Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
shocking piece of investigative journalism. Shows just how much the separation of church and state has been eroding in our country and how it goes p very high. I had heard of the national prayer breakfast but I never knew it was related to this organisation. Also the navigators, which I was a part of in college!
He went very much into retelling about American history and the Great Revivals but I could not focus during those parts and didnt retain much. I look forward to watching the Netflix.
He went very much into retelling about American history and the Great Revivals but I could not focus during those parts and didnt retain much. I look forward to watching the Netflix.
This book is certainly interesting, although a bit dense. It's not something easy to breeze through because it's all names and dates and organization titles. There's some great stuff here, though, and it certainly has some intrigue, as well as some fairly disturbing glimpses into some backroom political parlors in a not-so-distant past of the United States and Europe.
Pretty dense. Very interesting. It's a book I pick up, put down, read something else, and then pick up again.
I got this because I watched the Netflix documentary series.
This book has so much information. My problem is that I don't know if it is a book warning about the group or just giving its history. The author did so much research. He relates "the family" to Hitler and Stalin, but doesn't necessarily say that that is a bad thing.
There was a tangent into how mega-churches have people that believe in Fundamentalism. It was barely related.
I did learn that Henry Ford and Hitler were friends. That was interesting.
This book has so much information. My problem is that I don't know if it is a book warning about the group or just giving its history. The author did so much research. He relates "the family" to Hitler and Stalin, but doesn't necessarily say that that is a bad thing.
There was a tangent into how mega-churches have people that believe in Fundamentalism. It was barely related.
I did learn that Henry Ford and Hitler were friends. That was interesting.
Move over Birthers! This is not only crazy, but it’s true, too. I have been reading Sharlet’s book, The Family. Coincidentally, the recent Congressional sex scandals have brought this Family into the limelight again, so Democracy Now talked to Jeff Sharlet the other day. He distills his book into a summary better than I can possibly do it and adds more recent facts as well. He starts to go into the reach into the military after discussing the book and its hold on Congress. See the links below.
The Family. They have influenced politics here and abroad, strengthening our ties with crazy murderous dictators everywhere and all kinds of shady things thinly veiled as pushing prayer and Jesus plus nothing (that’s right, no Bible, not even Jesus’ teachings). This is not the Jesus you read about in the Bible. Their Jesus is a power hungry, proud, pro-bsiness, elitist, military leader whose adherents look to Suharto, Mao, Stalin, Hitler for their examples of power and influence and how to indoctrinate for Christ. Marital infidelity or a few massacres in your past (or present) doesn’t so much matter as a nod to this distorted Christ and a discussion in your prayer cell (Odd terminology? I thought so, but it’s par for that course) about how to get that deregulation passed, hate crimes legislation squashed, Iraq/Iran invaded, etc. Their “gospel” is about power and how to get more of it- thinly veiled as submission to their version of Jesus. After all, if the powerful “know Jesus” the love will just trickle down. That’s another thing, they think people just need love, not “hand outs”- not exactly Jesus’ example, but no matter- Scripture plays a very small role in the Family. This is disgusting. This is precisely why I value separation of church and state.
Some Christians worry about Islam (Islamofascism?) taking over. Personally, I would worry about this “Family” type of thing - it's way more prevalent than we realize and it's hijacked common sense, Christianity, and one or both parties in our political system. It’s bad for religion and the state both.
This is the Diane Rehm Show Sharlet was on about a year ago that got me interested:
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/08/06/24.php#20950
This is yesterday’s piece with Sharlet on Democracy Now:
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/12/sharlet
The Family. They have influenced politics here and abroad, strengthening our ties with crazy murderous dictators everywhere and all kinds of shady things thinly veiled as pushing prayer and Jesus plus nothing (that’s right, no Bible, not even Jesus’ teachings). This is not the Jesus you read about in the Bible. Their Jesus is a power hungry, proud, pro-bsiness, elitist, military leader whose adherents look to Suharto, Mao, Stalin, Hitler for their examples of power and influence and how to indoctrinate for Christ. Marital infidelity or a few massacres in your past (or present) doesn’t so much matter as a nod to this distorted Christ and a discussion in your prayer cell (Odd terminology? I thought so, but it’s par for that course) about how to get that deregulation passed, hate crimes legislation squashed, Iraq/Iran invaded, etc. Their “gospel” is about power and how to get more of it- thinly veiled as submission to their version of Jesus. After all, if the powerful “know Jesus” the love will just trickle down. That’s another thing, they think people just need love, not “hand outs”- not exactly Jesus’ example, but no matter- Scripture plays a very small role in the Family. This is disgusting. This is precisely why I value separation of church and state.
