Politics Archives | Philip Yancey

A Political Tightrope

April 2025

A few weeks ago I posted a note from Eastern Canada: “As believers, help us to understand what is going on in your country with your present government as we try to process it all. The ‘church’ and its leaders are silent! We are so confused as to why no one is speaking up? Can you help us understand?” I soon learned that not everyone is silent. Some 55,000 of you saw that note, and more than 2,000 responded to ...

What Would Shakespeare Think?

October 2024

In 2016, the 400th anniversary year of William Shakespeare’s death, I wrote a blog about Shakespeare and the election. Donald Trump, then a political newcomer, was running against Hillary Clinton, the first female nominee from a major political party. We all know how that turned out. Now, eight years later, I revisit the prescient bard, wondering what insights we might gain on our current political scene. I once made a New Year’s resolution to read all 38 of Shakespeare’s plays ...

The Rise and Fall and Rise of Jimmy Carter

March 2023

Generations who read about Carter only in history books may miss the drama of his meteoric rise to the presidency. He grew up in rural Georgia, in a home without indoor plumbing or electricity, and walked three miles to school and back. His family could have been scripted by Hollywood: his mother did a stint with the Peace Corps in India and his sister Ruth had some renown as a faith healer. And then there was Billy, who hung out ...

Getting Along

November 2022

Grace gets put to the test when we find ourselves confronted with people who are different from us. Do we welcome them and treat them with respect? I think of the people attracted to Jesus: “heretics” (Samaritans), foreigners (a Roman officer), outcasts (prostitutes, tax collectors, the ritually unclean, those with leprosy). Remarkably, Jesus found a way to treat them with dignity and respect without compromising his beliefs or his character. Contrast Jesus’ spirit with what we see in modern politics. ...

Election Year Musings

September 2020

Last year I granted an interview to the Church of Ireland Gazette, a magazine that was trying to interpret US politics for its Irish readers. In view of the coming election, I have revisited that interview, editing the discussion for American readers. The world seems to be becoming increasingly polarized and divided. We are living in a more uncertain world. Is there anything you think the Church needs to say or to be, in order to act with integrity in ...