5 comments about Growing Up Catholic.

1. You really do have to be a Catholic to truly appreciate this wonderful book. As a Catholic schoolgirl entering her eleventh year in Catholic school (scary, isn't it?), I can fully relate to this. I honestly don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my entire life.

   You know what the funniest thing about this book is? Everything in it is true...from the different kinds of nuns to Father What-a-Waste (sigh); from the description of mortal and venial sins to the purchasing of pagan babies. Well, they don't sell pagan babies anymore, but they did in my mother's day.

   Even a staunch Catholic like my grandmother would have to crack a smile at the descriptive, colorful language and the abfab portrayal of the sometimes ridiculous traditions of the world's most scandalous, under-fire church. This book is a must-read for all Roman Catholics, practicing or no.




2. Based on the book I find that my experience was not as unique as I had thought. The book captures the essence of growing up Catholic, the acceptance without thought of the teachings of the church, the Baltimore Catechism and the church cultures were beyond belief. My children who have not been the beneficiary of a Parochial education look at me with wonder as if to say "what were you thinking". It was a grand trip down memory lane and would recommend it to anyone who was a child of the 50s and 60s going through Parochial School.



3. I read through this book twice, and it is very, very funny. Many memories were brought back and it reminded me that even our religous practices can be made of fun of in the name of innocent humor.
   
   But then I realized that something was missing. This book didn't just poke fun at the Catholic faith. It dismissed it. I was expecting the authors to end the book with a disclaimer -"even though we found great humor in certain aspects of our faith - It is a faith built on Jesus Christ. And we believe the Holy Spirit continues to lead the Church as was promised 2000 years ago". No disclaimer. No confirmation of their faith in Christ's Church despite the "humorous" aspects.
   
   Imagine reading an explanation of American life from a former American now living in Europe as a socialist or a former American now serving Al-Qaeda. You can't help but feel they left the "American Way" because they just didn't "get it". That's how I felt after the second reading of this book.
   
   Thus read this book for some funny laughs and good memories. Just don't forget billions of Catholics love and follow Jesus thanks to their upbringing.
   
   Corrgc



4. This is a funny accurate account of the all the trials and tribulations of being in a Catholic school, especially in the 60's and 70's.



5. In under 150 pages four enthusiastic products of Catholic upbringing
   present a delightfully nostalgic--if irreverent--expose for the enlightenment and edification of the non-initiated. In humorously succinct fashion they offer readers this handy-dandy instruction book with explicit directions--a holy How To manual for promoting moral rectitude in a wayward world. Are you considering upgrading from some lesser faith? No matter if you are an Atheist, Protestant or Buddhist, this cleverly all-inclusive guide prepares future converts for all sacred events--from Baptism to Bingo. Even if you were not privileged to GROW UP CATHOLIC treat it as an abbreviated but highly palatable free pass on the Soul Train from Baltimore.
   
   Written with deep fondness by four Catholic School survivors (two gals, two guys) this collection of vivid memories and neo-scandalous satire provides entertaining reading for anyone remotely curious about RC traditions--especially meaningful for those in danger of beatific backsliding. This wonderful book answers all those questions which outsiders never dared ask directly, boldly treating topics undreamed of by heathens. Boasting many modern literary aids the text is enlivened by b/w photos of real people, exacting diagrams, cartoon-friendly sketches and the ever-popular Match Up quiz format. If you think you know or remember so much, challenge yourself--to not laugh out loud!

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

1. 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.



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. 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. This is one of the textbooks my daughter needed for her college class. It is one she will keep.

5 comments about No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology?.

1. People have a legal right to worship as they choose. It is human nature to make this decision based on Utility. The term utility is not used in David F. Wells' book titled No Place for Truth . In Microeconomics, utility is term to describe value. An individual chooses one item or activity over another because it brings a greater utility. Utility is an abstract concept of measure. It is a concept to explain how people make rational decisions based on cost (alternative product or activities one abstains from to get another product or activity. A unit of measure for enjoyment, security, friendship, belonging, comfort, and feeling of competence? People make a choice between churches based on what they can get out of it. This book tells why more and more people choose to attend churches that do not teach a comprehensive theology.
   
   David Wells goes into great length to describe the limited choices people had a couple hundred years ago. He uses Winah Massachusetts for illustrative purposes. Church shopping did not exist. No one had the temptation to stay to watch football or This Week with George Stephanopolis. People tended to go to bed earlier on Saturday night, so less temptation to sleep in . Less distraction made for a more consistent church going public. Pastor did not have the pressure to alter their message for the fear that the parishioners would leave his church. The church building was the focal point of the town. The Pastor of a church was well respected in the town. David Wells goes nostalgic for the first hundred pages in this book. It seemed to go on and on how different society was.
   
   How society has changed and in turn changed the character of the preached word in the Evangelical church? As transportation and communication became faster & dependable, the individual heard and saw more alternatives. The individual has had more ideas thrown at him and had a greater ease to attend other places of worship. When more people acted upon their new found alternatives, ministers altered their message to retain and attract new members. Slowly evangelical theology becomes something else; it no longer is the truth as told in the Bible.
   
