5 comments about Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling.

1. I also am studying the Mormons. Should I venture to say - studying the way God has provided a candle accross a night football field.
   
   Neuroplaticity - brain change from environment input. Brain grey/white thickness, hippocamus reshape/theta(memory - locations, scenes, color, smells, sounds), two stage memories ("visions"), pattern recognition (visions-imprint/representations)... Being a neural engineer putting probes in the ventral stream (cortex), getting image/time correlation through V1->V4. Lay speak- how does sight/sound get understood/retained?
   
   My thinking is Joeseph was on a very fast track. A lot of large stuff (Palmyra canal/ambitious family, Harmony, Harris etc., etc.) No societal concerns(read rouge?) being in poverty,but with extensivly developed genetic brain (6 generations?). I think God, please excuse the familiarity, replaced the distant candel with a spotlight strapped to his head, and used him until Joeseph burned out. He lost Emma, sad. God appears to have provided 30 vision channels, thick copper wires to Joeseph, with vision dumps.
   
   These concepts are overwhelming, even I hae a very hard time accepting this, and jumping off this cliff, letting God catch me in the responsibility net. 10 million mormons with priesthood responsibile for saving 5 billion Chinese, Hindus etc, I think I am quite comfy in my no responsibility 1 hour a week protesteant world. I can see why God cracked open the door to this lightning rod man... :)



2. Excellent book. I have read it in its entirety. It tells the story of a human being, with all the foibles and weaknesses that entails, who was learning to lead people in religion.
   
   The wise reader will be able to tell this is a far more even-handed and objective study of Smith's background than books such as F. Brodie's "No man knows my history" and those books with sensational titles that were written more just to get us to buy them than to to present research as objectively as possible.
   
   If you want to know the good and negative to Smith's background in tremendous detail (the book is thick), this is the book to read. If you want to read something that supports what you have already concluded, positive or negative, you'll want to choose some other book.



3. Bushman is no doubt an historian with enormous credibility.
   However, his book is for "Mormons in denial," or those folks who wanna feel like they're getting a scholarly scoop on this complex man-- who wanna feel like if this book sits on their shelf or even if they crack it and read it, that they've defended their faith.
   
   If you wanna know the REAL story of Joseph Smith Jr, who he was, what he REALLY did especially in those crucial early years, you MUST read An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant H. Palmer, and Michael Quinn's masterwork, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.



4. This book provides a view of Joseph Smith that helps the reader understand him as a person, his struggles and his goals. As with the prophets of the Bible, he had foibles and overcame problems in his personal as well as his professional life. We felt that the explanations were sufficiently helpful that we purchased this copy to give to a relative.



5. Dr. Richard Bushman is to be commended for writing one of the best, most balanced biographies of perhaps the most controversial man in American history. The fact that Mormon Mullahs and rabidly hateful Mormon detractors both dislike this book sez something good. Dr. Bushman's work is as objective as possible without the polemics, charactor assassinations, deifications, etc. that are found in other works. For this, Dr. Bushman deserves 5 stars and the congratulations of all open minded persons.
   
   I started reading history at quite an early age, and Mormon history was always one of my topics of fascination. I remember Joseph Fielding Smith, as Church Historian, wrote a book entitled "Essentials In Church History", and other titles as well. I was surprised, even as a newly returned missionary, at the excessively defensive posture taken in these books. Further, I read more controversial books from the Mormon perspective, including the hate pieces written by Sandra and Gerald Tanner, as well as the disingenuous Brodie. None of these rang of truth or were very satisfying. This book does ring of truth largely because Dr. Bushman presents the cold hard facts and lets the reader come to his/her own conslusions.
   
   Dr. Bushman does not confuse Smith family history with Church history, one of the bigger mistakes made in Church sponsored works. Church Historians often were members of the Smith family. Dr. Bushman professionally steps back and looks at Joseph Smith as a man, which to me makes him much more remarkable than a person to be deified.
   
   This book has much to make Mormon Mullahs uncomfortable. Certainly, Joseph Smith Senior's inability to provide for the family because of drunkeness answers many questions not previously answered, let alone addressed. The folk magic episodes, the temper, the plural wives, etc, are not ignored. For that reason, I wonder how some Mormon critics reviewing this book can honestly charge that Dr. Bushman is sweeping controversial matters under the rug. Unless they are reading documents produced by Mark Hoffman, I don't think there is any controversy regarding Joseph Smith that Dr. Bushman doesn't address in a forthright and honest manner. If there is, they should articulate such things instead of only alluding to the "whitewash" by Dr. Bushman.
   
   During the 1940's, Fawn Brodie was given access to Church Archives by the Church hierarchy because she represented she would be writing a faithful biography of Joseph Smith. Instead, she made her fame and fortune at Joseph's expense by denouncing him as a sex addict and charlatan/fraud. She used very questionable/flimsy material to support these conclusions...she frankly was quite dishonest in her conclusions. It was no surprise that Brodie was slammed by fellow historians who previously had applauded her assasination of Joseph Smith when she tried the same tactics on Thomas Jefferson.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone for the integrity of Dr. Bushman's writings, warts and all.

5 comments about Preaching Life.

1. The author describes how difficult and outmoded God was during the early 1970s, when she was in college. Everything was tried as a substitute, at the same time some others were embracing Christianity with a vigor not found since far earlier times. The contrast is sharp between the un-churched and individuals who are "Born Again." Rev. Taylor went on to say how others during or since have been so thoroughly discouraged by their belief in God and allegiance to Church that they may never return. Others had their faiths restored, rebuilt by new experiences that showed what God was rather than wasn't.
   
   An important element introduced early on in the book pertains to Rev. Taylor's quoting of Martin Luther's perspective relative to the commonality of vocation as a result of our Christian baptism. What each of does in our lives is our "office" or function, so that there is no higher or lower position of laity to clergy, it is simply a matter of what one does for a living in the context of living out their Christian faith. Also, it was an important distinction to make in explaining how we can discern what God's will for us is personally: "Whatever makes us happy, provided that we continue to belong to God."
   
   She describes that the preaching experience is a three-fold arrangement within a congregation. The congregation grants authority to the minister to address their spiritual needs. The minister listens to God's leanings for the message, and God conveys what message is desirable to be conveyed. The author uses the analogy of Cyrano de Bergerac to illustrate the role of representing the sentiments of one party (the congregation) to God in the balcony, then the minister takes God's message back to the party that he represents. It is a perfect arrangement.
   
   Three of the eleven Sermon examples:
   In the sermon "One Step at a Time," her conversion experience in college was very realistic and believable. The description of her experience, "giving herself to Christ," despite her half hearted efforts, was very impressive. The manner in which she described her acceptance of Jesus into her life was simply beautiful. The beauty of her sermons is the straight forward manner in which she expresses truth as she understands it.
   
