American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church by Andrew L. Whitehead

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

The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

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

Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States

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

The Problem of Slavery in Christian America: An Ethical-Judicial History of American Slavery and Racism by Joel McDurmon

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

Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History by John Dickson

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

White Christian Privilege: The Illusion of Religious Equality in America by Khyati Joshi

Summary: Discussion of the cultural and real privilege of being a White Christian (or at least conversant in Christianity) in America. I recently read Taking America Back for God, a book about Christian Nationalism, and when I was writing up my review, one of the books recommended was White Christian Privilege. I did not know … Read more

Jesus Wars by Philip Jenkins

Summary: A history of the early Christian political and theological history. I am not sure that the book’s subtitle, “How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years,” helped my perception of the book. I have read two previous books by Jenkins, The Lost History of … Read more

Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life by Henri Nouwen edited by Michael Christensen and Rebecca Laird

Summary: Discernment is an essential part of Christian life.  I am very mixed about posthumously completed books, especially those that are edited together. On the one hand, there are books like Dorothy Sayers’ Thrones, Dominations that was found years after her death and was edited and completed by Jill Paton Walsh and then continued on … Read more