   What it means to be a Christian has changed. Christianity as taught by the Apostles after Pentecost. The time when the church became into being through the preaching of those who followed Jesus earthly walk. To be a believer meant to accept the teachings of Jesus. How did Jesus teach from the Old Testament? How did Jesus life on earth, death on a cross, and His resurrection bring the fulfillment of scripture? Theology came from the mouth of God . A confession is an exposition of God. This type of exposition includes how God acts in this world, how God influences the human race, the character of God, and the Will of God. Knowing God and obedience to God comes through theological understanding of God. One does not know truth unless one knows God. The Word of God is absolute truth. Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. David Wells argues that there is no supposition in scripture that other religions have cloudy form of truth or attributes of God. Everything is not relative.
   
   Theology has a confessional element. Statements that assert truths about God. One should reflect on these truths. Relate how one part of scripture pertains to or is made clear through another part of scripture. One should ponder how truth presented in the Bible corresponds to what is normative is society. Does what learns as common in society conflict with what the Bible teaches; compare what one confesses to what the World claims to true. David Wells argues today's Christians must not find much conflict if surveys are to be understood as accurate.
   
   I get upset over details in my life. Yes I worry and get confused by the smallest problems that come my way. Yes I want to act calmer, feel more in control, and feel better about myself. Should I seek a church that makes me feel more competent, talented, and a person of value? Should a church be a place to elevate my self perception? Should I choose a church based on what it can do for me? Every individual wants to feel healthy and competent. For the most part people choose activities, clothing and food that makes them feel better about themselves. I eat chocolate;it brings a sensation of contentment. I enjoy the moment. Does one attend a specific church because that is where God wants him? Some go for a sense of belonging, others to network, and others for euphoria of the worship service. David Wells argues people choose what is exciting over what is true. The ultimate aim to know God, to be forgiven for ones sins, and to become Christ like are not sought by church attendees. Someone may want to become close to God, but yet not want to know the truth about God. No longer do people constuct their understanding of the World based on the Truth proclaim in God's Word.
   
   Urbanization, technology, and mass media have effected how society and the individual perceive God. The Christian Faith is found margenalized. Paul Tillich's theology: "every person has objects and interests that are of ultimate concern. God or one's thoughts about God are to be manipulated. One chooses how one wants to understand the World and finds a god that fits into that philosophy. People choose not to believe in the transedent, a sovereign God nor the absolute word of the Bible. So call evangelicals do not want a god that intrudes into their life, a god that demands obedience, that has control over one's destiny, and bring down evil ultimately. Many want a god to be used for one's own convience. Such evangelical structure is not consistent with the Bible.



2. The following situations and beliefs are true in many Protestant/Evangelical churches today.
   - `Worship' is the pinnacle of the church service. Worship is considered successful based on the feelings of those involved.
   - Sermons are focused on self-gratitude and self-esteem rather than the Bible.
   - Theology is considered a bad word, just a few rungs higher than Hitler.
   - The Bible is used only to support a thought, belief or idea rather than our thoughts, beliefs and ideas being based on the Bible.
   - The `experience' of God is more foundational than the truth of God.
   - 53% of those claiming to be Bible-believing, conservative Christians claim there is no such thing as "absolute truth."
   
   The title of this book summarizes it well. The author's main point is that Evangelical churches have been heavily influenced by the culture and have thus lost the conviction that truth is absolute and theology is important. With this as a premise for the book, the author writes (sometimes painstakingly) about the process by which our Western culture has morphed into what it is today. With detail, the author then traces the history of Protestantism that later spawned Evangelicalism. Weaving it all together, the author presents how Evangelicalism has succumbed to a relativistic culture. And ultimately how this led to the death of theology.
   
   How has all of this happened? The stated purpose of David Well's book is "to explore why it is that theology is disappearing. (emphasis mine)" No claim is made for the content of theology, or even for the poor quality of theology. This is not the intention of the book. The book reads more like a culture-write-up that a missionary would study before entering a field of service with anthropological insights into the behaviors of the Evangelical Christian living in the contemporary world. The `Western Christian' culture is thoroughly analyzed, especially in its esteem toward truth, and namely theological truth.
   
   David Wells' writing style is unique. Unlike many contemporary authors (Christian or secular), Wells writes in a way that forces you to think. In many ways this is a positive. The reader must read the book slowly and thoughtfully in order to grasp the language that the author uses. But, it can also make for painfully slow reading. Perhaps this irritation found in the book is a result of the desire of our society for the instantaneous and the undemanding. With that said, I personally found myself getting bogged down in the author's writing style. Constantly I was forced to check the dictionary, and sometimes the dictionary didn't even help. This particular peculiarity of our society drives Wells' crazy, but he should realize that the readers of his book are products of the society that he is criticizing. If these people are the `mission field,' then they need to be reached in their heart language. The author should not compromise his academic standards, but a clearer `dumbed-down' writing style may have more effectively reached the church of today.
   
   The content, or main message of the book is excellent. Christianity in the past 100 years can be compared to the frog in the boiling pot of water. Unknown to the church, just recently have we started to boil. There definitely is a problem but unless fixed, the church faces certain demise. The evangelical church today is a large, potentially powerful organization that has the ability to turn the world upside-down. Yet it remains largely ineffective and instead, the church has been turned upside-down by the world.
   
