Trump, in other words, is hardly the first flashy celebrity to capture evangelicalsвЂ™ hearts and minds, nor is he the first strongman to promise evangelicals protection and power. And evangelical popular culture is teeming with muscular heroes-mythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of вЂњChristian America.вЂќ Chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done. Evangelical books, films, music, clothing, and merchandise shape the beliefs of millions. Many of todayвЂ™s evangelicals may not be theologically astute, but they know their VeggieTales, theyвЂ™ve read John EldredgeвЂ™s Wild at Heart, and they learned about purity before they learned about sex-and they have a silver ring to prove it. Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping account of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, showing how American evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism, or in the words of one modern chaplain, with вЂњa spiritual badass.вЂќ As Du Mez explains, the key to understanding this transformation is to recognize the role of culture in modern American evangelicalism. Challenging the commonly held assumption that the вЂњmoral majorityвЂќ backed Donald Trump for purely pragmatic reasons, Du Mez reveals that Donald Trump in fact represents the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicalsвЂ™ most deeply held values. How did a libertine who lacks even the most basic knowledge of the Christian faith win 81 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016? And why have white evangelicals become a presidential reprobateвЂ™s staunchest supporters? These are among the questions acclaimed historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez asks in Jesus and John Wayne, which delves beyond facile headlines to explain how white evangelicals have brought us to our fractured political moment. How did a libertine who lacks even the most basic knowledge of the Christian faith win 81 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016? And why have white evangelicals become a presidential re A scholar of American Christianity presents a seventy-five-year history of evangelicalism that identifies the forces that have turned Donald Trump into a hero of the Religious Right. It is exactly what we need more of in the church today.Д¬heck out these and other #MeToo related articles while youвЂ™re on the https: website.A scholar of American Christianity presents a seventy-five-year history of evangelicalism that identifies the forces that have turned Donald Trump into a hero of the Religious Right. The Ruth/Boaz story points to Jesus, the true antidote to the #ChurchToo crisis.

Boaz -a very powerful man in Bethlehem -displays a counter-cultural gospel brand of masculinity and employs his male power to empower Ruth. In RuthвЂ™s story we learn twice that she is risking her safety by venturing out alone (which she does) on NaomiвЂ™s behalf.

In EstherвЂ™s story corrupt male power leads to the sex trafficking of young girls (including Esther) that loved ones like Mordecai were helpless to prevent. My second article, entitled, вЂњThe Gospel versus Patriarchy: Ruth and Esther have Something to SayвЂќ features two biblical narratives where male power and female vulnerability collide with very different outcomes. Katharine BushnellвЂ™s story reveals the fact that #ChurchToo has a long history and sheds light on what, at least in part, motivated Du Mez to tackle J&JW.Д«oth books are eye-opening, painful to read at times, but exposing destructive realities we need to face both inside the church and beyond. One is a double review of Kristin Du MezвЂ™s two books -her bestselling Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (J&JW) and her previous book, A New Gospel for Women: Katharine Bushnell and the Challenge of Christian Feminism. The theme is #ChurchToo, which was enough to get me interested. The latest issue of the Journal of Urban Mission just went live.

Books like jesus and john wayne