   Rev. Taylor's sermon on the "Good Samaritan" was told very believably and with an understanding reasoning, not moralizing. When the lawyer in the story asks Jesus "who is my neighbor," Jesus asks the lawyer which one of the three passers-by showed the Samaritan neighborliness? The lawyer answered that the person who showed mercy to the Samaritan was most like a neighbor. Jesus said, then do as the neighbor did. Simply perform mercy or justice to whomever you encounter and this will bring you eternal life. What a simple and direct message she is able to make by reiterating what Jesus taught at the time, and does so once again through her uniquely simple message.
   
   She tells a great story with insight and understanding of the "Rich, Young Man" who asks Jesus how he can gain the Kingdom of Heaven. Rev. Taylor explains that the man had assumed that Jesus would tell what he could do that would make a difference to other people, that was achievable, so that Heaven too could be his due to his great wealth. Jesus causes the man to actually see what gaining Heaven requires, giving up everything that gives him security and the sense of power to affect people's lives. This is what the man could not do when Jesus posed the question. I was disappointed at the conclusion of the sermon. Rev. Taylor said that for us to have done any better than the "rich, young man" is impossible. However, it is not impossible for God to do what is impossible for us. I thought for sure that she would give us something more than a riddle at the end. This presumably meant that God could untie the binds that keep us in bondage - true - but we need to be aware of what binds us so that it can be released by us consciously. It appears difficult to accept that God can take from us what we need to give up so that we can have eternal life. This removes our role in giving it; removes our role in making the transition from one state to a more enlightened one.
   
   I find Barbara Brown Taylor's writing and sermon style to be very refreshing. She offers plenty of study of the scriptural subjects that she tackles. It is with new lenses looking at old scriptural questions that she teaches so refreshingly. No wonder she is so popular a teacher, today.



2. Barbara Brown Taylor offers a book here that is a wonderful and moving read. The book takes the form of two parts, each of which offers insight and spiritual direction to aspiring clergy, clergy, and laypeople alike. The first half of the book is a journey through the growth of the author's faith. She speaks of her quest for God that developed from childhood that led to a variety of churches and experiences through adolescence and young adulthood. This journey demonstrates the struggle we all have to come to know God, and the imperfect path which we all travel in order to arrive at a relationship with God. In the process, though, she illustrates tools and elements of the journey which are important to all the faithful. This "everyperson" quality of the book shows the average reader that a preacher is as human as those who sit in the pews on a Sunday morning. For the professional or those interested in preaching, it gives insight to the necessities involved in preparing a sermon on Sunday mornings, and the importance of our own faith stories in preparing us to live as preachers. The second half of the book is a collection of sermons from the author. These also have purpose that can offer spiritual direction to readers no matter if they are in the pews or in the pulpit. For the people in the pews, they are an excellent source of understanding the scriptures that they are written on. The author often acknowledges the difficulty in relating to the words of the Bible in these sermons, but the plain-spoken way in which they are offered give them the ability to bring those words alive for the modern audience. For the ones in the pulpit, it demonstrates a style of preaching that can be most effective in presenting the word of God to a wide variety of people at very different stops on the type of journey she details in the first half of the book. I would encourage anyone who is on their own spiritual journey to read this book, and especially those who are preparing to or filling a pulpit in a church. The vision of faith from both sides of the preaching equation is of great benefit to all.



3. There is never any doubt for ten years since I first heard this lady Teacher-Preacher, this one-of-a-kind, Barbara Brown Taylor has sustained my interest! After hearing her first in Lectionary Homiletics Conference in-between Joanna Adams and Fred Craddock, I recall taking a risk to ask her to autograph one of her books. She proved to be a gracious listener. After exchanging E-mails about our mutual friend John Claypool, she expressed her thanks.
   
   Dr Craddock gives her one of his rare accolades that she has the capacity to "sit on her own shoulder and report on what she sees and hears herself doing and saying." Maybe this is why she has gained her ability to become such a creative story-teller!
   
   To sustain my interest she uses 7 chapters to teach us about her intimate "Life of Faith" from, "a call, her imagination, belief in scripture and seeing herself in the pulpit." My favorite of the second half of 13 Sermons is "Do Love!" She starts with her disclaimer: "All things considered, I am a pretty good thinker if people will be patient with me..." Every time I have heard her preach or lecture, that is definitely one big unnecessary disclaimer! For this early gem of teaching plus Preaching Life, I only comment, it's the unvarnished sincere Holy Truth! retired Chaplain Fred W Hood



4. Key themes of the book:
   The key theme of the book is incorporating some of the essential aspects of the Christian life into the body, soul and spirit of the preacher. The book asks the preacher to reorient his or her life in such a way that he or she may see God in the seemingly insignificant. It challenges the preacher to see that sermon that is embedded in our daily lives, to abstract the message from the mundane and to liberate God from tradition and ritual.
   
   Taylor's answer to "what is preaching?"
   Taylor's description of preaching would be, complete immersion in the life of God for the purpose of sharing that life with the body of believers that we call, the church. The preaching moment does not belong to the preacher, but to God. The preacher must be aware of the way in which the sermon converses with the congregation. The preacher must always be concerned with the fact that his/her words are spoken on "God's behalf". The preacher serves as the conduit between God and God's people. He or she serves to seek intimacy with and revelation from God, and to share that experience with the church. While Taylor does talk about the act of studying the Bible, of choosing the right words, of understanding the sacraments... ... She comes back to the fact that preaching is ultimately God's event. The sermon is God's creation, and the preacher's role is simply to deliver it as best he or she can.
   
   3 aspects of the book that I found most helpful:
   Three aspects of the book that jumped out at me were vocation, imagination and the Bible. There were other ideas that were powerfully presented, but these three were the most pronounced. One of the first topics that Taylor addressed in the book was the idea of vocation and call. The connection between the things we do everyday and our participation in the life of God makes life worth living. I often describe call as that thing that "if I could not do, I would not want to live". Taylor simplifies this idea. People are often in search of call, but Taylor proposes that they are already doing the work of God in their daily lives. The key is in understanding that we are God's people, doing God's work in the world (pg. 29). Barbara Brown Taylor's discussion of Imagination was fascinating to me. She manages to take a topic that I personally take for granted and give it new life. I am particularly excited by her ability to take the commonplace and reimage it through eyes that have been touched by the spirit of God. I heard a great preacher once say, "There is something new in every hue that Christ-less eyes have never seen." When Taylor describes the common thought of Luke the physician juxtaposed with the thought of "gospel stories with the power to heal", I can see new dimensions in preaching. Taylor's chapter on the Bible presents powerful comparisons between what the Bible says and what culture says. I was moved by her comparison between a "romance" and a "marriage". The intimation is that it takes more to have a marriage. The nitty gritty; the day in and day out; not just the "oow's" and "ah's", but the "oops'" and the "oh no's". Seminary has taught me that the Bible is not all red roses and chocolates, its disagreements and failures as well. The kicker is that God's grace is always ready swoop in on eagle's wings and open up the possibilities for a brighter tomorrow.
   