   The manner in which Wells traces the history of both Western culture and Protestant culture is interesting and revealing. The book accomplishes its stated goal in explaining why these problems have come about in the Evangelical church of today. Personally, the book has produced an awareness in me regarding the direction and follies of today's church. And as a church planting missionary, I need to be careful in not carrying over these problems into churches in the Philippines.
   Lastly, I believe there is a small danger in culture bashing. A large part of the book is dedicated to exposing the folly of today's society. While this is important (as reflected in Wells' second aspect of theology- reflection), it has its limits. The Bible is clear that the world is foolishness and that we should find our trust in the spirit and His words (see 1Cor. 2). Though the culture needs to be evaluated in light of Scripture, we should not expect the culture to change apart from the wisdom that the Spirit gives. The culture needs the reflection that Wells calls for, but it also needs to be reached. A reoccurring frustration with Fundamentalism (the assumed camp that David Wells is a part of) is that it does not reach out into the culture in which it exists. Because of their fear of contamination, effective reaching out is rarely done. Admittedly, reaching out is like playing with fire (which the church has clearly been burnt by). But this reaching out is necessary.
   
   In conclusion, this is a good book. The author does an excellent job of exposing the weaknesses in churches today, and he also does an excellent job of tracing the influences that weakened the church. Church leaders would do themselves well to read this book and take appropriate action in their churches and ministries.



3. This is a provocative, demanding and rewarding book that attempts to grapple with some of the central challenges of Christian thought and life in a modern or post-modern world. Looking through Amazon and one or two other online sites, it is clear that many readers have also read Mark A. Noll's The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. I have too; and by way of introduction to David F. Wells' book, it is worth making brief reference to the other.
   
   Both books touch on similar subjects, though with different emphases. Both are concerned with the decline of what Noll calls "the life of the mind" within American evangelicalism; and both are concerned with how authoritative Christian thought can be sustained in this modern or postmodern world. I suspect that Noll's book has proved the more popular, even if the only direct evidence for that is the number of customer reviews on this site: 29 for Noll; 12 for Wells. And both books were published a year apart -- Wells in 1993, and Noll the following year. With a title like that, Noll was always going to be onto a winner!
   
   However, I suspect that one of the reasons for these differing figures is that Wells writes from a different perspective, one that ultimately makes more demands on the reader. Another might be that Wells' position is subtly yet noticeably more pessimistic. Noll is an historian who is eminently capable of working in theology; Wells is a theologian who is eminently capable of working in history. One only has to look at satellite television to realise which of these subjects is the more popular; and I hope that nobody reading this review imagines that Christian television has any connection with theology!
   
   One of the great strengths of this book is that it approaches its subject with the very breadth of thought that both authors find wanting in evangelicalism in general. While its focus is on North America, it spreads its net wide; and Wells is especially good at teasing out subtle relationships between culture and religious thought. It also manages to be at once highly opinionated, generous in spirit, full of subtle humour, and intensely passionate.
   
   How's this for a start? When, in his Introduction Wells asserts his "disbelief in much that the modern world holds dear" (p. 10), he also says that while he feels he must use this pugnacious style, he intends "no disrespect either for the reader or for the modern world. After all, I work for the one and must live with the other. The pugnacity is only in the appearance, not in the intention. The problem is that even the mildest assertion of Christian truth today sounds like a thunderclap because the well-polished civility of our religious talk has kept us from hearing much of this kind of thing." He then draws on John Kenneth Galbraith and G.K. Chesterton, to demonstrate a point that has nothing of religion or theology in it -- at first. So when the theological point arrives, it has force: "Evangelicals are antimodern only across a narrow front; I write from a position that is antimodern across the entire front. It is only where assumptions in culture directly and obviously contradict articles of faith that most evangelicals become aroused and rise up to battle 'secular humanism'; aside from these specific matters, they tend to view culture as neutral and harmless. More than that, they often view culture as a partner amenable to being coopted in the cause of celebrating Christian truth. I cannot share that naivete; indeed, I consider it dangerous. Culture is laden with values, many of which work to rearrange the substance of faith, even when they are mediated to us through the benefits that the modern world also bestows upon us."
   
   This epitomises Wells' ability to lay a profoundly humane groundwork for a theological starting-point, and then for an entire historical and theological argument; and that is one of the main reasons why this book is such a compelling indictment of contemporary evangelical theology. Or perhaps I should say non-theology; for that is what Wells finds everywhere -- though like Noll, he finds the malady less prevalent outside the USA.
   
   Beavers who are over-eager might get impatient at Wells' methods. Indeed, I suspect that at the root of one or two of the more negative responses this book has received, there lies a typically modern impatience. But for those willing to take time, there are rewards a-plenty. For example, the opening chapter's title is "A Delicious Paradise Lost." The Eden-like innocence belongs to the town of Wenham, Massachusetts, in the two hundered of so years after the town's foundation in the 1630s by a group of puritans of English descent. Less than ten years later an English visitor described the place as "a delicious paradise" which he would choose "above all towns in America to dwell in." Via authoritative comparisons with contemporary towns in Britain and America (the book has plenty of informative footnotes and cross-references), Wells charts Wenham's growth, which was very slow. He embraces the role of the church as a building and as community of believers (and a community which included many who were nominal believers); he shows how, as people of differing religious backgrounds moved into the town, they interacted with the dominant puritan heritage; and he follows the lives of a number of prominent figures, notably the schoolteacher. This was a community defined partly by its strong sense of place, and partly by its awareness of how people lived together -- or how they should live together. Of course, it wasn't really Eden. But until well into the 19th century it was so utterly different from the modern world that we might imagine it to be such.
   
