So, I believe that we must begin with noticing some things about the author herself. Stories are powerful, and when history is involved, the whole story is rarely presented. I believe that it is important to understand the sales pitch before we allow ourselves to get captured by the narrative.Īs an English teacher, I teach students the importance of understanding the author’s perspective, point of view, and purpose for writing. in storytelling with a project about how people use stories to sell products. The question is, does she provide the evidence to support her claim that white evangelicals corrupted the Christian faith and fractured a nation? I believe that she fails to do so and invite you to read on to see why.
3) and explains that she was motivated to publish her book as a result of the Access Hollywood hot mic instance in which President Donald Trump was heard making vulgar remarks that are now infamous.ĭu Mez offers a very interesting history of modern evangelicalism as she sees it. Du Mez argues that the evangelical embrace of “militant masculinity” culminated in the presidency of Donald Trump (p. Du Mez, a self-described feminist, explains what she means when she says “evangelicals” in this same interview describing them as people who believe in the authority of Scripture, who act out their faith, and who self-identify as evangelicals. These descriptions combined with her bold subtitle are immediately aggressive, bold, and confrontational.
In an interview with Warren Smith of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Du Mez describes her book as a “history of white evangelical masculinity and militarism.” She describes it as a revelation of perhaps the “darkest underbelly of Christianity.” One of the most popular and trending books in Christian circles right now is the book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez of Calvin University.