   How does my preaching tradition disagree with some of Taylor's points:
   I do not think that my preaching style disagrees with Taylor's points at all. Her ideas fit in well with the preaching that I may hear on a Sunday in my tradition. I do feel that the depth of her ideas would add breadth to my tradition. Her ideas resonate with the better preaching that I have heard in my tradition, and she encourages me to look for this same depth, to explore new ideas and to go the extra mile in sermon preparation in order to truly reach the people of God. I cannot say that I disagreed with any of Taylor's ideas. I find that her imaginative writing style takes old stale thoughts and ideas and gives them new life. Reading her words makes me focus on my own words. I have found in the last few weeks that time spent looking for the right words before the preaching of the sermon has helped me to have the right words in mind when the actual preaching takes place. Thus, following Taylor's lead in searching for the right words helps me to achieve a depth of intimacy with God that carries over into the sermonic encounter.
   
   What questions have been raised for me in my own homileticcal thinking:
   Taylor's book has helped me to ask myself more questions about how the text is heard by people today. She encourages me to challenge myself in my thinking about preaching. As I prepare sermons, I am encouraged to think about the words I use. The best words in the best order may help to clarify the preached message. Taylor also asks me to get back in touch with my imagination. Have I been searching my imagination? Have I challenged myself to go to the borders of my mind, to find images that provoke the people of God to experience the depths of God with me?
   
   Overall impressions with the book:
   My initial impression of Barbara Brown Taylor is that she is a preacher. Her words flow eloquently and effortlessly from the pages of her book to the ears and eyes of the reader. She paints vivid images of the world that was, the world that is and the world that could yet be. I am amazed by her ability to both paint pictures and actually paint stories. She has an uncanny ability to draw the reader into the world as she sees it. This is quite obviously a tool and skill that would be useful for any preacher, as what we are tasked to do is take up a world view that places Christ at its center and draw those on the outside (non believers) into that world. If I could paint a glorious picture of a world where the dominion of Christ is exalted over all else, I am truly preaching the gospel message!



5. Consistent with her previous collections of sermons, this one does not miss. There are good illustrations and interesting techniques for the seasoned preachers and help for new preachers who are trying to preaching "outside the box".

5 comments about The Religious History of America: The Heart of the American Story from Colonial Times to Today.

1. Book ends at page 422, with no index. Didn't realize it until I had already highlighted heavily. A free replacement would be nice.



2. This revision of 'The Religious History of America' by Gaustad and Schmidt is a wonderful and balanced overview of the religious history of the U.S.A., as the title claims. The first review here is very through so I will be brief. These two professors of religion discuss the cultural, political, and economic influences that helped shaped religion in America throughout its history.
   
   The book starts with the state of Native American religions before the first colonist set foot on the land. And then properly shows that the first colonies were Catholic and established by Spain and Portugal. The oldest city in the U.S.A. is the Spanish Settlement of Saint Augustine in Florida. It also covers the early expeditions of the French in both the north and south regions of North America. It was only later that the Anglican and English settlements that we learn about in our history textbooks started to form in what we would later call the thirteen colonies.
   
   The book then covers topics that include the Puritans in New England, separation of church and state, slavery, the growth of the church in the twentieth century, and the effect that war has on religion. You will read of how the growth of such a great diversity of religion came to be in the U.S.A. This is a very interesting read. This book also has an extensive bibliography for further reading and a good index. This is the book I would choose if I had to teach an introductory course in religious history in America.



3. This book is a text for my church history class. It presents detailed information of the development of church structure from the earliest colonial days. It is interesting to learn how the denominations influenced certain colonies and the strife between the Church of England and the 'upstart' separatist groups. Very interesting!!



4. The author knows his subject and knows how to write as well. Sometimes in academia that is not the case. I have purchased other books by Gaustad. I have found them all to be quality, comprehensive and comprehendable. Enjoyable reads.



5. This book gives a good overview of the Religious history of America during most of the book but it begins to falter near the end. The authors completely leave out the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. As the authro writes about more recent events, a bias seems to creap in. The activities of the religious left have a tone of approval while the activites of the religious right are written with a tone of disapproval.

5 comments about Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church (The Leadership Network Innovation).

1. I really liked the book. I like the honesty from Mark, his willingness to be vulnerable, the insights to tough situations and early challenges of building a Christ-centered Mars Hill, the humor, and its "rough draft" form. On a side note...this air filter kicks some serious butt---->Duracraft DY-012 Oscillating 3-Speed Tower Fan :>



2. This book had the interesting effect of making me laugh, wince, and take notes, sometimes all on the same page! At the end of the day, I could not put the book down. I was captivated by a transparent pastor's heart who struggled day after day to put Jesus before his city in effort to see many converted.
   
   The book chronicles the life of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington where Mark Driscoll has been the Senior Pastor since its inception. Driscoll takes readers through the various stages of growth from a small broken down Bible study with "Indie Rockers" and "artsy" folks to a thriving megachurch of over 4,000 impacting one of the most unchurched regions in the US.
   
   In his narrative Driscoll explains, from first hand experience, some of the gestational development of the now prominent Emergent Church. Driscoll himself was involved, and in fact a leader in, a movement in the mid-90's to mobilize missionaries to their culture, impacting them with the gospel of Christ. As this movement expanded and gained traction Driscoll had to separate himself from it:
   
   "I had to distance myself, however, from one of the many streams in the emerging church because of the theological differences. Since the late 1990's this stream has become known as Emergent. The Emergent Church is part of the Emerging Church Movement but does not embrace the dominant ideology of the movement. Rather the emergent church is the latest version of liberalism. The only difference is that the old liberalism accommodated modernity and the new liberalism accommodates postmodernity." (p. 21)
   
   So here Driscoll is distinquishing between Emerging and Emergent...himself clinging to the prevailing positives of the Emerging movement (missional, theological, active) while distancing himself from the atheolgoical wing of the movement (Emergent).
   
   In many ways this book appears to be a living apologetic of the Emerging movement while distinguishing Driscoll as one of its most outspoken and able leaders. Perhaps this is why we see Driscoll speaking at a conference along with Brian McLaren, the outspoken leader of the Emergent wing.
   
   In fact Driscoll references McLaren in Confessions:
   
   "Although I sincerely love Brian and appreciate the kindness he has shown me, I generally disagree with many of his theological conclusions. Because he comes from a pacifistic Brethren background, such things as power and violence greatly trouble him. His pacifism seems to underlie many of our theological disagreements since he has a hard time accepting such things as the violence of penal substitutionary atonement, parts of the Old Testament where God killed people, and the concept of conscious eternal torment in hell. Curiously, it is also Brian's pacifism that makes him such a warmly engaging person who is able to speak and write about theologically controversial issues while being gracious. Ironically, my love for and disagreement with Brian are both borne out of his pacifism. But I find it curious that, from my perspective, he is using his power as a writer and speaker to do violence to Scripture in the name of pacifism." (p.99)
   
   His point here about pacifism and violence to God's word is worth the price of the book. That is the type of silent violence that characterizes the neo-liberalism named Emergent.
   