Some Christians worry about Islam (Islamofascism?) taking over. Personally, I would worry about this “Family” type of thing - it's way more prevalent than we realize and it's hijacked common sense, Christianity, and one or both parties in our political system. It’s bad for religion and the state both.
This is the Diane Rehm Show Sharlet was on about a year ago that got me interested:
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/08/06/24.php#20950
This is yesterday’s piece with Sharlet on Democracy Now:
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/12/sharlet
This book is a really interesting meditation on a particular brand of American religiosity that focuses on power. Sharlet brings you along as he wrestles with a strange faith that seems to ask nothing of its adherents except an expression of their faith. There are no good deeds, only powerful men professing their love in Jesus and carrying on with whatever powerplay they were involved in before, with no morality attached.
It's a look at how religion, or really any philosophy, can be twisted to serve people in power. And Sharlet does a deft job of weaving back and forth in history to show how such an empty faith has gained power.
Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of focus and Sharlet goes on digressions about chastity and abortion that don't really fit into his main theme. They're interesting looks at certain brands of American religiosity, but he never really weaves them tightly with his theme of empty faith. The lack of tightness hurts the book a bit; you're left feeling like you've had a tour rather than a compelling history.
Still, it's an interesting look at something too many people talk about without analyzing.
It's a look at how religion, or really any philosophy, can be twisted to serve people in power. And Sharlet does a deft job of weaving back and forth in history to show how such an empty faith has gained power.
Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of focus and Sharlet goes on digressions about chastity and abortion that don't really fit into his main theme. They're interesting looks at certain brands of American religiosity, but he never really weaves them tightly with his theme of empty faith. The lack of tightness hurts the book a bit; you're left feeling like you've had a tour rather than a compelling history.
Still, it's an interesting look at something too many people talk about without analyzing.
informative
medium-paced
I didn't finish this. I had heard the author interviewed on "Fresh Air" and seen him on Bill Maher's show, and I thought this sounded like a really interesting book. I really liked the first 50 or so pages, where he talked about his brief "infiltration" of the Family. Then he started talking about the history of the movement, which I struggled with for 50 pages before giving up entirely. I don't know. I couldn't give this one star, because it might just be me - I've had a horrible week and this book is not the easiest read. It requires a lot of focus and concentration that I just couldn't give, and my 2-week library loan due date is fast-approaching, so I just gave up. I never do that. After flipping through the rest of the book and still seeing discussions of the movement's (not very enthralling) history over 100 pages later, I realized I was never going to get through this.
3 for readability; 5+ for relevance.
The Family is known to most Beltway politicos and in the corridors of political powerhouses throughout the world. Known well, but little understood. This is an areligious, ultra-conservative, tightly-knit network of American political and economic power that operates on the basis of a single premise: its members are directly chosen by Jesus Christ as special emissaries of his mission. Of course, this mission is defined by the Family itself: namely the expansion and concentration of political power that adheres to specific American conservative values. Sharlet describes the phenomenon of the Family as "American Fundamentalism: a movement that recasts theology in the language of empire." (p.3)
Sharlet’s meticulously-researched expose, published in 2008, is just now hitting mainstream America, thanks to a recent spate of headlines featuring the Family and its political machinations and missteps: (http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/44190 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/11/tax-man-comes-for-c-street-res.html http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/news_reports/the_familys_role_in_writing_th.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/us/politics/04prayer.html)
Perhaps now the “secret” will see the light of an average citizen’s day (I waited months for a copy from the Seattle Public Library after an interview with the author aired on NPR's Fresh Air with Terri Gross; clearly, word has gotten out, but we're the choir who already sings the tune, you know).
The Family is not a religious movement. Its members come from a variety of Christian faiths, though its links to organizations such as Young Life, Campus Crusade for Christ, Focus on the Family, Promise Keepers and Charles Colson's Prison Fellowship reveal it to be an advocate of fundamentalist movements and its political agenda show it to be aligned with the Christian Right. It operates in a model that Sharlet notes mirrors that of religious cults, mafias, anti-government/terrorist organizations, etc.: a very small cell of power brokers, governed by spiritual leader Doug Coe, bestows its will on concentric circles of fellowship by the means of prayer groups. As these rings grow larger, the connection to the Family becomes more opaque- the Family wants to be heard, its influence felt, not seen. It cherry-picks its most elite members; for example, recruiting young men who demonstrate leadership on their college campuses and nurturing them through seminars and prayer meetings, such as those held in conjunction with the annual National Prayer Breakfast (recent Breakfast keynote speakers include Tony Blair and U2 frontman, Bono; President Obama addressed the gathering last month). Some persons of interest, like the author Jeff Sharlet, are invited to reside for a spell at the Family residence in Arlington, VA., “Ivanwald” (not to be confused with the “C” Street residence currently under investigation).
