The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory
American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism
Tim Alberta 2023 Beaverton Lib 270.82 ALB
p001 Prologue: interviews for "...the book ...", probably American Carnage (2019)
p005 1977 New York financier atheist father Richard J. Alberta becomes christian minister in Michigan, dies 2019 age 71 in 2019
- p007 At funeral, parishioners react angrily to son Tim's prior book dissing Limbaugh and Trump
p011 [https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133/[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_W._Bebbington | Bebbington quadrilateral ]]
- p013 The crisis of American evangelicalism comes down to an obsession with that worldly identity.
p018 new pastor Chris Wynans was not a conservative Republican.
- p023 conservatives focus on Old Testament language, not New
- p024 Evangelicals embrace Trump
p025 Johnson Amendment prohibits nonprofits from endorsing or opposing political candidates, Trump halted enforcement
- p28 "The problem is, blessings often become indistinguishable from entitlements."
p35 John Torres at Goodwill Evangelical Presbyterian Church (Port Jervis?) New York
- p38 parishioners hated Obama, then hated those hated by Trump
- p40 parishioners furious at COVID restrictions, deranged by conspiracy nonsense
p41 Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi Beaverton 305.8 KEN
p41 Critical Race Theory accusations, some from friends
- p43 4 month sabbatical, returned to smaller but supportive congregation. 5% crazy
p46 By setting their minds on the things of man, Christians are telling Jesus to get behind them.
- p48 "... you've baptized your worldview and called it Christian."
- p49 "The enemies aren't those outside of the Church; it's people in your church who don't think exactly the way you do."
p52 Doug Olson father of Nick Olson Liberty University
p54 Jerry Falwell "fascinated by the market dynamics"
p55 Falwell Sunday sermons on WLVA TV in 1956
p56 1958 preaches against integration, aligned with Joe McCarthy who died in 1957?
p58 evangelicals
p59 Scopes trial
p64 Howard Phillips Paul Weyrich 1973 founded Heritage Foundation
p65 Moral Majority
p66 Before 1973 Roe v. Wade, abortion was a "Catholic issue".
p66 1973 W. A. Criswell "I have always felt that it was only after a child was born and had a life separate from its mother that it became an individual person, and it has always, therefore, seemed to me that what is best for the mother and for the future should be allowed."
Later attacked abortion; Anti-Carter strategy? Protecting segregated religious schools
p74 Mark DeMoss worked for Liberty U., left after endorsement of Trump
p74 Jerry Falwell Jr. makes Liberty University profitable
- p75 Supports Trump, Israel, and misinformation about COVID and Obama's birth
p80 Falwell Jr. poses in front of Trump Playboy cover, many scandals, but Liberty U. is wealthy
p84 discouraged rape reports, violated Title IX law and the Clery Act
p85 English prof Nick Olson worries
p89 Russell D. Moore 2021 former Southern Baptist
- p90 parishioners slander non-conservative non-racist pastors, demand politics, not scripture
- p96 Pew 1991, 90% identified as Christians, 5% religiously unaffiliated
- 30 years later, 63% Christians, 29% unaffiliated ... idolatry of politics and country
- p98 after 2016 nomination, Trump attacks Moore
- p99-100, hundreds of large churches cut off funds to SBC
- p100 God called Moore to confront sexual abuse and pro-Confederate nationalism
p103 Galatians 3
p106 Robert Jeffress Trump loyalist
p111 Demands Heather has Two Mommies and Daddy's Roommate removed from the Wichita Falls TX public library
p115 In 2011, only 30% of evangelicals said immoral politicians perform public duties with integrity. In 2016, 72% said so.
p116 Campus of First Baptist Church Dallas $135M expansion, plus $250M renovations
p118 Babylon Bee Christian conservative version of The Onion
- p119 'shrine' to Trump in Jeffress office
- p121 "the government is coming after us ... I believe they are."
p124 Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran fired for anti-gay book
p128 Australian theologian John Dickson. Bullies are common, saints are not. book: Bullies and Saints
p131 Laurel Bunker
p132 (some?) Christians act worse ("lashing out") than the rest of the world because of a victimhood complex
p134 Ed Stetzer
- p135 Jesus criticised his "twelve weirdos" ... discipling ... absent from US evangelicals
p135 Vincent Bacote
p137 British evangelicals like William Wilberforce, not right wing U.S.
- p138 US evangelical now a proxy for cultural belonging, Australian and British conservatives support publically funded hospitals
- p140 Chinese pastors cheerful, "if I go to prison ... more people to preach the gospel to."
p142 Bill Bolin FloodGate Church Tim Alberta 2023 essay (not a book excerpt)
- p149 "Trump born again ... influence of Mike Pence" Author asked "did it bother him that Trump did nothing to help the man who helped bring him to Christ when that man's life was endangered on January 6?" "Yes ... don't quote me on that" "what is wrong is actually right."
- p151 illegal immigrants "... are carrying all kinds of diseases ... "
Only those returning from the US:
COVID Rates
Population
Infected
%
Deaths
%
US
335M
103M
31%
1.2M
0.36%
Mexico
129M
7.7M
6%
0.35M
0.27%
- p153 "pick a tribe, raise the flag ... gain numbers ... easy to do ... cheapens the gospel."
- p154 "... the kingdom of God isn't at stake. What Christ accomplished on the cross is not threatened by Donald Trump losing an election"
p154 FloodGate parishioner as convinced that Trump won the 2020 election as he is that Jesus rose from the dead 2000 years ago.
p155 FloodGate pastor Bolin didn't necessarily believe everything he said or posted.
- circular foodchain of misinformation.
p156 Pregnant Man Emoji
p157 David Barton
p163 Gary Click
p164 Chad Connelly
p165 . claims three in ten Millennials identify as LGBTQ
- Actually 9.8% though 22% for GenZ ... perhaps he added the fractions for the two different generations.
- The numbers halve per generation - and perhaps they also diminish as individuals mature, stop screwing around, and raise families instead. Bisexuals are more than 57% of self-identified LGBTQ+ ... which means they are straight much of the time, and perhaps for most of their lives.
- p166 "third of Millennials believe in God, 89% of parents did"
- p168 Living Word Church Vandalia (north of Dayton Ohio)
- p172 Barton "If you take the spotlight off Jesus and put it on anything else, you're gonna have division"
- ... then a man walks out of the sanctuary wearing red MAGA cap.
p173 parishioner Jim Wright bought Barton's The Founder's Bible because Biden bureaucrats will seize bibles
p174 "Look at Francis Collins - follow the baby parts"
p175 Charlie Kirk "Trump the most moral president on record"
- p177 clear cut biblical issues (the poor, refugees, wealth temptation) did not animate the conservative base
- p178 why obsess over America when ... citizenship in heaven?
- p179 The first step towards preserving Christian values, it seemed, was to do away with Christian values.
p180 Ralph Reed
p182 Newt Gingrich
p184 Bo" Hines
p201 Blinded by Might Cal Thomas and Ed Ed Dobson, 1998, Zonderman (own)