   I love the resolve of Driscoll throughout the book. There were resistance and trials at every bend and still God graciously moved the church and its leadership through each. In fact, Driscoll regularly attaches the growth to the respective trials. On one occasion Mars Hill tried to do concerts and preaching outside by the river and were mooned and flashed by boaters going by. This, according to Driscoll, increased interest in the community and ultimately attendance.
   
   There are so many pages that are outright hilarious. The following is a quote concerning a worship pastor:
   
   "I really liked Tim because he is one of the few manly men whom I have ever seen leading worship. I am not supposed to say this, but most of the worship dudes I have heard are not very dudely. They seem to be very in touch with their feelings and exceedingly chickified from playing too much acoustic guitar and singing prom songs to Jesus while channeling Michael Bolton and flipping their hair. Tim was a guy who brewed his own beer, smoked a pipe, rock climbed, mountain biked, river rafted, carried a knife in his belt, and talked about what he thought more than what he felt.
   
   We clicked because I drive a 1978 Chevy truck that gets single digits to the gallon and has a bacon air freshener and no functioning speedometer and because I fashion myself as the self-appointed leader of a heterosexual male backlash in our overly chickified city filled with guys drinking herbal tea and rocking out to Mariah Carey in their lemon yellow Volkswagen Cabriolets while wearing fuchsia sweater vests that perfectly match their open-toed shoes." (pp. 146-7)
   
   Mark Driscoll is definitely a guy that I would want to have at a barbecue but may be reluctant to have speak at my church...but ironically both for the same reasons.
   
   Overall I really enjoyed the book. From a pastor's perspective it was awesome; refreshing and encouraging. The positives for this book are found in Driscoll's willingness to share the ecclesiastical lab that he has worked in for the last 15 years. Driscoll understands church, leadership and has a passion to reach and change culture for the glory of Christ.
   
   At the same time I am reluctant to openly recommend it. Driscoll does use crass language throughout the book (which is alarming and curious in light of 1 Tim. 4.12 & Eph. 4.29), and so therefore I am not comfortable putting it on a top 10 list. At the same time, from what I have read in the blogosphere and its relative outrage of Driscoll's language, I think they have, in large part, overreacted and missed the many of the great points and lessons of the book.
   
   Driscoll also sympathizes with Rick Warren, even crediting him with significant pastorly influence on him. This is not surprising considering Driscoll's continued affiliation with Robert Schuller and company at the Crystal Cathedral. This is curios and I do not understand why he is holding hands with these guys who are not straightforward about the truth of the gospel (Warren) and who deny the truth of the gospel (Schuller).
   
   Driscoll also makes it clear that he is charismatic, even asserting regularly that he receives additional revelation from God, prays and speaks against demons (however, Driscoll does say that he does not speak in tongues).
   
   As an aside, I look forward to the upcoming Desiring God Conference where Driscoll will be on the panel with conservatives such as John Piper, DA Carson & David Wells. I would love to be a fly on the wall when DA Carson and him chat about life and ministry and Driscoll mixes in a reference to Jesus as a dude....oh the diversity of the body... "Christ is all and in all" (Col. 3.11).



3. Interesting review of a Seattle church that went from storefront to megachurch status in nine years. Author is as much entrepreneur as minister - much like high growth business owners, he constantly started and killed ministries, hired/fired staff accordingly, and shifted locations on a regular basis and took risks in doing so. He also identifies the types of people he wants and doesn't want as church members and shows how technology can be used to attract and communicate with parishioners.



4. Mark Driscoll has marked a clear trail for those who desire to be relevant while remaining radically orthodox. Having waded through the land minds of a new generations desire to reach the world for Christ, he has come through in one piece bearing some great wisdom on how to relate to the postmodern culture while remaining deeply committed to the age old tenants of the faith. His work will make you laugh, and it might make you mad, but it will surely challenge you to authentic Christianity. Thanks Driscoll for sharing reality in Christ. It is true apostolic genius. Tom Griner



5. This is a well written, engaging book. If you have ever heard Mark Driscoll preach, you will recognize his style...he writes the same way.
   
   He gives some "confessions". He certainly stirs up the reader to think about how to make the church they attend grow, preferably by winning souls. It has some good information in it. I just wish it had more. Then again, this was not meant to be a "how-to" as much as a "how-was".
   
   All in all I have to recommend this book pretty highly. It will build your desire to get out and reach the unchurched/lost in your area. His sermon series on the book of Nehemiah is also worth listening to.

5 comments about A Shopkeeper's Millennium: Society and Revivals in Rochester, New York, 1815-1837.

1. Though Johnson does his homework in bringing Rochester and revivals to life, the book is too short. Nowhere do we get background on the Great Awakening; the role of women is glossed over hurriedly; and incredibly Johnson leaves out as an explantion for the interest in revivals one of the most basic assumptions: spirituality!



2. New York State's construction of the Erie Canal transformed the tiny frontier town of Rochester into young America's first inland boom town, with an economy based on milling local grain and transporting the flour east to feed the older coastal cities. In this role, it became the prototype for all the thousands of commercial towns and cities that sprang up along railroads across the Midwest during the nineteenth century, as well as the crucible in which the Midwest's particular brand of evangelical protestant piety was first worked out. 'A Shopkeeper's Millenium' is by far the best examination of this important piece of American history I have found anywhere, and I recommend it highly.



3. For those who want to discover how the Second Great Awakening affected the town of Rochester, New York, then this book is for you. You can tell the amount of hardwork that Johnson put into this book by the sheer amount of information that is contained within.



4. I read this book in conjunction with another about antebellum religious reform in the 19th century. I found this book easier to understand, but that's not saying much. It was still not fully clear what Johnson was trying to say, although his writing abilities are pretty good for a historian.
   His work examines the city of Rochester, New York leading up to the reform of Charles Finney. However the assumptions he makes by examining only one area are not convincing enough to be applied to the entire reform efforts in New England at the time.



5. In any truly socialist understanding of history the role of the class struggle plays a central role. Any thoughtful socialist wants to, in fact need to, know how the various classes in society were formed, and transformed, over time. A lot of useful work in this area has been done by socialist scholars. One thinks of E.P. Thompson's The Making of the English Working Class, for example. One does not, however, need to be a socialist to do such research in order to provide us with plenty of ammunition in our fight for a better world. Shopkeeper's Millennium by Paul E. Johnson is such a work.
   
