Adding Cross to Crown: The Political Significance of Christ's Passion

by Mark A. Noll, James D. Bratt, Max L. Stackhouse

Mark Noll explores what difference it might make "for Christians to concentrate on the person and work of Christ when they think about the nature of politics or when they engage in political activity." Noll concludes that the difference could be great indeed. He believes that seasoning images of Christ's kingly rule with images of his suffering on the cross - reminding us that we are only sinners saved by grace - could produce a Christian politics characterized by humility and moderation. "A Christian politics that forgets the cross," Noll writes, "a Christian politics that assumes a godlike stance toward the world, is a Christian politics that has abandoned Christ."
Noll offered these thought-provoking comments in the inaugural Kuyper Lecture, an annual forum on religion and public life sponsored by the Center for Public Justice. Noll's essay and the theologically and historically informed responses of James Bratt, Max Stackhouse, and James Skillen provide an excellent starting point for exploring the proper relationship of cross to crown in Christian politics.

Genres: Theology

95 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1996

About the author

Mark A. Noll (born 1946), Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, is a progressive evangelical Christian scholar. In 2005, Noll was named by Time Magazine as one of the twenty-five most influential evangelicals in America. Noll is a prolific author and many of his books have earned considerable acclaim within the academic community. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind , a book about the anti-intellectual tendencies within the American evangelical movement, was featured in a cover story in the popular American literary and cultural magazine, Atlantic Monthly. He was awarded a National Humanities Medal in the Oval Office by President George W. Bush in 2006.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eerily prophetic of evangelicalism in light of the 2016 and 2020 elections. This is not exactly a book. It's a few lectures that Mark gave with three critical responses and engagements with his argument. Noll's basic argument is that Christians have forgotten the lessons of the cross. They are more concerned with winning and conquering than being faithful. It's a shame that his cry was ignored.

This is worth reading if you can find a cheap copy. The responses are fair and pushback well in some weaker areas of the argument.

[Clara Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a hard read. Noll's thesis, as I understand him, is that Christian's involvement in politics takes one of two points of view. Either one starts from creation or from the cross point of viw. The creation point of view says Christian are to reclaim society for God (Christian Coalition). The cross point of view is the one where the Christian is to influence society by following Christ's example of a suffering servant. Noll did not explain just how this was to be done except to say that Christians are not to boycott businesses that engage in anti-Christian behavior. Noll and the three responses quoted a lot from Abraham Kyper. This book was a good read for someone interested in politic and who are a reflective thinker.