"Make no mistake about it: Christianity is resistance, its character indelibly marked by opposition to political powers that undermine the biblical values of peace and liberation," writes Michael G. Long, editor of this paperback and associate professor of religious studies and peace and conflict studies at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania. Christianity is resistant to economic powers that display contempt for the justice of God and to religious powers that would silence the faithful. The essays and prayers on these pages are organized into three sections:

  • Jesus and The Ways of Resistance
  • Prayers and Possibilities For Christian Resistance Today
  • Ordinary Christians, Extraordinary Hope

Jeff Bach's essay outlines Christian resistance in the United States from the early work of the Quakers to the contemporary protests against consumerism and for eco-justice. Robert Goizueta writes about the ethical challenges of "Resisting the Frontier, Meeting at the Border." A fitting complementary piece is a prayer by Samuel Wells titled "Give Us the Joy of Hospitality":

Boundless God,
in the infant Jesus you were a refugee
and among your own people you had no
place to rest your head.

We pray for those who come to this land
looking over their shoulder,
searching for safety, or protection, or the
ability to support their households;
and we pray for those who find in this
nation's people, ideals, and history
an inspiration for their own quest, their
own vision, and their own hope.

Give us the discipline and joy of hospitality,
that we might see in the stranger both a
reflection of our own pilgrim soul,
and an incarnation of your promise to be
present in the least and the lost.

Help us to know when to open our homes,
our hearts, our wallets, and our lives
to make room for the diverse and
challenging ways you come among us.

And in all things make us ready to meet
you,
when the moment comes when we are no
longer at home
but stand at your door, begging to be your
guest.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen."

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