A helpful primer through the introductory questions that believers should ask themselves before voting. You can read it in a day or so as it is meant to be a short and sweet survey of the discussion. Platt's aim throughout the book is to hold a "third" way for the Christian; one that recognizes the Lordship of Christ and the inadequacies of voting believing the in "salvation" of another candidate. Repeatedly he wants the reader to understand how Christians can come to different conclusions at the ballot box, and his chapter on biblical clarity vs. practical consequences is extremely helpful in parsing out the reasons why voting cannot be a black and white issue(or perhaps more pointedly, a Red and Blue issue). He writes with patience and clarity against the idea of single-issue voting, which is a feat to his pastoral wisdom and scriptural application.

Less helpful(and I freely admit that this is depending on who you are) is the prescription for determining the choice of your vote, which is oddly the concluding thoughts of the application of the book. Platt asks the reader to make a quadrant of all the significant issues surrounding the candidate and asking the Christian to fill in their opinion on the issues determining biblical clarity and practical consequences. While such a diagram might appear helpful for some, I worry that this allows Christians to rate the importance of Biblical commands in a indivualistic manner (ie. My truth vs. God's truth). While it is true that the bible does not state position policies for a myriad of divisive issues and that Christians can disagree on those particulars, a ranking of biblical clarity by a person's own choice is confusing at best and subjective at worse. Knowing Platt's heart, this is the kind of self-determination that I know he fights against constantly, so it was puzzling to find that here.

I believe the book is great in its first six chapters and its conclusion which leads the reader through a gospel rich and biblically full journey. That alone I believe makes it worth the read. Definitely recommend for those who are looking for a primer on Scripture and understanding the nuance of the vote. ( )