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A review by benrush
Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States by Andrew L. Whitehead, Samuel L. Perry
3.0
I took too long to finish this book. It’s a fairly simple read with a lot of well researched data.
Whitehead does not fully address what led to Trump's presidency. I don't think that one can argue that Christian Nationalists are entirely to blame, any more than we can blame Christian Nationalists for Biden's presidency, or Obama's, or Bush's, etc.
The fact is, some believe that Donald Trump is the chosen one. This is indisputable. I know several. It is also a fact that many endorsed Trump from the evangelical camp (Grudem, et al), causing more than a few followers of Jesus to scratch their heads.
I find it difficult to label every American Christian as a Christian Nationalist. This book works very hard to suggest this. I simply do not believe this is true. I know many Christians who would not identify with any of the camps described in this book. The 4 categories identified by Whitehead are too narrow. One can follow Jesus and have many opinions on the subject matter that this author does not address.
Whitehead does present a reasonable definition of Christian Nationalism, in painfully nauseating detail. Barton, and others like him, have profited from historical fiction more than anything else. All one has to do is read a few letters from Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin to understand that the US was not founded as a Christian Nation.
This book is a must-read for anyone in pastoral ministry in the post-covid era. What a weird world we live in.
Whitehead does not fully address what led to Trump's presidency. I don't think that one can argue that Christian Nationalists are entirely to blame, any more than we can blame Christian Nationalists for Biden's presidency, or Obama's, or Bush's, etc.
The fact is, some believe that Donald Trump is the chosen one. This is indisputable. I know several. It is also a fact that many endorsed Trump from the evangelical camp (Grudem, et al), causing more than a few followers of Jesus to scratch their heads.
I find it difficult to label every American Christian as a Christian Nationalist. This book works very hard to suggest this. I simply do not believe this is true. I know many Christians who would not identify with any of the camps described in this book. The 4 categories identified by Whitehead are too narrow. One can follow Jesus and have many opinions on the subject matter that this author does not address.
Whitehead does present a reasonable definition of Christian Nationalism, in painfully nauseating detail. Barton, and others like him, have profited from historical fiction more than anything else. All one has to do is read a few letters from Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin to understand that the US was not founded as a Christian Nation.
This book is a must-read for anyone in pastoral ministry in the post-covid era. What a weird world we live in.