If politics were merely electing representatives to government to get these things done, then, yes, I would agree with you that serving the poor and etc. don’t have to be political.

However, I think electing government representatives is only one element of a broader political dimension, which includes interpersonal relationships and our relationship to our neighbor (i.e. politics having as its root “polis”, the city-state, think “our community”).

Not only that but governments tend to marginalize the above groups and worship violence; therefore, often the ancient prophets and the prophets/prophetesses of today largely focus on the tendency toward marginalizing these groups - not only as a critique to transform government (or “the powers”, if you will) but also to glorify God for his provision and favor toward the poor and marginalized and his blessing toward those who make peace.

And, again, I think Daniel Berrigan does a great job of acknowledging these dimensions of the prophetic message and making them relevant for today.

I see what you’re saying, but here’s a thought too:

why does serving the poor, the widow, the orphan, not being greedy or not worshipping the gods of redemptive violence, etc, need to be political in the first place?

Yes, there is certainly a place for all of the above in the political arena, but isn’t it all empty talk if we expect it to be a political discussion (electing leaders who will have the government do these things) without doing it ourselves?

If I am understanding you correctly, you would not approve of a reading of the Prophets that engages current affairs with a partisan agenda.

I, too, would not be interested in such a reading. However, I think there are political readings that transcend partisan politics that can be found in the prophets: serving the needs of the poor, the widow, the orphan, not being greedy, not worshiping the gods of redemptive violence, etc. This reading has little to do with partisan politics and is eternally relevant to the prophetic witness and to the Gospel preached by Jesus Christ.

Thank God! This looks like an interesting book, and I will definitely hunt it down.

And while I am all for social justice being done wherever and whenever it can be, what I don’t want is someone telling me about Ezekiel and then telling me that Ezekiel would vote for a republican or a democrat.

It dates a book almost immediately. Face it, a conservative in France would never even think about taking any of the welfare state programs off the table, but in America, a conservative doesn’t want any put ON the table in the first place. At least for now. So, it automatically takes an overview of the old testament prophets (timeless) and makes them completely of its time. Bad idea for long term marketing, and bad idea for a Biblical commentary.