This book was incredibly informative and clearly written. I had never even considered most of the ideas that are presented in this book and so I am so thankful that I have been able to read it. It has encouraged me to take the dive into civic and political life and has helped me understand how to do that within a Biblical framework.

As someone that often feels too conservative for progressives and too progressive for conservatives, I've struggled to find thoughtful guidance on how to engage the current political climate. This book illustrates how to engage in politics, not as passive observers, but as active participants that allow for nuance in policy decisions and outcomes. This book is specific to how Christians should be engaging in the political sphere and I think the authors are spot on.

I admit that with the stark choices before us again this upcoming November, I was craving guidelines in how I should vote. I get so tired of all the Christian leaders who define morality narrowly, as being mainly centered around abortion and LGBTQ issues or "wokeness." It's like I have to vote for one party and its Candidates, or else I am not pleasing God or on the side of right. I appreciate that this book gives principles in how to engage civilly and gives the basic ideas in how politics is meant to work. We have two stark choices in November. It seems like we have to choose between saving the unborn and biblical sexuality, on one hand, and ending our democracy and ushering in a dark period of anti-Black and immigrant racism and White Christian nationalism, on the other. I feel unable to choose. Maybe re-reading this book before November will help me to choose.

For some time I have followed the And Campaign via Twitter, so I jumped at the opportunity to review the book Compassion (&) Conviction.

Throughout Compassion (&) Conviction, a key theme is that Christians have a responsibility to be engaged in politics and that political engagement is one way in which we can show love to our neighbors and live out Micah 6:8. While emphasizing that Christians should be politically engaged, the authors also emphasize that winning political points must not detract from our Christian witness which is our higher priority. The authors also remind Christians that working with others who might not share the same religious views is a good thing and an opportunity to be "salt and light."

One of the items readers will notice right away is that with their emphasis on and, the authors do an amazing job of treating multiple sides of issues equally. Instead of upholding one political party or side and demonizing the other, careful attention is given to treating each equally. After discussing the positives of a progressive viewpoint, the same attention is given to the positives of a conservative viewpoint before looking at negatives associated with each. Readers are also encouraged that it is important to critique your own political party and reminded that political party must never be placed higher than our allegiance to Christ.

While particularly timely given the current election season, Compassion (&) Conviction is highly recommended for Christians who want to know more about how to be politically engaged in a Christ-honoring way. I particularly enjoy the discussion questions at the end of each chapter and the calls to not just read about politics but to actively engage in the topic with others. These resources make Compassion (&) Conviction an excellent resource for a small group study or as a supplemental text in a college level U.S. Government class.

I received a complementary copy from InterVarsity Press via NetGalley. I was not required to provide a positive review.

"Compassion & Conviction" is a great read for the Christian believer wanting to be more involved in politics and civic engagement. Around 130 pages, the book addresses many topics, including:

- Better to lose a political battle than to compromise your character.

- Be careful of falling into the trap of false binary choices (you have to pick one or the other option or line of thinking presented to you, instead of looking for other options or possibly combining the two choices. i.e., being pro-life and supporting women's health).

- Serving God and being faithful to His Word is always more important than the world's opinion.

- 7 principles to consider when evaluating whether to enter into a political or cultural partnership.

- Importance of Christians being harmless as doves and being wise as serpents.

- 8 guidelines for using effective and faithful communication in politics.

- 4 steps towards racial reconciliation.

- The unbiblical practice of of victim using self-justification to punish and oppress the victimizer.

- Importance of Christians having strong critical thinking skills.

Some of the things I really like about the book:

- While the authors appeared to have either served in or supported the Obama administration, they are very balanced and objective in the shortcomings of both the Democrat and Republican parties. This was a breath of fresh air, especially in today's hyper-partisanship times.

- Covers a variety of issues important to Christians: abortion, racism, immigration, human trafficking, etc. Something that really concerns me is seeing black and white churches focusing mainly on issues that are mainly important to them. While understandable that blacks are more concerned about racism and whites are more concerned about abortion, both issues (along with others) demean humans and must all be addressed!

- Book is well-written, easy to follow and understand, and contains valuable information on engaging the culture.

Will be an excellent future reference. Recommended.