Breaking with tradition, Franklin I. Gamwell's book Politics as a Christian Vocation: Faith and Democracy Today proclaims political activism to be an indispensable duty according to the Christian faith. Similar to being compassionate or helping the needy, this work labels politics as a "common Christian vocation," constituting an essential task for all Christians living in a contemporary democratic system regardless of their specialized vocation. Noting the Great Commandment as the essence of Christian faith and the basis for his discussion, Gamwell uses reason rather than biblically derived principles to proceed in his argument. The author cleverly discredits the political inaction of early Christian thinkers and proposes that their view of politics is not applicable in a political system based on the sovereignty of the people. Further, he describes what a Christian commitment to democracy should look like, employing the controversial issues of abortion, affirmative action, and economic distribution as examples.In the first of six chapters, Gamwell provides a broad overview of classical Christian political thinking. While occasionally referencing Paul, he chooses to focus on St. Augustine in showing that Christian thinkers have traditionally not seen politics as a common Christian vocation. Largely attributing this passivism to the political system these thinkers were forced to operate under and commenting on their lack of futuristic foresight, Gamwell proposes the notion that Christians in a democratic system are not bound to this tradition. In order to complete this assessment, he moves on to a detailed observation of the fundamental principles that must be found in a democratic constitution in chapter two. Gamwell concludes that a democratic constitution must be consistent with the sovereignty of each individual within the nations, which is accomplished predominantly by granting complete religious freedom. Gamwell determines a person's religious belief to be anything that defines the "ultimate of worth for human life" and the "inclusive human purpose" each individual follows and does not limit it to a mere conviction about a higher being or beings. Due to the fact that people will undoubtedly disagree over these religious beliefs, the author proceeds, reason must be the ultimate judge "to which all authority must bow." As a result, only a formative constitution in which all matters are discussed amongst all people in full and free discourse guided by reason is consistent with the sovereignty of all people.In order for Christianity to be consistent with these principles of democracy, Gamwell continues in the following chapters, it too must be validated through reason. If this is not the case, a Christian claim for truth becomes meaningless because "no religious understanding or conviction can be valid simply because some institution or some tradition claims truth for it." Further, Christianity would violate the sovereignty of the people since not all individuals would be able to freely engage in a discussion guided by reason regarding the matter. However, because God reveals Himself to all humans alike, Christianity can indeed be validated through reason by searching for what is common to all human beings. Therefore, Christianity is in tune with the sovereignty of the people according to a formative democratic constitution. Following this argument, Gamwell explores the implications of the Christian faith within a democratic setting.Chapter four describes the relation between justice and the Christian faith. Gamwell argues that all Christians are called to live in a "community of love" in which everyone gives and receives equally to and from all people in a society as a response to God's all-embracing love. This maximal human mutuality allows each person to equally pursue his or her own creativity. The community of love prescribes democracy because it is the only form of government that allows people to follow this divine purpose of general emancipation. Therefore, Gamwell notes, Christianity dictates democracy and politics is indeed a common Christian vocation.Having concluded that politics is a common Christian vocation, Gamwell moves on to engage in a more practical application of his findings. Due to the fact that contemporary political ideologies are predominantly individualistic in nature, the community of love is in stark contrast to them because of its focus on human mutuality. Gamwell explains that neither conservatives nor liberals display a commitment to justice as general empowerment and are therefore not aligned with the Christian faith. Moreover, in the final chapter of his work, Gamwell discusses three examples of contemporary issues in light of his theory. Basing his arguments on the sovereignty of the people and the community of love, he concludes that a prohibition of abortion would violate these statutes. In addition to that, he describes affirmative action to be validated according to his findings. Lastly, Gamwell holds the distribution of wealth in contemporary societies to be unjust and that Christians should seek to reverse these trends.As a professor of divinity at the University of Chicago, this work constitutes Gamwell's third book on democracy and religion. In the author's own words, it is an attempt to "think about the importance of political activity or the exercise of citizenship as an essential aspect of the Christian calling in our time." Further, it is a clear effort to unite modern concepts and ideas, i.e. the reign of reason, with the Christian faith and its principles. In a highly professional and academic manner, Gamwell provides the reader with an incredibly complex argument. Throughout his quest to verify politics as a common Christian vocation, Gamwell finds himself redefining concepts of enormous scale like democracy, religious freedom, and the sovereignty of the people. This discourse about a seemingly narrow subject matter, therefore, extends far beyond the theological field of study, but reaches deep inside political philosophy and epistemology.An individual searching for an enjoyable read in front of the fireplace will find this book discomforting. Turning the pages requires an alert mind and willingness to pay attention to detail. Due to the complexity of Gamwell's argument, the reader must be able to quickly assemble bridges between the various fields of study the author chooses to discuss. This can mostly be accomplished with average toil, but several sections require rereading before these connections can be made. The author uses few analogies and presents his case in predominantly stiff argumentative form which results in a limited flow of reading. Nonetheless, within the framework Gamwell constructs, his argument appears largely coherent and strikingly logical. Consistent with his assertion regarding the supremacy of reason, Gamwell is careful to debunk alternate arguments that critics might present. However, the alert reader cannot help but think that Gamwell's entire framework is rather fragile, and that the core of his argument is too far removed from reality in order to be relevant for daily Christian life.Although his focus is on United States politics, Gamwell seeks to generalize his theory for all democratic systems. Moreover, he even implies that his theory ought to be authoritative for all of Christianity in his debasing of the early thinkers. His goal of inspiring Christians to be more closely engaged in politics is practical in nature, but the majority of the author's argument is based in principles and ideals foreign to actuality. In particular, Gamwell's definition of the community of love and his description of the sovereignty of the people depict this limitation. Both concepts are entirely utopian in nature, but Gamwell takes them and applies them to contemporary politics in his discussion of abortion, affirmative action, and monetary inequalities. The author moves from constructing purely philosophical frameworks into making concrete suggestions regarding actual policy matters. As a result, the reader quickly becomes confused about which concepts are to be viewed as factual and how they can or cannot be applied.Non-traditional Christian readers who appreciate theological discourse based on logic will appreciate Gamwell's use of reason as the sole method of argumentation. His modern perspective might be refreshing to those who find flaws in the Christian tradition handed down over centuries. However, traditional Christians will most likely find this work disturbing. Although Gamwell claims to be writing from a Christian perspective, he makes very few references to the Bible apart from his use of the Great Commandment. Therefore, readers expecting to find a traditional biblical argument will undoubtedly be disappointed. Further, Gamwell's exaltation of reason as the ultimate authority, his depiction of God as a changing being that can be altered through human action, and his rejection of biblical principles compiled by the apostle Paul will come as a surprise to the average Christian reader.In summary, Franklin Gamwell's Politics as a Christian Vocation: Faith and Democracy Today is a complex piece of academic literature that follows reason rather than Christian tradition. Due to the minimal use of biblical references in the work, the title of the book can be misleading for a reader searching for a conservative treatment of the subject. Nonetheless, Gamwell presents his work in excellent and sophisticated written form, making it appealing to enthusiasts for elaborate logical arguments. However, Gamwell frequently crosses the line between abstract philosophical concepts and actual reality without altering the applicability of his theory. Consequentially, the reader is left with a vast and complicated framework that gives a rather impractical answer to a practical question.