagement is more effective. Considering the stress most people experience in political conversations, this is one area we could all grow in! Kaitlyn begins by presenting a new way for us to frame the role of politics and them challenges us to keep Christian principles as the gauge that drives our stances on the issues. The conversation covers everything from the dangers of nationalism to the need for grace in working with people with differing political views. Why do we tie faith and politics so tightly together? Why is there so much political division, even between Christians who share so much in common from a faith perspective? Is the language of winning/losing, battle/war the best way to think about politics? How do we understand the deeper forces that govern the dynamics of our political mindset? How do we escape the outrage cycle and be a faithful presence in the middle of discord? Listen in for dialogue on questions like these as we learn to think more clearly about the intersection of faith and politics. Then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook.

This episode of Persuasion is sponsored in part by InterVarsity Press, publisher of Kaitlyn Schiess’s new book, The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor.

Register for a chance to win a copy of The Liturgy of Politics!

InterVarsity is giving away two copies of Kaitlyn’s book to Persuasion listeners! Click here to register by September 24 for your chance to win.

Get 30% off + free shipping from InterVarsity Press!

Order your copy of The Liturgy of Politics from ivpress.com at 30% off plus free shipping with code OFFER20F. Offer valid September 8–30, 2020.

HOSTS

Erin Straza: Web / Twitter
Hannah Anderson: Web / Twitter

PERSUASION PODCAST

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Twitter: @PersuasionCAPC
Instagram: @PersuasionCAPC
Facebook: /Persuasioncapc

PERSUASION 200 RESOURCES & LINKS

Find Kaitlyn Schiess: Web / Twitter @KaitlynSchiess

The Liturgy of Politics by Kaitlyn Schiess (InterVarsity Press 2020)

Did you enjoy this episode of Persuasion? Give these a listen:

Persuasion 162 | Renewed Thinking

Persuasion 160 | Thinking Together

Persuasion 143 | Being a Disruptive Witness, with Alan Noble

Persuasion 76 | Evangelicals Are Having an Identity Crisis

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