On the Side of the Angels: Justice, Human Rights, and Kingdom Mission

by Joseph Astley, Benedict Rogers, Joseph D'Souza, et al.

All too often, missions have been narrowly defined as evangelism or at best, extending to practical, physical social action such as medical mission or education. On the Side of the Angels argues that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932805702
• ISBN13: 9781932805703
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Authentic (Print on Demand)
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Excellent read

This book is very well written and stirs a passion inside of me to work ever so closely to bring justice into the world. It is not too long in terms on length, but it has a lot of important material for anyone who is interested in speaking and working against injustice. Great book!

The Kingdom God in Word and Deed

The very phrase "social justice" makes the majority of evangelical pastors and churches turn a deep shade of grey. All they think about is complaints of social gospel preaching, liberalism, and politics. How sadly the western church has fostered a mentality of escapism, complacency, and avoiding the hard questions. The two authors bring an entirely refreshed view of the Kingdom of God as it is lived out amongst the marginalized, the poor, the oppressed and more. Filled with recent (and historical) stories from Apostle Paul, to William Wilberforce, to present day martyrs and advocates this book is one I could not put down. I read it in one day...not because it is a simplistic book. No, far from that. The application of ever page could entail giving of one's own life in persecution and death. But the depth of the message is contagious. It touches the nerves of every Christian who has wanted to see the Church develop a positive, life-changing, activist worldview. This book delivers....and it delivers with such passion (and a great resource in the Appendix) that the reader has no other option but to weigh the personal costs of living these biblical teachings in their daily life. Admittedly, most readers are thousands of miles away from the persecution in Darfur, East Timor, the Middle East, among the Dalits and more. But the authors do not allow that to be an excuse for simple inaction, in fact, they even call us to consider going abroad and unfurling our banners of protest in countries around the world. I know, this sounds like militant marching and political answers to spiritual problems. Yet, dare we say that we should not live out the Sermon on the Mount? Dare we tell the Dalits that we are too busy to care for their caste? Dare we ignore page upon page of Holy Scripture that drives us to care with justice, mercy and humility? All Christians can benefit from every page of this book. Some, who seriously activate each idea may wind up losing their life. But in death, have we not gained all that we hope for? Mainline evangelicals will find much in this book to ignore...but to ignore the teachings is to ignore and compartmentalize the teachings of Jesus into "easy" and "hard." We are called to live a life that is not worthy of this world and taking the "side of the angels" is the strong statement that describes the road that narrow and hard is the way...that leads to life. Especially when it means life for the down-trodden, lost, hurting, slaves, sex-trafficked, and more. I have met pastors in my own town that did not want the word "justice" to ring out from their own pulpit, and sadly these churches are happy to spend every dime and every ounce of energy on luxury, self, and personal gratification. This book is a call to a revolution in thinking. I highly recommend this book alongside the compendium book "Justice, Mercy, and Humility" Tim Chester (ed).