Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

this was equal parts cathartic and deeply infuriating. it’s like I grew up watching a show that I convinced myself was my favorite show ever and as I grew up I realized I don’t think I ever liked the show and then a book comes out about every actor who was in the show (the Grahams, the Falwells, TobyMac, Natalie Grant, the guy who wrote the Left Behind series, Ronald Reagan, Chip and Joanna Gaines briefly, the entirety of the Southern Baptist Convention—like it’s a deep cast you know) airing out all their dirty secrets except they’re not dirty secrets it’s just things they’ve literally said and stood for. also it’s like the show writers came out and stated for the record that I was never welcome to watch their show in the first place and also they hate me personally. even though I already decided I didn’t like the show and never really did and even though it’s information I suspected all along but never fully confirmed, it somehow still feels like it ruined my childhood?

basically, if you have any sort of religious trauma including but not limited to being in a religious community and at the same time being a woman, being gay, existing outside of the gender binary, having a super toxically masculine dad/father figure, being a kid who got spanked, being someone interested in science, being someone who cared more about helping people than proselytizing them, being a pacifist—it hits a little (a lot) close to home and it will piss you off but it’s a really good read

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mswarning's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

4.25

It's hard to say that I "really like" this book or think it's "amazing." I can't describe how many times it made me angry, like when pastors or other authority figures were given passes when they accused of sexual or child abuse. People just chalked it up to their god-given "masculinity." This book is not snarky or humorous despite the impression the title might give. It's a cultural foray into white evangelicalism in the US.

I did not like the narrator. She sounded robotic, bored, and dispassionate.

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xandra_lyn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative slow-paced

4.5

A sobering account of the history of evangelicalism. I have a lot of thoughts, too many for a short review.

If you are an evangelical or are confused about evangelical stances, please take the time to read this. It will open your eyes.

It is critical against evangelicalism, and the title is overly provocative. If you are an evangelical, you've already been exposed to the evangelical bias; get a different point of view and read this. To skeptics of what she has to say, read this with an open mind, a heart seeking truth and Jesus, and maybe you'll understand why many are deconstructing and moving away from evangelical denominations.

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readingbrb's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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montyalmoro's review against another edition

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dark informative slow-paced

3.75

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xfallenxnightx's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

4.75

Eye opening look into far right Christian Nationalist politics. Terrifying stuff, as this book lays out the history of this group and their rise to power in the US.

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