There are names of those who receive the thumbs-up and the thumbs-down from the Family that may surprise the reader. Although the Family celebrated George W. Bush’s faith-based political initiatives and his profession of Jesus Christ as his mentor, it appears they recognized his limitations as a player in an elite intellectual organization. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, was embraced early on as First Lady and then as the junior senator of New York State- here was a political machine worthy of attention and close scrutiny. I’m guessing Hillary played them for everything she could.
Sharlet devotes a considerable portion of his book to the history of evangelism in the United States, beginning with Jonathan Edwards in the mid 18th century. We are led to the establishment of the Family’s precursor- the Fellowship- founded, ironically, in Seattle by a Norwegian immigrant as a response to labor movements and the lawlessness of a young, rapidly expanding city. The modern incarnation of the Family blossoms after WWII. The Cold War becomes the Family's cause célèbre, the eradication of communism worldwide in the name of Jesus Christ becomes its driving mission. Sharlet details the Family’s involvement in Indonesia (Suharto’s slaughter of untold millions), Somalia (Siad Barre’s slaughter of untold millions), Haiti, Central America, Uganda- the trail of blood goes on and on. The Family, not unlike many US administrations, nurtures dictators when it suits their political agenda and turns a blind eye to crimes against humanity.
But enough about this already- I’ll spoil all the good bits. Here’s the thing about the book. Sharlet’s research is so meticulous, exhaustive, detailed, and intense, I fairly lost the forest for the trees. It’s as if he wanted to be so careful to avoid the Opus Dei conspiracy hysteria that made readers froth after Dan Brown’s every fictional word that should-have-been-footnotes become entire sections.
Sharlet's research into the Family began in 2002 after his stay at Ivanwald; he is a longtime researcher and reporter of religious organizations and practices. His knowledge base is vast and his skill with the written word very evident. But I can’t help to wonder if the power of his message is weakened by his encyclopedic rendering of the American Fundamentalist movement. I lost track of the Family at several points along the way, particularly in the section dealing with the megachurches and Christian fundamentalists that seem to have overrun the city of Colorado Springs. Fascinating stuff and worthy of a book in its own right, but I wanted to know more practical information on the current influence wielded by the Family and the involvement of the people who appear on my ballots.
I haven't even touched the gross hypocrisy of the Family's sheltering of and excuse-making for the recently-scandalized slimeballs Gov. Mark Sanford and Sen. John Ensign, among others, while proclaiming cultural war against gays and lesbians (and advocating for the death penalty for homosexuals in Uganda) and family planning that includes birth control.
But these stories post-date Sharlet's book. I can only hope he continues bringing to light the shadow cult of personality of Doug Coe and the power elite of the Family that makes its own rules and has skillfully conned countless leaders into doing its will.
--------------------------------
3 1/2 stars- need time to digest this, but impact was weakened by exhaustive (exhausting) detail, history and author's literary bent.
----------------------------------------------------------
I'll probably need to ingest blood pressure medication while reading this book. I'm outraged and disgusted enough just listening to tonight's Fresh Air interview with the author disgust and outrage NOT with the author, but with his subjects of investigation).
The Family is known to most Beltway politicos and in the corridors of political powerhouses throughout the world. Known well, but little understood. This is an areligious, ultra-conservative, tightly-knit network of American political and economic power that operates on the basis of a single premise: its members are directly chosen by Jesus Christ as special emissaries of his mission. Of course, this mission is defined by the Family itself: namely the expansion and concentration of political power that adheres to specific American conservative values. Sharlet describes the phenomenon of the Family as "American Fundamentalism: a movement that recasts theology in the language of empire." (p.3)
Sharlet’s meticulously-researched expose, published in 2008, is just now hitting mainstream America, thanks to a recent spate of headlines featuring the Family and its political machinations and missteps: (http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/44190 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/11/tax-man-comes-for-c-street-res.html http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/news_reports/the_familys_role_in_writing_th.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/us/politics/04prayer.html)
Perhaps now the “secret” will see the light of an average citizen’s day (I waited months for a copy from the Seattle Public Library after an interview with the author aired on NPR's Fresh Air with Terri Gross; clearly, word has gotten out, but we're the choir who already sings the tune, you know).
