Contradictions and Paradoxes in American Christianity

(This is a re-post from August, 2009) Since reading D. G. Hart's A Secular Faith, which deals with Christianity in/and America, I grabbed George Marsden's Religion and American Culture.  Both are fascinating and well worth the investment and time.  I am always somewhat dismayed when reading the history of Christianity in America, from Finney to …

No Creeds! (Except What Celebrity Preacher Says)

  “The study of the religious convictions of self-taught Americans in the early years of the republic reveals how much weight was placed on private judgment and how little on the roles of history, theology, and the collective will of the church.” So writes Nathan Hatch in his assessment of American religion in his excellent …

Deconstructing Evangelicalism

Some of our readers will no doubt be interested in this book: D. G. Hart, Deconstructing Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004).  What is it about?  Hart gives a summary in the introduction: “My point put simply is that the movement neo-evangelical leaders patched together ended up splintering because it lacked the discipline and rigor of …

The Yearling

Most of the books we blog about here are biblical and/or theological in nature.  But since we’ve dabbled in other areas a few times, I thought it would be good to mention one of my favorite novels of all time: The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings.  I read this book after hearing Andrew Peterson’s imaginative song, …

You Ask Me How I Know He Lives?

In this brilliant book that traces the roots of unbelief, agnosticism, and atheism in America, one thing James Turner discusses is how religion moved out of the head and into the heart.  In other words – and for better or worse - at one point in American history, belief in God was spoken of as …