   One can disagree with Professor Johnson's conclusions, and perhaps aspects of his methodology that relies very heavily on the interpretation of governmental and church records. He has nevertheless written a very interesting case study of Rochester, New York as a prime example of how America in the 1820's and 1830's, that is at the infancy of American capitalism, turned from a wilderness into an important new center of capitalist development as the Eire Canal became a cog in the transnational transportation system. Johnson has also provided some useful insights into the role that religion, especially the `born again' evangelical religion that we are familiar with today, helped form the prevailing capitalist ethos that drove this expansion forward.
   
   Professor Johnson uses the well-known sources (city directories, tax assessments, censuses, Church registries) to flesh out his argument. One can take exception to some of his conclusions based on rather scanty data (and on the reliability of such data in a very mobile and transient environment). However the overall thrust of his work makes the important point that this period turned this part of America away from a sleepy agrarian/mercantile society to a rather dynamic capitalist one within a relatively short time. And, moreover, the social preconditions that fostered such growth were not merely accidental but represented the expansion of an already stable elite ready to take advantage of the new mode of production. In short, as we have seen at other previous nodal points of history (and today, as well) the rich and able have a leg up when the new riches are to be distributed.
   
   Religious indoctrination, strict social mores, intense social pressure and flat out coercion are detailed here as ways in which the budding capitalist class dominated the society. Religious revivals, anti-Masonic struggles and various social reform campaigns, particularly the fight against 'demon' whiskey, play their part. As does plain old-fashioned politics that we are very familiar with. Perhaps not as familiar is how political sides were chosen in various local fights, like the closing of dram shops, despite common religious affiliation.
   
   The key struggle in forming the capitalist mode of production was the effort to discipline a reluctant workforce to the tasks at hand. That was achieved in Rochester by many of the old tricks like coercion, ostracism and shunning that we have seen elsewhere at the rise of capitalism, particularly in England. In an interesting sidelight Professor Johnson details the change over, in a fairly short period of time , from workers being housed under the paternalistic supervision of their employers in their homes to the establishment of separate working class quarters. This is a big step in the forming of class-consciousness, both ways.
   Such details are the stuff that makes this an interesting study.
   
   Is this what today's working class looks like in a `post-industrial' American society? No. However many of the same techniques of domination still hold sway. Read this book about the days when American capitalism was a progressive force in the world. And begin to understand why it needs to be fought tooth and nail now.

5 comments about Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony.

1. The theology outlined and the methods of pastoral care and response are stunning. If the church allows itsself to be faithful to its calling (as they insist that it must) the world would be changed!
   
   If you've never read anything by Hauerwas, I'd say that this is as good of a place as any to start. It mixes theology with pastoral care and allows you to process through what the authors are saying with case studies and examples that make a lot of sense. It's not necessarily the best resource for an advanced seminarian, but then again, it seems to be written primarily for a lay-level audiences and for pastors.



2. In Resident Aliens, Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon suggest the theory that "the church is a colony, an island of one culture in the middle of another." (p 12)
   
   Their thesis reflects the apostle Paul's second letter to the Corinthians when he paraphrases Isaiah 52:11, "`Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord. `And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.'" (2 Corinthians 6:17)
   
   In many ways Resident Aliens reads almost like two different books. The first half of the book is where the authors introduce their basic premise - of the church as a colony standing apart and independent from the world around it.
   
   As they propose the problems with the current Church, and explain how and why it should be a different Church, Hauerwas and Willimon can't be accused of subtlety in their arguments or of acknowledging the nuisances of the real world. (I recognize that Hauerwas and Willimon are critical of Church leaders who seemingly compromise their faith to accommodate the "real world," but in their general indictments, Hauerwas and Willimon fail to recognize or acknowledge the real exceptions to their rules.)
   
   Where they focus nearly exclusively on the Church as a body, they fail to see that the body is comprised of very different, independent parts.
   
   Hauerwas and Willimon point accusing fingers at churches that support the government, so-called Constantinian churches, "we believe both the conservative and liberal church, the so-called private and public church, are basically accommodationist (that is, Constantinian) in their social ethic," they write. "Both assume wrongly that the American Church's primary social task is to underwrite American democracy." (p 31)
   While this may be true for their own diocese-driven denominations, with their hierarchies and lack of congregational independence, their argument, indeed their entire thesis, fails to recognize that the "Church" in the Unites States includes such a diverse cross section of Christians as to render their point dangerously close to mute.
   
   Their assumption that the U.S. Christian's assumption of the church's roll in American democracy would come as quit a shock to the 200,000 Amish in the United States, the tens of thousands of Religious Society of Friends, (Quakers), or even the 35,000 who attend celebrity minister Joel Osteen's independent Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, each weekend.
   
   According to the book cover, they call for a "radical new understanding of the church," but they completely and utterly fail to see that the logical step of their argument is the very Baptist idea of congregationalism, and the autonomy of each congregation.
   
   Hauerwas and Willimon look to the Church to be separate from society and independent from Government, to be "resident aliens," but completely ignore those Christians who already are. They ignore the more than a million American Christians in independent churches and denominations who are each small islands in the secular world without a human hierarchy telling them what Church is.
   
   Even the mega-churches like Osteen's Lakewood Church, have in many ways reached the sort of alien status advocated in the book - with biblical-based programs, missions and independent support seven days a week.
   The later chapters of Resident Aliens offer fewer generalities and more anecdotes and examples. But just as Hauerwas and Willimon offer no real distinction between the Church as a Christian body and individual congregations and denominations who already are living as resident aliens, they fail to recognize a difference between Pastors, Ministers, and Preachers, using the very different job titles interchangeably. A Church may have a good managing minister, for example, but they may need to hire a minister of visitation and membership who offers pastoral care.
   
   Ironically, with their "provocative Christian assessment of culture and ministry," (as the book cover proclaims), Hauerwas and Willimon are in their own way resident aliens in the Church. In their circles, the Church may need reform, but millions of Christians in the United States are already living the Christian life Hauerwas and Willimon propose. An American Amish family would certainly feel like "resident aliens," for example. And yet Hauerwas and Willimon manage to write an entire book about resident aliens, and never once mention the nation's best know resident alien Christians.
   
   Because Hauerwas and Willimon seem to only see their own community, they seemingly fail to see that there are others in their own communities. Where Hauerwas and Willimon see Constantinian Christians, those same Christians may see Hauerwas and Willimon as ersatz Christians in desperate need of a real believers' baptism.



3. I would include this in any list of books that all Western Christians should read. As a missionary in Nigeria, I can also say that the message is also urgently needed in African churches, still in an earlier stage of formation. I can understand and partly agree with some of the criticisms of other reviewers here, but the strength of the book is that it presents its radical message in a semi-popular, readable format. I was struck by its pithiness, with memorable and important sentences on nearly every page.
   
   One warning: I did find that the first chapter or two were rather dry compared to the rest, so don't give up if you're put off when you start. You could even skip the beginning and go back to it later without losing much.



4. A highly readable and important book on the way that Christians should interact with the surrounding culture. The post-liberal theology that drives the authors conclusions is interesting and relevant. This book gives a nice introduction to post-liberal thought without ever having to even mention the term. Having read it made reading Lindbeck's seminal work, the nature of doctrine, much easier.