   In a series of similar historically rooted pictures, Wells shows how those qualities disappeared, to be replaced by transience, by superficiality. In one of his many virtuoso analogies, he shows how Truman Capote (1924-84) was transformed by publicity "from an author of some initial repute into a personality. . . He bonded briefly with his devotees, but the bond was synthetic. In this new world, the statues are made of celluloid, not of stone; here the achievements are those of personality, seldom of character. . . This is experience without community. It is the experience of mankind in the mass, bereft of the forces that once drew it into centers of human fraternity and organization." Gloomy stuff! But it has precision and insight.
   
   All this proves to be an essential preliminary for the theological discussion that makes up by far the larger part of this book. The theological discussion is fed from the ground up, by being rooted in the communities in which theology should, and at one time did, hold its discourse. The third chapter takes its title, "Things Fall Apart", from Yeats' poem The Second Coming (yet another example of the broad synthesis that characterises this book), and charts the decline of theology from its place as the "queen of sciences" to an irrelevance, even in the evangelical world to which Wells and most of those who will read his book belong.
   
   Wells explains, with a magisterial grasp of history, culture and theology, how the decline of evangelical theology in the last two hundred is a direct result of the church's engagement with the world and its prevailing culture. It is a striking demonstration of the adage that the church rarely now turns the world upside (Acts 17:6); rather, the world has turned the church upside down. Hence the title: the church has been so concerned with accommodating itself to the world that it has forgotten how to sustain the mission God intended it to have to the world.
   
   Wells shows how thought, including that of some greats of American theology, became gradually corrupted by this accommodation. Along the way the religious institutions have become corrupted too. One of his most devastating critiques is of the modern seminary. Great institutions like Princeton and Yale began with Christian values at their core, with subjects designed from a Christian perspective. But as these universities have become inexorably secularised, other institutions had to take over their role; and those in turn have been run off their feet to maintain recognition by the world. Many of the qualifications issued by modern Christian colleges, including doctorates, have very little real value: they merely provide a veneer of respectability so that being a pastor might appear to have the same worldly status as being a lawyer, an academic or a doctor. It is not just that there is little reflection: there is no time for it.
   
   As for the corruption of the church's life . . . I'll leave you to read the examples Wells gives, which are shocking even to someone who knows something of what the God Channel and things of that kind spew out indiscriminately.
   
   As I say, this is not an optimistic book. But it is honest. It offers few large-scale solutions. But it is a clarion call to those who read it, and who believe that we should indeed love the Lord our God with all our minds. If one follows Well's thesis through, it becomes clear that institutions are not readily amenable to reformation. But individuals are. Just as the Gospel began with individuals, so it will be with individuals that any reformation of theology will begin.



4. This is a book that really sets out to accomplish a monumental task. It attempts to grapple with the broad questions of why theology and objective truth are so absent in the evangelical church today, and what has been the affect of modernism on the church. Due to the vast scope of this undertaking, the analysis can become somewhat unwieldy at times. However, while drawing in analyses from many angles, Wells maintains a sharp and accurate analysis of the problem. It ends up being too much information to soak in by reading it only once through. I found this also to be true of his other book in the series "Losing our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover it's Moral Vision."
   
   Wells vigorously argues that the evangelical church's chasing after "relevance" has rendered it weak and irrelevant to the culture. He shows how theology is essential to the life of the church, and properly belongs to the church, not merely to academia. The disconnection of theology from the church has cut the church free from its moorings, and set it adrift in a sea of fads and relativism. Theology no longer unifies and defines the church, he says, and instead the church mimics modernism. It does this by patterning itself after the business models of capitalism; preaching borrows heavily from psychological and therapeutic language and concepts, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is lost or diluted for a "self-help" gospel replacement.
   
   One of the interesting parts of the book was the discussion of the American tendency toward two ideals--individualism and conformity, which might at the surface seem at odds with one another, yet are held in tension in our culture. The church has been heavily influenced by these concepts as well. He also clearly refutes the idea that the exclusive claims of the Bible about salvation through Christ alone are just part of the "parochial" or simplistic worldview of the Biblical writers. He shows clearly how the ancients were very much in tune with pluralism, and that it was not foreign to them. Yet the Biblical writers clearly rejected pluralism in favor of the exclusive claims of the One and Only true God. After a thorough critique of the loss of truth in the church, Wells does offer a positive answer to how the church can recover from this crisis. He points us back to the Word of the Eternally Holy God, who alone can accomplish a Reformation of the church by the restoration of the Word and the objective truth of that Word in the theology that properly belongs in and with the church. A recovery of the understanding of God's holiness will restore to us the proper biblical understanding of sin and grace, rather than therapeutic understandings that modernist Christianity has put forth. Hopefully the church at large in America will hear Wells' call to repentance and reform



