THE JESUS CANDIDATE:
Political religion in a secular age
By James Paul Lusk
Ekklesia. 134 pages. £9.40 (thejesuscandidate.uk)
ISBN 978 0 993 294 297
The aim of Lusk’s book is to persuade the Christian reader of the biblical foundations of the secular and ‘neutral’ liberal state, and of the dangers of the ‘Christian right’.
For him, ‘The state is a social institution with a particular function – to exercise force on behalf of society as a whole. It is for people and communities, not the state, to decide what is “good”.’ (p.4) Thus the state creates the space in which individuals and associations can each pursue their religion and their understanding of the good life.
