Garry Wills is a national treasure. As I previously wrote: A Pulitzer Prize winner, perhaps no one is as prolific at writing on Church politics, Catholicism and American history with an independent mind than historian Garry Wills. He is one of a handful of writers with the necessary background (an extensive Jesuit education that included being a novitiate as well as earning PhD in classics from Yale) that allows him to authoritatively discuss subjects as diverse as Saint Augustine and Abraham Lincoln. If you're looking for a good primer that chronicles Christianity in America, here is your book.Head and Heart records how Christianity developed in America, all the way from the Puritans to the current post-Karl Rove era of politics. Perhaps most importantly, Wills provides us with valuable terminology. For example, right out the outset he explains the title within the context of the book's goal: to balance American Christianity's head (Enlightened) with its heart (Evangelical):
"Enlightened Religion," to describe the interdependence of thought and faith. He defines it as having "...its emphasis on reason, benevolence, tolerance and secular progress." And
...professes a belief in "the laws of nature and of nature's God." It holds that reason is the tool for understanding those laws, and that humane conduct is what those laws teach. He then contrasts this with "Evangelical Religion":
Evangelicals, by contrast, emphasize an experimental relationship with Jesus as their savior, along with biblical inerrancy and a mission to save others.
Doing Justice to the Founders Wills also painstakingly establishes how Jefferson and Madison were indeed after establishing a Constitutional separation of church and state. Piece by piece, he takes apart the assertion of historian Philip Hamburger who has maintained that the Founders never intended a true separation in the First Amendment." He does so by using both the Founders' own writings as well explaining their actions within, the historical context of the then-current backlash against The Great Awakening of 1730 through 1770--America's first period of Evangelical expansion.
The Transcendentalists
What is relevant to discussion of Lincoln's religion is that the Transcendentalists were at a far remove from the Evangelicals. The religion of the common man (so called) was Evangelicalism. Lincoln was a champion of the common people, so there is a wish that his religion would be theirs. But it was not. He was aware, as Doris Kearns Goodwin and others have pointed out, that he was an uncommon man with a radically original mind. He was more at home in the conceptual world of the Transcendentalists than in that of revival preachers. Yet [historian Richard] Carwardine completely ignores the Transcendentalists while trying to make improbable ties to the Evangelicals.
Addressing the Rapture But more importantly, Wills explains exactly how Rapture-based theology dovetails neatly with economic royalists who oppose economic reform (Why reform this world? All that would do is to help evil and delay the rapture). To that end, Wills gives examples of how conservative businessmen of the Gilded Age were the precursors of today's financial muscle for the Religious Right, who similarly use their wealth to finance Dispensationalists who do much to discourage both social and economic fairness.
Addressing a Post-Karl Rove World But the Bush presidency and its focus on Karl Rove's manipulation of Evangelicals is not pinnacle of this book. Instead, the future is. Throughout, Wills focuses on two conclusions: First, Evangelical religious movements never go away, but ebb and flow; and secondly, that sometimes a combination of both views of Christianity yields good results. Wills believes that just as there was and adverse reactions to the Great Awakenings, we are now entering a similar period of reaction. To this end, Wills cites environmental concerns among various Evangelicals. He then observes that sometimes when reason-based faith combines with more emotionally driven faith, positive change can come about. Wills cites abolition and the civil rights movement as his primary examples (the combination of the thought of progressive churches and the zeal of African-American evangelical churches being the winning formula). Wills is certainly pro-choice. And he makes a compelling case that outlawing abortion will not have the Religious Right's desired goal of ending artificial termination. Instead, he uses the historical context of Prohibition of how women will go underground to have the procedures done, possibly creating another lucrative business for organized crime much as outlawing the sale and transportation did after World War one. Additionally, he strongly challenges the Religious Right's theological opposition on abortion, noting that that such hostility is derived not from Scripture, but from natural law principles. The book has some shortcomings, but they are few and far in between. A thorough discussion of natural law principles and its non-theological inspiration would have strengthened several of the author's arguments, particularly concerning biological matters. It would have also been more helpful to have terms such as "latitudinarianism" and "justification" better explained (for the first half of the book a reader not schooled in theological terminology might want to have a search engine handy). But these are minor matters in an otherwise important book; required reading for those who want to better understand how we got to today's culture wars--and better yet, having a guide to recognize historical revisionism from historical fact.