5. Although written almost two decades ago this book still hits home. In "No Place For Truth" David Wells describes what he and many others see as the decline of evangelical theology. Starting with a historical outline of the possible causes then analyzing trends in twentieth century thought Dr. Wells points out how modernity has changed evangelicalism into something more like 19th century theological Liberalism (not to be confused with today's political liberalism), than our evangelical forbears. What he describes is churches not only empty of theology, but hostile to it. The remainder of the book is about the dangers of this situation to the spiritual state of the Church. This is not alarmist propaganda that looks for scapegoats in the culture around us. Instead, Dr. Wells' criticism is with evangelical institutions, theologians, seminaries, and churches. Written in a firm but not combative style Dr. Wells paints a picture that will be familiar and alarming to many. Thankfully, in the years since this book was written the tide has begun to turn, but the leaders of today who are reforming evangelicalism often cite this book as a catalyst for the changes we see today.
   
   This is the first book in a series. Thus it is mostly concerned with identifying the problem with the work of proposing changes reserved for later volumes. Read this book!

3 comments about From Sea to Shining Sea for Children: Discovering God's Plan for America in Her First Half-Century of Independence, 1787-1837.

1. Once I read The Light and The Glory with my children, I knew that their education in American history would not be complete without this book. We were not disappointed. This book continues the narration of the great Christian heritage of the USA. As the settlers struggled to carve out a nation and our fledgling country grappled with issues between ourselves, our neighboring countries, and the Native American nation within our new boundaries, faith in God prevailed. The evidence for perseverence in faith is an inspiration to my children when they face daily struggles that are not as monumental. "Review" questions stimulate deep thought about the moral responsibility each one of us has to our country and our God. As with the first book, this is a great character building tool for our future citizens.



2. This is great for Christian homeschooling moms. My daughter, who is homeschooling all her children, asked me to buy it for her.



3. My oldest girls and I read this series, The Light and the Glory and From Sea to Shining Sea, together for American History. My younger daughter and I will do the same, plus I've bought the younger versions and activity books to go with them. We met Mr. Marshall when he visited our area years ago. He is a dedicated American and believer. The information he gathered from our government archives is truth rarely seen in American History books or heard in classrooms. It is forgotten truths straight from the historical documents put together in such an interesting read. It is heart warming and heart breaking and leaves you in awe of God.

5 comments about Jonathan Edwards: A Life.

1. Marsden, George M. Jonathan Edwards: A Life. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.
   
   There is almost a glut of material on Jonathan Edwards. That can be both good and bad. It is good that men are wrestling with Edwards's life and thought. A study of Edwards can renew intellectual life within the church. Furthermore, Edwards is being fairly studied by scholars outside the conservative world. This, too, is good. But there is always the question when a new Edwards book comes out: is there anything left to say? George Marsden thinks so. And Marsden takes his point of departure from other Edwards scholars. For all of the work on Edwards, the standard biographies (Perry Miller and Iain Murray) leave holes in some places.
   Thesis: Jonathan Edwards lived in the crossroads of intellectual and social history. He is a perfect representative of both streams of both European and American thought: he was a traditionalist who stood for authority, order, and stable values. Ironically, he also planted the seeds of the individualism that would later haunt evangelicalism. Even more paradoxically, the very cure (e.g., the Great Awakening) to the problem (e.g., spiritual decay and social stagnation) would later become another problem for religious America.
   
   There are two illustrations of Marsden's thesis from Edwards' ministry: the Great Awakening and the communion controversy, the latter will be examined in light of his political views. In both cases we see Edwards the traditionalist clash with Edwards the innovator. Edwards' instrumental role in the Great Awakening conflicted with other pastors in the region. Unwillingly, or unwittingly, Edwards inspired other men to rise up and carry on the revival, a task that also meant criticizing the status quo ecclesiology. Another example is Edwards' view on church-state relations (160). Was Edwards going to be the traditional Constantinian Protestant and favor a state-protected church, or would he encourage his people to be a holy congregation, called-out and separated from the world? It appears he wanted both. On p. 196 Edwards advocates a strong Constantianism. This clashed with his view on presenting spiritual evidences to the Lord's Supper. It is obvious why.
   
   Solomon Stoddard, Edwards' grandfather and the previous pastor, sought a mediating position with the Puritans demand for evidence of conversion alongside the painful fact that many people did not have that evidence. If they did not have that evidence, they weren't really in the covenant. So they posited a "half-way" covenant. There was still the nagging problem of evidence. Therefore, the parishioners would give evidence of moral sincerity whereas Edwards' demanded evidence of godly piety (368). It was Edwards' downfall (or heroic hour, depending on your point of view) to overturn this compromise.
   
   Evaluation:
   This book faithfully carries on the Edwardsean tradition. It presents a pastor who sought Christ-exalting power in the pulpit. Yet it is one of the first sympathetic books on Edwards to illustrate tensions in his worldview--tensions the Evangelical world is feeling today. Does a longing for revival and fresh power from the Spirit undermine certain stati quo in Reformed orthodoxy? Marsden's thesis leaves the reader wrestling and thinking on this question. Another fine point is Marsden's emphasis on the healthy sexual morality and love found between Jonathan and Sarah, especially in light of current confusion on sexual mores. I heartily recommend this book.



