Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - 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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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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c2llanes's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

du mez does an excellent job covering a lot of historical and cultural ground, and while at times it felt a little meandering, by the time you get to the last two chapters, it all feels very rewarding because the big picture is so clear: connecting a legacy of masculinity with the 2016 election and widespread abuse in the christian church. i’m excited to see what other scholarship du mez does around culture and christian theology!!

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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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sorry_imbooked's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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caikey11's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

It’s hard to formulate thoughts on this one right now. An important read.

Sharing a massive trigger warning for the last chapter, which examines the church’s failure to prevent, respond to, and protect sexual victimization of children and women in the church. Even working extensively (8+ years, heavily focused on trauma and primarily on childhood sexual abuse) with this subject, this chapter was triggering and overwhelming to me. And one point I had to just put it away for a while. Take good care, especially if you have sexual trauma with or without religious trauma.

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