5. This is a book that I read when it first came out about 20 years ago. When I re-read it recently it had a very different impact on me, probably because of the experience of a quarter century of ordained ministry. I got much more out of the book the second time around.
   
   The book is about the battle between culture and Church and the Church's role within, but not TO, the culture. While this book is a bit dated, I found it to be surprisingly fresh and timely and think it would be a great discussion book in Christian circles. Provocative to be sure, I was a bit offended at times, and yet found myself resonating with the offensive statement, when I allowed it to germinate a bit.
   
   Here's an example of what I mean from page 42. "The Church is one political entity in our culture that is global, trans-national, trans-cultural. Tribalism is not the Church determined to serve God rather than Caesar. Tribalism is the United States of America, which sets up artificial boundaries and defends them with murderous intensity. And the tribalism of nations occurs most viciously in the absence of a Church able to say and to show, in its life together, that God, not nations, rules the world." OUCH!

5 comments about The Democratization of American Christianity.

1. This well researched and written book is worthy of the honors it has received. This book was suggested to us by our Pastor because of our prevailing struggle with a democratic view of the Church. Even though we are laypersons and not in the academic world, we found this work helpful in pointing to the root of our faulty thinking.



2. If you want to understand why the twenty-first century American Evengelical Church is rife with heretical teachings and outright apostasy, read this book. In The Democratization of American Christianity, Nathan Hatch demonstrates how the American Revolution spawned the so-called Second Great Awakening, a religious rebellion, which led to an abandonment of Orthodox Christianity in favor of a pluralism that plagues American Protestantism to this very day. The egalitarian values of the Enlightenment that dominated the American conscience of the early nineteenth century allowed a host of false teachers to lead a revolt of the laity against a clergy that, while Biblically Orthodox in their doctrine, had allowed affluance and intellectualism to overcome their sense of Christian charity. Spicing their sermons with coarse language, emotional appeals, Jeffersonian quotations, quaint stories and rabald humor, these populists taught that every individual must interpret the scriptures according to their own conscience. These "teachings" led to an "anything goes Christianity" that included the embracing of such heresies as Arminianism, Mormanism, Perfectionism and Universalism, the apostasy of Unitarianism and even Transcendentalism: anything other than Biblical Orthodoxy. One hundred and fifty years later, this pluralism continues to permeate American Protestanism, currently manifesting itself in the Emerging Church movement, which is a blending of Christianity with New Age spiriualism that denies the authority of scripture itself. Though Hatch does not set out to do so, he demonstrates the great truth that heresy always leads to apostasy.



3. Bought this for my friend Justin D. Vollmar. Justin mentioned to me that he was so excited to read the book!



4. Nathan O. Hatch uses the second sentence of The Democratization of American Christianity to inform the reader that the book argues "both that the theme of democratization is central to understanding the development of American Christianity, and that the years of the early republic are the most crucial in revealing that process" (3). To this end, Hatch focuses on the diffusion of the Methodists, Baptists, Mormons, Disciples of Christ, and African-American Christians across post-revolutionary America as a challenge to more established denominations, like the New England Congregationalists and Virginia Anglicans, and political elites.
   
   The brilliance of Hatch's argument lies in its illustration of a confluence of Protestant growth with the expansion of democratic thought and application in the country. The book's most central contribution to the study of American Christianity is the concept of "religious populism" in the early republic, which at once speaks to the American Christianity's innovative ability to reach out to various populations, and to the loyalty to American religion that such outreach efforts endeared among its adherents. In some sense, a demand for less-elitist, more-egalitarian forms of worship and congregational life existed, and the predominantly unlettered, zealous, "bold intruders" (aka ministers) of faith adapted preach styles and techniques to meet that demand.
   
   The book begins to fill a gap in our understanding of religious life in 1780s and 1790s America. In the historiographical section--a must-read for any scholar--"Redefining the Second Great Awakening: A Note on the Study of Christianity in the Early Republic," Hatch confronts the question of difficulties surrounding the religious history of the early national period. "There are more generalizations and less solid data on the dynamics of American religion in this period than in any other in our history" (p. 220). Though he cannot single-handedly erase this deficiency, Hatch, for his part, has crafted a needed work that illumines the power of popular religious movements through the actions and travels of their dynamic leaders.
   
   The stars of The Democratization of American Christianity are Lorenzo Dow, Alexander Campbell, Richard Allen, Francis Asbury, Joseph Smith, John Leland, and other religious leaders. Hatch builds his case for a popularizing religion on the backs of deft religious leadership and their success at movement-building. Although these Christian "insurgents" held differing beliefs and employed various techniques, these men excelled at popular written and verbal communication, triggered a revolt against Christian tradition, and inaugurated a new era of religious life in America. Hatch's portrayal of early America's religious leaders presents them as revolutionaries, not wholly unlike the colonials in Philadelphia who laid an ideological foundation for the Revolution.
   
   Christian adherents and secular historians alike will benefit from this excellent account of Christianity's democratic and westward shift in the early republic. The Democratization of American Christianity is neither dogmatic nor apologetic. Well-researched and brilliantly-conceived, the book locates the spread of American Christianity within a post-Revolutionary context marked by less paternalistic and more populist ideas. To that end, "the most striking evidence of the democratization of Christianity in the early republic was that black preachers successfully laid claim to 'the sacred desk'" (p. 112). Hatch's book and Gordon Woods' Pulitzer-Prize winning The Radicalism of the American Revolution demonstrate the fertility within the first generations of American nationals for popular democracy and religious zeal.
   
   Hatch's emphasis on movement-making and the management of revivals distorts his analysis of Christianity's spread across America by limiting or excluding any discussion of spiritual renewal. The fault, however, is now entirely his. The historical profession remains largely incapable of documenting and validating the role of spiritual activity within the human condition. Historians are much more comfortable attributing mass religious conversions and life-changing ideals to marketing techniques and popular political environments. Yet, when the eighteenth-century camp meetings and preachers awakened "spiritual convulsions" in revival participants, it seems incumbent upon scholars to more fully examine and evaluate peoples' interaction with God in religion. That said, Nathan O. Hatch's The Democratization of American Christianity is a bold step in a constructive direction; a step that the current and future field of historian would do well to follow.



5. Thanks Mr. Hatch for writing this book!
   
   How did the church in America get to its present position where it fails to realize that the body of Christ is dependent on God raising up distinctly graced individuals to authoritatively, accurately, and relevantly preach the Word? Read this book and find out.
   
   Clearly demonstrates how the church which is supposed to be led by the Spirit of Christ, has instead been disasterously infected by the spirit of '76 since the time of the revolution. God help us!

2 comments about Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses.