2. Above all, it's very nice that I can recieved this book very quickly with perfect condition (paperback).
   Among biography of Jonathan Edwards, this book is a masterfiece!
   I'm very satisfied with this order!



3. I was seeking information regarding religious teachings before the American Revolution and found a theologian's theologian. This was not a quick read since I was largely unfamiliar with Edwards' writings and teachings. I now have a "Great Awakening" anchor thanks to Marsden's treatment of Jonathan Edwards, his time, and his contemporaries. An important preacher at a particularly important time in the history of America. Brilliant presentation by Marsden.



4. This is certainly a good biography of the life and times of the great Jonathan Edwards. However, it does lack something of a the personal touch, especially about the days to day details of his life; his study and spiritual life. For a man living in the backwoods of America, lacking intellectual and spiritual companionship, he must have (and other biographies tell us) spent much of his days in his study, writing, thinking and praying.
   
   Although I am not of Edward's philosophical or religious persuasion, I found the description of his thoughts very illuminating, and at times, a little frightening. When everything that happened in his little town or in the turbulent times of US and world history are sourced back to the work of God; in most cases, God's judgements on the sins of the people, one wonders what sort of psychological damage he must inflicted in his poor flock! You almost feel, that for all his learning, he was still living in pre-scientific times.
   
   And you have to laugh where he refers to Hume's Treatise as a 'corrupt book'!But at least he read Hume and a number of other enlightenment philosophers; more than what can be said for the average pastor or preacher/'pop'writer today!
   
   This is a good readable work that does justice to a great, though in many ways, misguided, thinker.



5. This is a long book; the text alone is a little over 500 pages. In the ample space of those pages, Marsden very fully sets out virtually everything that is known about Jonathan Edwards. First and foremost, this is the story of a life. It is biography on a grand scale, in which Edwards' life is described, from beginning to end, in great detail.
   
   What is really marvelous about this book is how Marsden combines the professional objectivity of a historian with sympathetic understanding of his subject. This is very important, because Edwards is not the kind of person that just anyone could write about in a useful way. The events of Edwards' life are not very dramatic or significant. What makes Edwards important is his thought. He was a theologican and a philosopher, who stood on the point of transition between a world in which God still reigned supreme and the modern world of secular thought and scientiic belief. He was also a defender of Calvinism, in a world which was about to turn against Calvin.
   
   To write usefully about such a man, the writer needs to have a deep interest in theological and philosophic subjects, and Marsden does. I am not entirely sure what his own perspective is, because he keeps his own beliefs off stage, as is proper, but Marsden says that he is, and he plainly is, someone whose personal religious viewpoint is not too far away from that of Edwards. Marsden is someone to whom the issues Edwards wrestled with are still alive. He is thus able to bring alive Edwards' philosophic and theological concerns in a wonderful way.
   
   I, personally, do not yet know enough about Protestant thought to really be able to make sense of all of this. Much of Calvinism seems very odd to me. I am perplexed by such doctrines as the teaching that humans have absolutely no ability to merit grace -- not just faith alone, but the further teaching that what we believe and feel is not relevant either -- combined with the belief that we should exert ourselves greatly to be saved. If nothing we do makes any difference, where is our motive to work hard to accept God? I find all of this very perplexing.
   
   Marsden does not try to explain the larger Calvinist framework of thought to those, like me, who are bascially ignorant of it, so much of this material goes past me. One point that came across very strongly, however, is that Edwards -- in his own, odd Puritan way -- was a passionate mystic, as devoted to God as Saint John of the Cross or Teresa de Avila. I think, quite often, we find the Puritans repugnant, because their stress on God's anger is so foreign to us. While I still find that aspect of Puritan thought hard to sympathize with, I am glad to have someone show me that the Puritans -- in their own way -- were extremely sincere and zealous Christians.

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!

5 comments about So Help Me God: The Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle Over Church and State.

1. I was attracted to this book because of the Author and some prior experience I've had with other writings of his. The first book I reviewed here on Amazon was the Jefferson Bible with a forward by Forrest Church and I recall at the time being struck by the polarized reviews and voting patterns that I observed by those responding to that work and how much of it centered upon the importance of Jefferson's Bible and what it said about the religious views of that vital founding father and the original intent of the founders in terms of religion and its impact upon American society. I was struck at the time as to how easy it was for the different points of view to polarize with little middle ground and how focused the dissent was upon the point of view of the reviewer. It was almost as if their need to incorporate Jefferson or any Founding Father into their "camp" trumped objective history.
   
   I read this book after having done more study and reading in the field, and in particular I read the entire correspondance between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and I was particularly interested in how well what I gathered from that primary source would compare with this secondary interpretation. In fact, based upon my conclusions from reading Church's take on Adams and Jefferson I was determined that I'd have a pretty good base on what to conclude on his information related to Washington, Madison and Monroe as I am not as familiar with their religious and constitutional views despite having done some reading in this field in the past as well.
   
   My conclusion is that Church has a very good handle and makes a fair and reasonable presentation that to me rang true in those areas where I was equipped to make that observation.
   
   Church is a Unitarian/Universalist Minister and it might be easy to dismiss him on that basis as biased toward finding religion wherever he looks. I found him to be reasonable in his treatment of each of the men and willing to deal objectively with their personal and public faith and willing to accept that being human, they at times were inconsistent and at times willing to make compromises to promote their own political careers and cater to the necessities of the day where religion was prevalent and entangled in public policy.
   
