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I was waiting for a less anxious time to read this but I’m not sure it’s ever gonna come so here we go.
A few scattered thoughts for those who were asking:
Yes, you should read this book. It's well-written and necessary, expertly connecting dots over a half century. But if you grew up in Evangelicalism you may want to have a person with whom you can process what the book stirs up.
Yes, you should read this book. It's well-written and necessary, expertly connecting dots over a half century. But if you grew up in Evangelicalism you may want to have a person with whom you can process what the book stirs up.
Yes, the subtitle is provocative (as are chapter titles), but the book is historical survey, not snarky commentary. It's written from a certain perspective (all things are), but it's full of well-documented research and often just lets the subject's own words make the point.
Some might argue the author exaggerates her thesis. I can tell you from first hand experience that she does not. I've sat in a church planting "boot camp" listening to the need for a ministry "air war and ground war" as well as pastors "who can take a punch". I got stories.
The book is a helpful illustration of how Evangelicals have so conflated the faith with a certain way of life (for a certain group) that it's become natural to conflate defending that way of life with the spiritual battle between good and evil.
And since Evangelicals feed on a sense of embattlement, they are always looking for an enemy to fight and a strong man to lead the charge. A perceived threat (real or manufactured) rallies the troops. Hence the repetitive script about "godless" liberals, foreigners, POC, etc.
The irony/tragedy of it all is that the way of life being defended is less and less connected to the actual way of Jesus. The symbols and language of the faith are co-opted and the person of Jesus is distorted to fit various agendas (e.g. hyper-masculine militarism).
There's so much more to discuss. Props to @kkdumez. I resonate with her closing words: "Appreciating how this ideology developed over time is also essential for those who want to dismantle it. What was once done might also be undone." Let's hope so.
Last thought. In this ideology there's no imagination for male strength that isn't based on dominating others (namely women) and placing certain men at the top of a hierarchy.
We need an imagination for male AND female strength that grows in mutual submission to one another.
We need an imagination for male AND female strength that grows in mutual submission to one another.