1. This is a carefully researched and elegantly written book on the relationship between sexuality and spirituality on US college campuses. It is pretty well known among scholars that high school kids are quite religious in the US. When they go to college they start turning away from the religions of their parents, often toward more generic spirituality. Why does this happen? Freitas thinks sexual experience might hold the key. In other words, as college students start experimenting sexually they push away from religion, since religion is in their view "anti-sex." That's the argument, or part of it. But at the heart of the book lie stories about these students. Kids at evangelical, Catholic, and secular schools struggling with faith and sexuality. It's brilliantly done. It's sad in many ways to see the binds that "hookup culture" put young people in. It's balanced in that there are things in here that will infuriate (and delight) conservatives and liberals alike. And it's timely. Makes me wonder what the next generation is in for heading off to college.



2. This is an excellent ( at times appalling - at times hopeful) book. I don't usually find sociology books that I can't put down, but I read through this one in short order. What the author does quite brilliantly is weave her study of college students and how they integrate faith/religion and sex, around the personal stories of the students that she interviews. If you are a parent (like me) it is disheartening to see the influences that kids come under when they go away to college, and the soul-destroying nature of casual "hook-ups" with people one may or may not know well.
   
   The book is hopeful (to my way of thinking) in that it is almost exclusively the evangelicals (I am one) who believe that there is a connection between spirituality and sex, and that it is important. While it is no surprise that virtually everyone struggles with how far to go physically before marriage, it is nice to see that evangelicals are generally trying to follow what they believe God desires in regards to dating and marriage.

5 comments about Jesus Made in America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to the Passion of the Christ.

1. This book is a must read for modern evangelicals and anyone else interested in how Jesus has been viewed throughout American history.



2. Stephen J. Nichols, Jesus Made in America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to The Passion of the Christ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2008).
   
   In Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus asked his disciples two provocative questions. First, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Two recent books by scholars of religion survey the answers of Americans generally. They are Stephen Prothero's American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon and Robert Wightman Fox's Jesus in America: Personal Savior, Cultural Hero, National Obsession. But Jesus went on to ask the disciples, "Who do you say I am?" In Jesus Made in America, historian Stephen J. Nichols surveys the answers of American evangelicals particularly. What he finds makes for disturbing reading.
   
   Nichols begins, as historians of American Christianity must begin, with the Puritans. He critiques the Puritans for failing to live out a Christlike ethic, with regard to native Americans, African slaves, and Salem witches. Otherwise, however, he sets up their two-nature Christology and Christ-centered spirituality as a standard from which their evangelical successors have fallen. Christianity is a religion of head, heart, and hands - of doctrine, devotion, and deeds. Nichols is right to critique the ethical lapses of the Puritans, but they were certainly correct in believing in and worshiping the God-man Jesus Christ.
   
   In a sense, the Revolutionary Era of American history reversed the error of the Puritans. They emphasized deeds over doctrine and devotion. Typical of this emphasis, a young Benjamin Franklin wrote: "My mother grieves that one of her Sons is an Arian, another an Arminian. What an Arminian or an Arian is, I cannot say that I very well know; the Truth is, I make such Distinctions very little my Study; I think vital Religion has always suffer'd, when Orthodoxy is more regarded than Virtue." It helps to know that Franklin's mother was a product of Boston Puritanism and that Franklin rebelled against his upbringing. Although there were a few orthodox Christians among the founders - Nichols mentions John Witherspoon, Benjamin Rush, and John Quincy Adams - the Founders were typically Unitarians. They thought highly of Jesus as the human teacher of moral virtue, but no higher than that. Thomas Jefferson went so far as to excise miracles, atonement, and declarations of Jesus' divinity from his copy of the Gospels. By emphasizing virtue and denying divinity, the Founders customized Jesus to meet the needs of their new republic.
   
   In the Democratic Era that followed on the heels of the Founders, Jesus was further customized into the ideal frontiersman. The early nineteenth century saw a sea change in American religious attitude, as the populace shifted from the elitism of the Episcopal, Congregational, and Presbyterian churches to the egalitarianism of the Baptists, Methodists, and Churches of Christ/Disciples of Christ. The frontier made no time for abstract theology. It focused on spirituality and ethics, on results, not thinking. In some cases - Baptists and Methodists - the Christological conclusions were orthodox. In other cases - Barton Stone of the so-called Christian churches - they were not. But the methodology by which these conclusions were reached was something distinctly American. There was no need for educated clergy or church tradition. "No creed but the Bible," in Peter Cartwright's formulation. Any man could pick up the Bible and develop whatever doctrinal system he saw fit. And many did. The individualism and rough-hewn character of the frontier gave way to Victorian sentimentality as the frontier closed and the American populace settled in for city life. Jesus was brought inside, bathed, clothed, and made to act respectably. Think of "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild," and you'll get the picture of Victorian Jesus. Interestingly, the Victorian Jesus was suitably domesticated to be claimed by both sides of the Civil War. A Jesus who has been stripped of his divinity does not stand outside human systems to critique them; rather, he is product of those human systems, who make him in their own images.
   
   At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the reaction to this Victorian sentimentality set in with a vengeance. Social Gospel liberalism saw Jesus as a hero for humanity, liberating the oppressed from the wicked maw of capitalism. This heroic Jesus was not the God-man, however. Harry Emerson Fosdick, perhaps the most famous preacher of that age, made sure that such fundamentalist doctrines were explained away. But others - such as J. Gresham Machen, Fosdick's bete noir - responded with the re-assertion of creedal orthodoxy. "Liberalism regards Jesus as the fairest flower of humanity," Machen wrote; "Christianity regards him as a supernatural person." The battle between Fosdick's modernism and Machen's fundamentalism (a term he hated, and a side he barely wanted to be associated with) continues to this day.
   
   Unfortunately, while one would expect evangelicals - the Puritans' self-proclaimed heirs - to boldly reassert Christological orthodoxy and to reframe real Christianity as a religion of head, heart, and hands, the evangelicals have been busy domesticating Jesus in their own novel ways. Their worship music has turned him into everyone's Boyfriend ("Hold me close to You / never let me go"). Their movies have occluded his divinity. (Even The Passion of the Christ, so lauded by evangelicals and Pentecostals who otherwise would abominate R-rated movies, doesn't adequately portray Jesus' divinity.) Their stores have turned Jesus into a slogan ("Jesus is my homeboy") or a bracelet ("WWJD?") or a doe-eyed Savior (Precious Moments figurines). And their politics has shoehorned Jesus into a proponent of a preconceived right-wing ideology (lately, a left-wing ideology too).
   
   When Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was, Peter responded with good theology: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." But that theology barely nudged Peter's conceptions of what a Christ should act like. Matthew 16:21-23 tells the rest of the story. Peter had no room for a crucified Savior and rebuked Christ when Christ suggested crucifixion was his destiny. In turn, Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!"
   
   After reading Jesus Made in America, I have begun to wonder whether American evangelicals (and us Pentecostals) might be due for our own exorcism.



