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Re: the ring of truth (was This Week's Recommended Reading)
Went to Amazon...
Merrill's book looks like a completely different theme than that of
Bawer's, from the blurbs:
"If America is sliding into a moral swamp, what's the best Christian
response? The hardball approach of the religious right? Or is there a
more productive way to engage our culture?
Dean Merrill, a former vice president with Focus on the Family,
challenges us to transform society--and our own hearts--from the
inside out. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Church is about
attitude, about living out our convictions in a Christ-like manner
instead of bullying our way into the system like any other loud and
selfish government lobby."
Merril seems to be addressing a different audience than Bawer. Bawer
is addressing liberal Chrsitians, calling them to not allow
fundamentalism to control discourse about Jesus and Christianity.
Merril is such a fundamentalist, though he has rejected the
strong-arm tactics of Dobson and Robertson. The jargon in the
publisher's blurb ("passionate call to Kingdom activity", for e.g.)
is very fundamentalist/evangelical in nature, and Merril, having been
vice president of a very Fundamentalist organization, and still
operating in what the publisher calls "the Christian media" (meaning
fundamentalist and evangelical media), he's not adressing the issues
Bawer is, especially since Bawer has a whole chapter in "Stealing
Jesus" critiquing Focus on the Family for the fundamentalism on which
the organization is based. Bawer is presenting liberal Christianity
as a more authentic, traditional Christianity as against the
Christinaity Merril represents and to which Merril is speaking.
But, I can see how if you liked Merril's book, you might not like
Bawer's book. :)
-John
--
+++++++++++++++++++++
"Those on their way are almost invisible
to those who are not. A man or woman
recognizes God and starts out. The others
say he, or she, is losing faith."
-Jelaluddin Rumi
+++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.geocities.com/eustacescrubb
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