   The only real complaint I have, and it is the basis for the 4 star evaluation rather than the 5 I would have given it if I could, is that although there are end notes that provide sources for the more serious reader to explore and check, the lack of in-text notation leaves the reader having to rely upon the author's judgment to a great degree. The emphasis is upon flow and readability and Church does a good job in this regard. I think people taking the time to read this focused a book are going to want to be able to see the sources without having to continually turn to the back to see if there is a source in the first place and then once located by page to determine where on the page the source is incorporated. Any serious reader wishing to use this book for resource or reference will find this a frustrating element.
   
   Worth the time and effort to read and reasonably objective in my opinion.
   
   Bart Breen



2. The subtitle describes pretty well the content of this book, which aims to describe the first great cultural war in American political history. Pursuant to the author, the ideals of liberty and order will coexist in tension as they have in the nation's womb from the beginning. In that line, he thinks that today's US Christian campaigners and their secular critics seem almost timid compared to the warring American dreamers and would-be saviours who battled for votes in the American early republic.
   
   What I like the most is the way F. Church, with a stroke of his pen, vividly depicts the first five American President's religious stands, often making interesting parallels between them . E.g.:
   
   Washington. Just how religious was George Washington? The short answer is: "Not very" . He had much of the principle, little of the sentiment of religion. He was more moral than pious.
   
   John Adams. The Protestant ethic was bred in his bone. He didn't think like a true believer but he felt like a true believer.
   
   Thomas Jefferson. If Adams was skeptical about almost everything, Jefferson worshiped just as doggedly at the altar of reason and progress. He was a fundamentalist of the left, inflexible in his fidelity to rational religion. However, as devoted as Jefferson was to church-state separation, religion and politics mixed freely in Washington throughout his administration.
   
   James Madison. Jefferson supported freedom of religion to protect the state from the church but also to free mind from the state while Madison sought to protect the state from the church by encouraging sectarian competition and seems to have been a reverent agnostic (in the gentlest sense of the word, i.e., "unknowing"), too modest to advance any claims of his own and respectful of the claims promoted by others.
   
   James Monroe. His moral and religious character is closer in almost every respect to Washington's than to those of his senior partners in the Republican troika, Jefferson and Madison. He was a Stoic, a Mason, secular to the bone, conservative by nature, and not interested enough in religion to bother being disrespectful toward anyone's cherished beliefs.
   
   ...
   
   A final insight Church garnered along the way is this: In America's early politics, religion, even when entered into the halls of government freely, wound up being manipulated for political gain. When church and state tucked into bed together, it was the church that ended up asking, "Will you respect me in the morning?", and the answer was almost always "No".
   
   So I recommend it, my rate being between 4 (content) and 4 (pleasure, sometimes falling to 3, sometimes raising to 5).
   
   Other books I would also recommend would be the following:
   
   On the US: a) Religious history (interpreted sociologically): "The Churching Of America, 1776-2005: Winners And Losers In Our Religious Economy" by Roger Finke and Rodney Stark; b) Political history (Democracy and its discontents): "The Rise of American Democracy. Jefferson to Lincoln" by Sean Wilentz.
   
   On religion (published this very Fall): a) "Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief" by Rodney Stark (apologetic, brilliant and controversial); b) "Secular Age" by Charles Taylor (a fascinating voluminous social and intellectual history); c) "How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now" by James L. Kugel (extremely scholarly and easy to read, a combination difficult to find).



3. For those who think the first five presidents were devout Christians, the news is not good. Nor is the news good for those who think the country was non-religious. There was indeed a "culture war" going on and the arguments were not unlike today's insultfest. Also like today, mutual slanders were propagated by the media, the politicians, and the pulpit. Some things never change.
   
   * Only Adams was a church-goer all his life. Washington, Jefferson, and Madison attended church when living in the White House, seldom otherwise. Monroe didn't go even when he was President. They all doubted the divinity of Christ but all utilized a semblance of faith when it fit their agenda. From the onset in American politics, religion ended up being manipulated for political gain.
   
   * Washington scrupulously avoided the slightest hint of religious favoritism and would not abide any sectarian interference in the affairs of state. By the end of his second term, established church leaders were openly disenchanted with his ambiguous religious posture. He probably did say "So help me God" at his inauguration.
   
   * There would have been no Bill of Rights if it weren't for the Danbury Baptists of Connecticut. Madison and others thought a Bill of Rights was redundant but he needed their support for ratification of the Constitution. In exchange, he presented and fought for a Bill of Rights in the new Congress.
   
   * The Federalist party (mainly northern) was a coalition between those who wanted a strong federal government and the existing controlling Christian denominations (Presbyterians, Unitarians, Congregationalists, Anglicans). The Democratic/Republican party (mainly southern) was a coalition between those influenced by the European Enlightenment (Jefferson, et al) and the minority sects who were not powerful in any state (Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Jews).
   
   * Monroe was secular to the bone, too disinterested in religion to be disrespectful about anyone's cherished beliefs. His administration was the beneficiary of religious peace as the New England Federalist clerics lost their political franchise. States gradually relinquished support and entanglements with their pet denominations and churches doubled their enrollment. Separation of church and state appears to have helped religion flourish.
   