3. Excellent read! I highly recommend it. After having spent all my childhood years in foreign countries (I'm an American) as well as a good portion of my adult life, I often wondered why I felt like I was a missionary to American Evangelicals and Fundamentalists even though I felt so at home. I couldn't articulate the feeling of being a counter-cultural presence among devout people. Now I know why: I didn't recognize the American Jesus, particularly the Jesus of the Right Wing.
   
   This is book is a must-read for anyone who would serve Jesus in America because we are all, as Isaiah was, a product of our own people.



4. I have become a huge fan of Stephen Nichols. He is very good at writing about history without making it terribly boring. I have read three of his books so far and every one of them was very well done. This is one that I didn't really know what to expect but was excited to read it.
   
   What Nichols does is spends the first half or so of the book walking the reader through how particular cultures and people in the past have really shaped our thinking and their thinking of Christ. He starts with the Puritans, then to our founding fathers, the Victorians and the modernists of the early 20th century.
   
   After Nichols goes through these with precision he then gives the reader insight on how we have specifically been affected, or infected, depends on how you see it, through Contemporary Christian Music, Hollywood, Consumerism and Politics.
   
   This part of the book was very informative as Nichols shows how the history of each one of these has led us to where we are currently with Jesus and culture and he doesn't leave any stone unturned. He questions things such as Thomas Kinkade, Precious Moments, The Passion of the Christ, CCM Music Festivals, WWJD bracelets, Christian T-Shirts, Dobson and the extreme politics pulling on Jesus from both sides.
   
   I believe that Nichols unpacks some things that are very worrisome in our day in age where Madonna actually has become a prophetess, even though she falls into the same trap:
   
   Christianity is becoming more of a currency than a belief
   
   Sadly, I think she is right.
   
   This book is extremely well done and I would recommend this to any reader to show what is happening in front of our own eyes and the danger of falling into consumerism Christianity.
   
   This might have been Nichols best book to date. Highly Recommended.



5. Nichols deftly takes us on a 400 year tour through American history, revealing how the general populous thought of, responded to and 'used' Jesus at various key points along the way. It is a tragic story which begins with a God-glorifying, biblically grounded view of Christ by the New England Puritans of the 17th century but ends in our own day with the wholesale highjacking of Jesus by Christian retailers, political activists, evangelistic film makers and the Christian music industry.
   
   Using his skills as a professional historian and keen cultural analyist, Nichols conclusively topples, among others, the popular notions that our nation was founded upon the Christ of the Bible, that Veggie Tales presents an accurate Christology or that wearing Christian clothing and jewelry (or promoting Christian music or movies for that matter) makes for a church where Jesus is truly understood and worshipped and the true gospel is extended compelling the world to follow Him.
   
   The upshot of the Jesus subculture we've made as American evangelicals is a trivialized Christ, a manipulated God and the creation of a Savior who itches us where we scratch rather than the God of the Bible Who brings us to our knees in repentance, hope and worship. If the American Christian ghetto has ever left you mesmerized or cynical due to its consumer-driven hypocrisy and obsession with 'cutting edge Christian culture,' then this book could prove a healing agent of hope in your life. On the other hand, if you happen to be one of the many Christians who swims so deeply in our evangelical subculture that you assume all its trappings are God-honoring and good, then perhaps you need Nichols' book most of all.
   
   Will the real Jesus (not the 'American Jesus') please stand up! This book carefully, graciously and biblically helps us find Him in the crowd.

5 comments about The Light and the Glory.

1. The information in this book is invaluable to each and every American. Now more than ever we should cherish our early beginnings in this country and pass this on to generations to come. The more intimate happenings to our early fathers become more relevant and personal through this well documented study.



2. In my judgment "The Light & The Glory" should be required reading for every citizen of the United States as well as those seeking citizenship. This is one of the best books I have every read!



3. I really loved reading this book and had a hard time putting it down. It reads much like the Old Testament except the main characters are our forefathers. There is a lot of information in this book that they never told us in school, but should have. The authors of this book tell where they got the information and did a great job putting this book together. I wish I would have read it years ago. It's one of those books you want to pass on to others after you read it.



4. This book details how to achieve great things by serving God first. It shows us what we must do to get our country back on the track of democracy. Even though it seems like we have completely lost our way, all we have to do is turn whole-heartedly to God and ask for His help. The story of how our forefathers did this is wonderful and inspiring.



5. This volume of early American history is limited in its scope, covering a period of about 300 years from Columbus through the colonial era, the Revolution, and the Washington presidency. Its purpose, however, is not merely to chronologize these events, but to examine them from a spiritual perspective. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, both Yale alumni, seek to discover our country's earliest spiritual heritage and how it relates to the moral and cultural degeneration they were observing in 1977, and that continues today. While the book is not without its flaws, I think it offers a critically important and often purposefully omitted piece of the historical puzzle regarding the roots of America.
   
   The authors begin with Columbus, whose early missionary ardor to bear the light of Christ to the New World was ultimately corrupted by the powerful lures of wealth, prestige and power. Next come fairly detailed examinations of the colonies at Jamestown, Plymouth, Salem and Boston. Of particular emphasis, again, were the spiritual actors, such as the Franciscans, Jesuits, Pilgrims and Puritans. Throughout, the authors provide a quite unvarnished look at the shortcomings of all of these personalities, but also strip away the false images and caricatures of them that are so prevalent in modern scholarship. In particular, they restore some desperately needed balance to the discussion of the Pilgrims and Puritans.
   
   The thing that gives this book such strong credibility, as with any good history, is the authors' heavy reliance on primary sources, particularly from Columbus, Bradford, the Mathers, Winthrop, Washington, Adams and many others. Their own writings reveal much about the deep Christian faith of our country's founders, much that is never mentioned or even considered a valid topic of discussion in most modern (i.e., revisionistic) history books. Over and over, the hand of God's providence is highlighted, whether in the survival of the early colonies, or the war for independence, or the unlikely success of the Constitutional Convention.
   
   My key criticism of the book, however, is the extent to which the authors presume to tell us what the will of God was or was not in various situations. In so doing, they depart from the demands of the documentary evidence, and thus take what are, in my opinion, speculative leaps that are impermissible for historians. I understand the authors' tendency to surmise such things from surrounding circumstances, but just as I found this kind of speculation to be objectionable in the work of Will Durant, that is equally true here.
   
   Still, this history was written by Christians for Christians, and the authors make no bones about that. As a result, they are prone to occasionally slip into sermonizing as they consider spiritual parallels between conditions in the 17th and 20th centuries. The book also ends with a call to national repentence and a reestablishment of the Covenant Way that marked the lives of the first colonials. As a committed Christian, I am comfortable with this perspective because all knowledge is God's knowledge and may be fairly integrated in this way. Secularists, however, will likely find this aspect of the book distracting. Nevertheless, the value of this book for filling in an important gap in most people's historical knowledge cannot be overstated.