Book after
book will be written about Trump and his ascent to the office of President. It
is not my position to pick out the one that is truer than any other. All must
be taken in context and all must be processed through your thinking process.
This is not
the book for that. This book tries to explain the evangelical mindset. In my opinion, this is a book for discussion
groups.
There seems
to be somewhat of an interest in the right-wing evangelical support that has
gone Trumps’ way. But historically , it has always been this way. Irrespective
of where you personally stand in that
issue, to be fair to people, you should know your facts before you form a
lasting opinion on the issue.
Fea attempts
to explain the phenomenon. This is not
another book explaining Donald Trump. This is a historical look at evangelism
and how it has affected American politics.
Trying to
put politics and religion together will never bring about peace. As introduced
into politics it has brought about a fear factor. It has even directed
preachers to think they can influence politics. Something like that was thought
could be so even our founding fathers have placed restrictions on the possible
movement to blend the two into the system of government established through the
constitution.
It is
interesting to trace evangelism as a factor in politics from its’ birth to the
present day. Fea does this in chapter three.
He starts with the Puritans who feared the immigration of the French
Catholics to show there has always been the mindset.
Rhetoric is
important also. The term Make America great divides. For the white American the
tendency is to remember days of wealth, nuclear family, The Beaver. There is a
lot to celebrate.
For the
black American it would tend to make them remember slavery and the civil rights
movement and discrimination. They are not prone to a mindset of the past was
good. If they are honest, today is the greatest time.
Also, the
feeling that we started as a Christian nation historically can’t be sustained.
Our founding fathers were religious people as they saw some divine being ruling
over men. They even went so far as to state I the Constitution that we have inalienable
rights given by a creator. Our rights
come from God. But they have divergent
views of Christianity and the nation they were founding. They even put in the
first amendment the freedom to freely
exercise religion and rejection of a
state-sponsored church.
In America
at the time of the founding history seems to say we were highly influenced by
the Bible. They saw a God who presided
over nature, was the author of human rights would someday judge dead, and govern the world by His providence, the
author points out. Religion was important to them Early state constitutions
required officeholders to affirm the inspiration of both the Old and the New
Testaments.
Today, not
so much. Chapter five discusses this.
Today we are a Christian nation as most American identify with some form of the
Christian faith. But the influence has diminished in the last fifty years, Fea
points out.it can be said that Article six of the US constitution forbids
religious tests for office. We don’t know.
The first
amendment does not allow a religious establishment but at the same time secures
religious freedom for all Americans. Go figure.
There is so
much in this book that people need to read and discuss. I highly recommend
this.
William B.
Eerdmans’s publishes this. You should be able to find this in your local
library, so you won’t to run out and get a copy.
