Book Review: Phil Robertson's "Jesus Politics - How to Win Back the Soul of America"

Photograph of Nelson Books' "Jesus Politics" Book Jacket

Written in 2020, Phil Robertson’s book, Jesus Politics, is a call-to-action for Americans to vote for leaders who will manifest Godly biblical principles and bring the country back to its foundational roots.  Phil passed away in May of this year at the age of 79, having lived a fruitful life despite his early tumultuous years as chronicled in the movie The Blind, released in 2023.  Phil’s faith in Jesus Christ helped to pull him out of the depths of despair and cure him of his addiction to alcohol.  Phil and his family became reality television stars on the A&E series, Duck Dynasty, which ran from 2012 to 2017, and which featured his Duck Commander, their family-operated business that makes products for duck hunters. 

Phil was born in 1946 in Vivian, Louisiana, the 5^th of 7 children, and was raised in very rustic conditions, his family living off the land and raising their own livestock and vegetables. They rarely went into town and tended to their own medical needs using home remedies.  In high school, Phil excelled as an athlete, especially in football and because of this, he received a scholarship to attend Louisiana Tech in Ruston and was later offered a chance at a pro football career which he turned down because it would have interfered with his love of hunting.  Phil completed his master’s degree in education and taught school for a few years.  He later began experimenting with making duck calls and invented his first Duck Commander call in 1972, and shortly thereafter formed his Duck Commander Company.

In this book, Phil is speaking directly to the people about his views about the current state of our country and about his interpretation of the policies of King Jesus Christ in relation to governmental affairs and the responsibility he believes that U.S. citizens have in voting for political leaders who will promote “the policies of the King”.*  These policies were gleaned from Phil’s forty years of biblical study.  He clearly defines the problem, the answer to the problem, and how to put the Kingdom Manifesto into action.  Phil has also studied how the Founding Fathers crafted this country using the principles of Christianity.  Phil peppers his writing with direct quotes from the Bible as well as the Founding Fathers, and shows how our principles have been steadily eroding through the tendency of adopting socialist ideology.

Phil is against gun control because he believes that guns are not the problem.  He states that the real problem is hate and a murderous heart.  If guns were outlawed, the problems would persist as those people, lacking a moral compass, would resort to other methods to murder each other as they did before the invention of guns. 

Phil makes other interesting points in this book about his views on political leaders who are trying to take power away from the people through scare tactics about the environment, policies that promote the genocide of the unborn, and policies that erode traditional family values.  Phil explains that he and his wife, Miss Kay, read the Word of God every day, attend Bible Studies, pray with family and friends, share their faith with everyone and share their bounty with their neighbors and community. 

With the recent brutal assassination of 31-year-old Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative Christian wanting to share his beliefs with college students all over the country and world, Phil’s writings take on even more weight .  His views very much aligned with Charlie’s as they both were basing their beliefs on an in-depth understanding of Biblical principles and Jesus’ life and teachings.  Both wanted to share their beliefs with others.  Phil’s directive to us was to “Live a life worthy of the King by doing good, teaching good, and speaking out against the things that are not good.”*  Phil envisioned a future where our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will look back on us, as their ancestors and remember us as the Re-Founding Fathers and Mothers of our country.

Phil has written many bestselling books including “The Theft of America’s Soul”, “Happy, Happy, Happy”, “I Could Be Wrong, But I Doubt It”, and “UnPHILtered”

*Phil Robertson, Jesus Politics How to Win Back the Soul of America, (Thomas Nelson, 2020)