Charles Colson (1931-2012)

Remembrances

• "God's Man" by Emily Beltz (World Magazine)
• Evangelical Leader Chuck Colson Dead at 80 The infamous convicted Nixon adviser became famous for prison reform, evangelical-Catholic dialogue, and his Christian worldview. Christianity Today 4/21/12.
• The Legacy of Prisoner 23226 Twenty-six years after leaving prison, Charles Colson has become one of America's most significant social reformers. Christianity Today 07/09/01.
• Colson’s Life and Legacy, a National Review symposium. Cal Thomas, George Weigel, Bill Bennett, Charlotte Allen, Tony Perkins, and others remember Chuck Colson. 4/23/12.
• Charles Colson found freedom in prison, by Michael Gerson. Washington Post 4/22/12:

  Many wondered at Chuck’s sudden conversion to Christianity. He seemed to wonder at it himself. He spent each day that followed, for nearly 40 years, dazzled by his own implausible redemption. It is the reason he never hedged or hesitated in describing his relationship with Jesus Christ. Chuck was possessed, not by some cause, but by someone.

• Chuck Colson and American foreign policy, by Will Inboden. Foreign Policy 4/23/12:

  Colson emerged in the 1980s as a leading thinker on Christian participation in politics and policy. His 1989 book Kingdoms in Conflict sought to recover the Augustinian tradition and make it accessible to American evangelicals, who continued to be susceptible to erratic swings between pietistic withdrawal from the world and triumphalist political crusades. Instead Colson argued for a thoughtful participation in politics that sought to achieve proximate goods, while respecting pluralism and not conflating the earthly realm with the eternal realm. . . .

  Indeed, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the State Department offices of International Religious Freedom, Trafficking in Persons, Global Aids Coordinator, Special Envoy for Sudan, and North Korea Human Rights would not exist today without Colson's work in generating support for their creation.

• A Catholic Appreciation of Chuck Colson, Rev. Thomas G. Guarino. First Things "On The Square" 05/01/12.