Summary: The best critique of Christian Nationalism I have read, because Miller so clearly understands the reasons that Christian Nationalism can be attractive and reasonable. There have been various books about Christian Nationalism; initially, they were all condemning, and more recently, a few made positive cases for Christian Nationalism. The Religion of American Greatness is … Read more
Summary: A helpful, somewhat personal look at how Christian Nationalism is a type of idolatry that distorts Christianity. I am very much on board with the idea that Christian Nationalism is one of the more significant problems facing both the US political reality and the US church. But I also think that some critics of … Read more
Summary: A brief look at the sociology and history of Christian Nationalism in regard to how it relates to democracy. Perry and Whitehead’s Taking America Back for God was the first book I read that was explicitly about Christian Nationalism. Samuel Perry is back with Philip Gorski with a short book that updates and takes … Read more
Summary: Christian nationalism is a better predictor for voting for Trump than identifying as an Evangelical. Yesterday I pulled up Miroslav Volf’s For the Life of the World podcast because it was interviewing Jemar Tisby. I am very familiar with Jemar (and his book Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in … Read more
Summary: A look at Roman religious practices and the how the early church was different from the religious practices of their surrounding culture. It took me a decade or so, but eventually I came to see that the work of NT Wright and others were bringing attention to the Roman and Jewish cultural practices of … Read more
Summary: Theological account of Christianity as a way of living, not simply as an intellectual system. In an overly simplified sense, the point of the book is to move Christianity from a series of propositional belief statements (thin) to a “thick” belief system where those beliefs matter to not just how we see the world, … Read more
Summary: An exploration of how Whiteness (the belief in white racial superiority) functions as a type of religion in the Durkheimian sense. I have been waiting to read this book for about four years now, ever since I heard that Michael Emerson was working on follow-up research to his Divided by Faith book. I read … Read more
Summary: A legal and historical look at the development of slavery in the US written and oriented toward theonomist leaning Christians. I honestly am not sure how to talk about The Problem of Slavery in Christian America. The history is very good and helpful. But the political and theological bias of the author, primarily coming … Read more
Summary: An overview of the tension between the church’s good and bad behavior throughout church history. I do not think I would have picked up Bullies and Saints if I had not heard the Seminary Dropout podcast interview. Part of the ongoing discussion of those discussing the future of evangelicalism right now is the right … Read more
Summary: Historical questions are often much more complicated than we would like to present. I have listened to John Fea’s podcast for years now. And I have read his book on the issues that lead to Evangelicals voting for Trump. But I have not read Was American Founded as a Christian Nation or his more … Read more