Overview

America's political landscape is experiencing dangerous polarization and fragmentation, with the extremes pulling the country apart. Voices on the left and right clash over different worldviews, definitions of America, and what it means to be an American citizen. The levels of incivility and hostility lead some to invoke the language of a cold civil war or even a looming civil war: one that could split the country in two. Is there any way to step back from this dangerous precipice? Political philosopher Jim Belcher shows that this is not merely a binary opposition between conservativism on the right and liberalism on the left, but also between conflicting visions of order and freedom on both sides. Through his unique quadrant framework, Belcher traces the people and movements in each position, examines their underlying narratives, and articulates their respective contributions and dangers. This quadrant framework not only reveals how polarization divides us but also shows us how to move beyond the right-left stalemate. At the core of the competing visions are the seeds of a new vital center, a robust and surprising model that has the ability to transcend political tribalism and bring America back together again before it is too late.

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"""As the current pastor of Godspeak Church in Thousand Oaks, California, and the former mayor of the City of Thousand Oaks, I have always viewed my political opponents not as my enemy but as an opportunity. I groped in the darkness to understand how to apply civility in the political arena. Having read Jim Belcher's book Cold Civil War, I now possess a clear understanding of what I longed for but could never fully articulate. American Christianity has abandoned their presence in the public square because politics for most is simply a blood sport. Jim Belcher's book gives a clear road map back to our needed participation in the public square. Civility is the key and wisdom is our strength. I am so grateful personally for this timely work and rejoice wholeheartedly in endorsing it."" -- Rob McCoy, senior pastor of Godspeak Church and former mayor of Thousand Oaks, California"

As American politics becomes more polarized and as more areas of life become politicized, it starts to feel like there's no escape. But if there's a way out of this situation--where politics is increasingly extremist, defamatory, and conspiratorial--surely it's not going to come by just picking a side in the culture wars and trying to impose our own political and moral vision. Surely we need to better understand where we've all gone wrong. For anyone hoping for a way out of the current political mess, Jim Belcher's Cold Civil War is a must-read, and it's clearly the product of the author's many years of curiosity about and careful consideration of diverse moral and political views. Belcher offers a new way of classifying political orientations. He argues that the four main political orientations act as countervailing forces that strengthen the country when in their more centrist forms but tear the country apart in their more extreme forms. The way forward isn't to abandon our ideologies entirely or for us all to agree with one another, but the country does need to move toward the 'vital center.' And Belcher offers a vision of how to do so. --Bradley Campbell, professor of sociology at California State University Los Angeles and coauthor of The Rise of Victimhood Culture

Author Information

Jim Belcher (PhD, Georgetown University) is a political philosopher, researcher, and writer. He previously served as president of Providence Christian College in Pasadena, California, and was the founding lead pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California. He is the author of In Search of Deep Faith and Deep Church, which won a 2010 Christianity Today Book Award in church/pastoral leadership.

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