   An Epilogue records the last days of each President and reminds us that dying memorably is an art. "Tis well," Washington affirmed, summing up his magnificent life in two tiny words. Monroe held on until July 4, 1831, the 55th anniversary of Independence Day. Unfortunately, Adams and Jefferson had done it first, July 4, 1826. Madison made his quieter exit six days before July 4, 1836.
   
   Both sides mentioned in my opening paragraph cherry-pick their data to prove that the colonists and founding fathers were or weren't religious. This book settles the score. As usual, things are not black and white nor even gray - more like black and white paint mixed together, haphazardly stirred. Church is a lifelong scholar of early US history. He provides plenty of references and his assessments appear to this nonhistorian to be accurate. I guarantee you will be enthralled.



4. Church has given us an excellent description and analysis of the stances on religion of the first presidents of the US, from Washington through Monroe. The degree of their public religious orthodoxy, and writings that might provide additional clues, are described. Church makes a very convincing case that this issue was used politically by both federalists and republicans. Jefferson's religious liberalism and unorthodoxy were well-known, for example, and yet he never attended services more regularly than when he was president. This is where I would have liked Church's writing to be a bit more cutting. While he describes some of what could be described as hypocrisy, he does little to describe how the stated positions on religion affected day to day behavior. To return to Jefferson, how could his stated admiration for Jesus' ethical principles coexist with blatantly unethical (possibly treasonous) behavior such as covertly paying Callendar to slander federalist opponents while he served in the administration? We don't get an analysis, but it is simply stated that he had a complicated mind and chose to ignore the uncomfortable. That would be the only additional issue I would have liked to see Church spend more time on, the link between stated ethical principles and behavior. Additionally, as another reviewer pointed out, the structure of referencing his sources is not easy to follow. All in all, however, a very worthwhile and enlightening work.



5. I just finished reading SO HELP ME GOD and have already begun a second read-through. I am so excited by what I've read. I'd like to thank the author for writing such a wonderful and enlightening book! It's clearly the work of a mind that knows the history of the period and the historical persons very well, and yet it's a more exciting read that most of the historical studies I've read over the years.
   
   At a number of points in the book, I couldn't believe what I was reading--did John Adams really say that? What would a three-minute sentence in a State of the Union address actually look like?, etc...--so checked the sources in the back of the book. And since I have instant access to a wonderful library, I was able to get some of the sources the author used and read the context around some of the quotes that he used and see that 3-minute sentence for myself.
   
   What a wonderful introduction to the challenges the first five U.S. presidents faced regarding the church-state question/nexus/interaction/relationship!
   
   I look forward to enjoying a second read of this book (probably read aloud to myself so I can savor the writing from my own lips to my own ears) and to using some of the insights I've gained from this author's amazing labor of love.
   
   If questions about the relationship between church and state are of interest to you, and you'd like to hear more about the early challenges we faced in the early years of our government, this book is made for you.
   
   A wonderful read. And a page turner at that. I can't recommend it too highly. It's that good.

5 comments about Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face - Revised Edition: A 1-Hour Crash Course on Raising Major Gifts for Nonprofit Organizations.

1. Everyone who works in the wonderful world of not-for-profits realizes that the dreaded day will come when they have to make an ask for money. This terrific book not only outlines the how-to of making such an ask, but also teaches the board member that this is their board participation responsibility. The book takes you step by step through the process teaching you that the best way to avoid the fear of the situation is to be well prepared.

   However, i think one of the most important aspects of this book is that it convinces board members that theirs is a noble cause and that asking for money should bring a sense of pride, not shame. That may be a hard sell, but i think Lansdowne succeeds.

   Lansdowne offers a well organized book that anticipates the pitfall of fund raising, while providing a well mapped procedure to follow.




2. David Lansdowne is the stern but understanding father of major gift solicitation. He pours light into shadowy corners, sets realistic expectations, punctures silly myths, and swiftly explains each step in the solicitation process, from preparation to asking to the thanks. He delivers full weight on the promise of his title and holds your hand throughout (though his touch is more of a sharp tug; clearly he's been through this a thousand times and heard every board member dodge and complaint). This is a super-fast read; ideal for busy board members. Lansdowne also makes clear that success is mostly a matter of diligence, common sense, and heeding expert advice -- and his advice is rock solid, industry tested. I rank this top shelf, up there with Kay Sprinkel Grace's Ultimate Board book and Jerry Panas' Asking.



3. I am currently involved in a Capital Campaign and found this book so helpful - from both sides of the fence. Through understanding the expectations that a Board member should have, it is helping me to frame my contact and training for the board. I refer to it regularly and would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to understand how fundraising works, and their responsibilities as a Board Member and for the fundraiser, a look from the Board Members shoes.



4. The Heritage Christian University Board of Directors relies on this book as one of their guidelines. Every member has a copy and every new Board member receives one. We keep copies on hand. It's a great way to realize what's involved on your part with a Board of Directors of a Non-Profit.



5. This was a fantastic easy read, great for new board members who want to get their feet wet in the world of fundraising.

No comments about A Jesuit Education Reader.