The Family is not a religious movement. Its members come from a variety of Christian faiths, though its links to organizations such as Young Life, Campus Crusade for Christ, Focus on the Family, Promise Keepers and Charles Colson's Prison Fellowship reveal it to be an advocate of fundamentalist movements and its political agenda show it to be aligned with the Christian Right. It operates in a model that Sharlet notes mirrors that of religious cults, mafias, anti-government/terrorist organizations, etc.: a very small cell of power brokers, governed by spiritual leader Doug Coe, bestows its will on concentric circles of fellowship by the means of prayer groups. As these rings grow larger, the connection to the Family becomes more opaque- the Family wants to be heard, its influence felt, not seen. It cherry-picks its most elite members; for example, recruiting young men who demonstrate leadership on their college campuses and nurturing them through seminars and prayer meetings, such as those held in conjunction with the annual National Prayer Breakfast (recent Breakfast keynote speakers include Tony Blair and U2 frontman, Bono; President Obama addressed the gathering last month). Some persons of interest, like the author Jeff Sharlet, are invited to reside for a spell at the Family residence in Arlington, VA., “Ivanwald” (not to be confused with the “C” Street residence currently under investigation).
There are names of those who receive the thumbs-up and the thumbs-down from the Family that may surprise the reader. Although the Family celebrated George W. Bush’s faith-based political initiatives and his profession of Jesus Christ as his mentor, it appears they recognized his limitations as a player in an elite intellectual organization. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, was embraced early on as First Lady and then as the junior senator of New York State- here was a political machine worthy of attention and close scrutiny. I’m guessing Hillary played them for everything she could.
Sharlet devotes a considerable portion of his book to the history of evangelism in the United States, beginning with Jonathan Edwards in the mid 18th century. We are led to the establishment of the Family’s precursor- the Fellowship- founded, ironically, in Seattle by a Norwegian immigrant as a response to labor movements and the lawlessness of a young, rapidly expanding city. The modern incarnation of the Family blossoms after WWII. The Cold War becomes the Family's cause célèbre, the eradication of communism worldwide in the name of Jesus Christ becomes its driving mission. Sharlet details the Family’s involvement in Indonesia (Suharto’s slaughter of untold millions), Somalia (Siad Barre’s slaughter of untold millions), Haiti, Central America, Uganda- the trail of blood goes on and on. The Family, not unlike many US administrations, nurtures dictators when it suits their political agenda and turns a blind eye to crimes against humanity.
But enough about this already- I’ll spoil all the good bits. Here’s the thing about the book. Sharlet’s research is so meticulous, exhaustive, detailed, and intense, I fairly lost the forest for the trees. It’s as if he wanted to be so careful to avoid the Opus Dei conspiracy hysteria that made readers froth after Dan Brown’s every fictional word that should-have-been-footnotes become entire sections.
Sharlet's research into the Family began in 2002 after his stay at Ivanwald; he is a longtime researcher and reporter of religious organizations and practices. His knowledge base is vast and his skill with the written word very evident. But I can’t help to wonder if the power of his message is weakened by his encyclopedic rendering of the American Fundamentalist movement. I lost track of the Family at several points along the way, particularly in the section dealing with the megachurches and Christian fundamentalists that seem to have overrun the city of Colorado Springs. Fascinating stuff and worthy of a book in its own right, but I wanted to know more practical information on the current influence wielded by the Family and the involvement of the people who appear on my ballots.
I haven't even touched the gross hypocrisy of the Family's sheltering of and excuse-making for the recently-scandalized slimeballs Gov. Mark Sanford and Sen. John Ensign, among others, while proclaiming cultural war against gays and lesbians (and advocating for the death penalty for homosexuals in Uganda) and family planning that includes birth control.
But these stories post-date Sharlet's book. I can only hope he continues bringing to light the shadow cult of personality of Doug Coe and the power elite of the Family that makes its own rules and has skillfully conned countless leaders into doing its will.
--------------------------------
3 1/2 stars- need time to digest this, but impact was weakened by exhaustive (exhausting) detail, history and author's literary bent.
----------------------------------------------------------
I'll probably need to ingest blood pressure medication while reading this book. I'm outraged and disgusted enough just listening to tonight's Fresh Air interview with the author disgust and outrage NOT with the author, but with his subjects of investigation).