JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 23, 2014 — A new book by Hunter Baker, associate provost and dean of instruction at Union University, examines the involvement of the church in politics.
“The System Has a Soul: Essays on Christianity, Liberty, and Political Life,” published by Christian’s Library Press, is a collection that sprang from a series of lectures Baker gave at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Baker said often when Christians get involved in politics, they do it in a ham-fisted, unhelpful way.
“My life mission is to participate productively in politics as a Christian,” Baker said.
Baker said he is interested in the right of Christians to be involved in business, culture and politics – three areas that make up a vast machine.
“The machine needs a conscience,” Baker said. “It needs a soul.”
Baker said the church should be that soul.
“The System Has a Soul” is Baker’s third book. His first book, “The End of Secularism,” addresses the problems and misunderstandings of secularism. His second book, “Political Thought: A Student’s Guide,” discusses how to fruitfully consider and discuss politics.
In his latest book, Baker looks at the place of the church in the political system.
“Some day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess,” Baker said. “But that will not happen because we created the perfect political coalition or constructed an ingenious public policy.”
It is the responsibility of the church to urge the state to do the good work God has entrusted to it, Baker said.
“The church should help the state when it is right and call it to righteousness when it is wrong,” he said.
Baker said he became interested in politics as a child because of the Cold War and became a Christian while attending Florida State University.
In addition to his administrative roles, Baker is also a political science professor at Union. He said he mainly addresses topics related to religion and politics and hopes to write more books in the future
“The System Has a Soul” is available at LifeWay Christian Stores and online retailers such as Amazon.com.