Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life [SIGNED]

Chaput, Charles J., Archbishop

Published by Doubleday, New York, 2008

About this Item

As new condition silver gray boards with a black spine and gold spine lettering contained in an as new condition non price-clipped color illustrated dust jacket. Includes Author Dedication; Preliminary Page Quotes; Afterword: Some Final Thoughts; Acknowledgments; and Notes. Signed and inscribed by the author with black ink on the full title page. "Few topics in recent years have ignited as much public debate as the balance between religion and politics. Does religious thought have any place in political discourse? Do religious believers have the right to turn their values into political action? What does it truly mean to have a separation of church and state? The very heart of these important question is here addressed by one of the leading voices on the topic, Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver. While American society has ample room for believers and nonbelievers alike, Chaput argues, our public life must be considered within the context of its Christian roots. American democracy does not ask its citizens to put aside their deeply held moral and religious beliefs for the sake of public policy. In fact, it REQUIRES exactly the opposite. As the nation's founders knew very well, people are fallible. The majority of voters, as history has shown again and again, can be uninformed, misinformed, biased, or simply wrong. Thus, to survive, American democracy depends on an engaged citizenry - people of character, including religious believers, fighting for their beliefs in the public square, respectfully but vigorously and without apology. Anything less is bad citizenship and a form of theft from the nation's health. Or as the author suggests: Good manners are not an excuse for political cowardice. American Catholics and other persons of good heart are part of a struggle for our nation's future, says Charles J. Chaput. Our choices, including our political choices, matter. Catholics need to take an active, vocal, and morally consistent role in public debate. We can't claim to personally believe in the sanctity of the human person and then act in our public policies as if we don't. We can't separate our private convictions from our public actions without diminishing both. In the worlds of the author, "How we act works backward on our convictions, making them stronger or smothering them under a snowfall of alibis." Vivid, provocative, clear, and compelling, Render Unto Caesar is a call to American Catholics to serve the highest ideals of their nation by first living their Catholic faith deeply, authentically." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap. Archbishop of Denver, is a Capuchin Franciscan and a former member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He lives in Denver, Colorado. He is the author, previously, of Living the Catholic Faith: Rediscovering the Basics. "At a time when the 'faith and values' vote has never been more important, Archbishop Charles Chaput deftly explores the intersection of morality, reason, and politics. This isn't just a book for Catholics, but for anyone who cares about the state of America's soul - and how that concern might shape the 2008 elections." - John L. Allen, Jr. NCR and CNN Senior Vatican Correspondent.

Seller Inventory # 005882

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life [SIGNED]
• Publisher: Doubleday, New York
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: As New
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Signed and Inscribed