Book Intro

Greetings to all. My book is expected to be released very soon, possibly the end of this month! I'd like to take this opportunity to share some of the essence of the book. Should Christians keep their religious convictions out of the conversation when approaching the political arena? According to recent surveys, as much as 90% of American evangelical pastors insist the church must not take sides when it comes to politics lest it lose credibility. I submit the church has been losing relevancy precisely because it has refused to take a side in the culture war and, far too often, has even tried to convince itself that some of the "compassionate" positions of the political left actually model Christ's love in action. Unfortunately what we don't know can hurt us. Karl Marx had it exactly backwards; politics do not give birth to "controlling religions". A careful search through history reveals that politics always flow out of religious convictions. In other words, whatever the prevailing religious assumptions of some particular people or time, this will always produce the prevailing statecraft, morals, norms, and will shape the culture. Perhaps one of the most deceptive features of the modern, leftist "Progressive" movement is that it seeks to pass itself off as religious neutral and to insist it is rooted in the latest advances in empirical science coupled with a mission for unshackling humankind from the prejudices of intolerant, Dark Ages dogma, and all of the superstitious insecurities this has given rise to. My book reaches far back into history to thoroughly expose that charade. Not only is leftist ideology steeped in religious dogma from beginning to end, but unmistakably in an essential pagan view that has been the most enslaving in history. My book leaves no doubt that Progressivism's mission is not to advance science but to turn the scientific method on its head; not to unshackle the downtrodden but to destroy the engine of freedom and prosperity impeding its implementation of "Utopia"; not to find new ways to model Christ's compassion, but to snuff out that liberating light He has called us to. Make no mistake, the left's mission is to destroy the church. The important question: how can obedient Christians fulfill Christ's commission if we refuse to engage in this fight, albeit in love? Ever wonder why every position the left takes seems to flow from what looks like an upside down universe, where every assumption seems counterintuitive? The answer is not complicated. Once Truth is rejected, no emotional fervor can salvage degrees of "truth-lite" or stave off the default path to embracing the only remaining possibility---a lie. This is an invitation to Christians to clearly see where the real battle lines are drawn. But it is also an invitation to those on the left who see their universe collapsing around them, to come into the glorious light of Christ's truly liberating gospel. You will not be disappointed.
                                                                Julien Stanford