Book Review: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals ·corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

Editor's note:

Now here is a -conundrum: St. Paul wishes us to be of the same mind (Phil. 2:3).

We at Monte Vista Grove Homes are of wildly divergent minds regarding theology, gun control, abortion, gay rights, death penalty, and immigration policy, etc.

Classic evangelicalism comprises a particular regard for the Bible, emphasis on the atonement achieved by Christ's crucifixion, conversion, and the belief that the gospel has implications for how we live (Still Evangelical? ed. Mark Labberton, 2018, pp. 32-33). The term became politicized "in the 1980s when the right began to align itself with the Republican National Committee" (ibid. p. 158) Then the term, "white evangelicals" came into use, a political term rather than a theological distinction.

In Phil. 2:3-4, St. Paul hopes we will "live together in harmony, live together in love, as though you had only one mind and one spirit among you. Never act from motives of rivalry or personal vanity, but in humility think more of each other than you do of yourselves. None of you should think only of his own affairs, but should learn to see things from other people's point of view" (Phillips translation).

St Peter says, 'To sum up. you should a!! be of one mind living like people with true love and sympathy for each other, generous and courteous at all times." (I Peter 3:8-9, Phillips translation). With this in mind, If you are likely to take offense, please skip over the following book review. All of us have a place in the sun

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BOOK REVIEW: A major overview of evangelical Christianity in America, by an eminent Christian historian from a leading Christian university: Dr. Kristen Kobes Du Mez, Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Ml: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals ·corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. Years in the making, backed up by deep research, and tons of footnotes, Dr. Du Mez reviews how a one-lime theological movement became a cultural force characterized by sexism, racism, and militarism, linked to a view of biblical manhood dominated by the imagery of John Wayne -the kind of "man," the kind of "manliness," needed to "restore American Christianity, preserve the American home, and save America from its enemies." Dr. Du Mez, an excellent writer, connects the dots and opens up windows of understanding, reminding the reader that other choices can be made, should be made; that we can write a better story, a story more fully shaped by Scripture and the historic Christian Faith.

— Tom Eggebeen