A Review of Garry Wills' Head and Heart: American Christianities | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 hidden)
In various places in head and Heart, specifically when discussing the legacy of the Scopes Trial, Wills makes a case for the Enlightened faithful to reach out to the Evangelical faithful. For example, he points out that after the Scopes Trial Evangelicals retreated into their own world but were far from decimated. Wills believed that in the wake of this humiliation, instead engaging in humiliating demonization of all Evangelicals, perhaps an opportunity was lost to reach out to many of its followers.
Wills is not saying to surrender Enlightened principles--far from it. And yes, there are certain folks on the other side who cannot be trusted (both the IRD and the Moon organization immediately come to mind), but as Rev. Czik demonstrated with global warming, there are bridges to be built.
to repect your recommndations and opinions very much, Frank, so I shall read this book at my first opportunity.
by nogodsnomasters on Mon Dec 03, 2007 at 09:34:41 PM EST
Thanks for giving us this book tip! It seems to be a fairly interesting book and I will try to get the time to read it soon.
Kate, IT Professional currently working on the Female Enhancement Online Pharmacies project. by Kate R on Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 07:55:37 AM EST
A Review of Garry Wills' Head and Heart: American Christianities | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 hidden)
|
Donate to or support Talk to Action
Is Rick Warren Really So Great on HIV/AIDS?
Part of the legend of Rick Warren is his supposed broader agenda -- his professed concerns beyond opposing homosexuality and abortion, to such things...... By Frederick Clarkson (1 comment)
The Legacy of Dan Smoot
Born into poverty, Dan Smoot pulled himself up by his own boot straps to become an Ivy League PHD and go to work for...... By wilkyjr (0 comments)
Power Play: Religious Right Flexes Muscle In Race For GOP Leader
So, the Religious Right is dead, right? Its time has finally passed, and the movement has no more strength. It's yesterday's news, a historical...... By Rob Boston (3 comments)
The Dubious Conversion of George W. Bush
I have pair of articles over at Religion Dispatches today that report some of the revelations from a new book by investigative journalist Russ...... By Frederick Clarkson (4 comments)
Religious Right Turns a Blind Eye to a Real "Life Issue"
With the imminent inauguration of Barack Obama, the issue of embryonic cell research is again coming to the fore. The Religious Right, looking for...... By Frank Cocozzelli (12 comments)
MRFF Amends Lawsuit Against Defense Department
On December 29, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) filed an amended complaint in the case of its co-plaintiff, decorated combat medic Army SPC...... By Chris Rodda (4 comments)
Short Takes -- Another Rick Warren Edition
La Figa: Rick Warren's strategy for overcoming evolutionary science is revealed. Religion Dispatches: Michelle Goldberg writes how, (among other things) Rick Warren epitomizes the...... By Frederick Clarkson (1 comment)
In 2006 I Asked on This Site: Is Rick Warren Really a Moderate?
I originally posed the question in this post in February of 2006. It was certainly not the first time we had discussed Rick Warren...... By Frederick Clarkson (6 comments)
A Deficient Definition of Liberty (The Catholic Right, a Series)
Below is a repost of one of my favorite pieces from 2007. I'll be back this weekend with a new post. The neo-orthodox Catholic...... By Frank Cocozzelli (1 comment)
C. Peter Wagner Fights The "Religious Spirit"
"We're in the Second Apostolic Age," declares C. Peter Wagner, "and the government of the church must be in place with apostles and prophets."...... By Bruce Wilson (4 comments)
Salvation Army Moves Towards New Apostolic Reformation Theology
With an operating budget, in 2004, of 2.6 billion dollars, the Salvation Army is one of the largest providers of social services in the...... By Bruce Wilson (6 comments)
The Shorter and Longer Clarkson
I have a long article in the current issue of The Public Eye: The Culture Wars Are Still Not Over The Religious Right in...... By Frederick Clarkson (2 comments)
Warren-Endorsed Nigerian Archbishop Backed Anti-Gay Laws Worse Than Third Reich's
As seems to be happening with increasing frequency, a story I'd previously posted at Talk To Action, almost exactly two years ago in this...... By Bruce Wilson (2 comments)
Go to 1:18
Entered without comment: ...... By Max Blumenthal (3 comments)
Invocation Irritation: Controversy Over Rick Warren Won't Go Away
The controversy over Barack Obama's decision to ask Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration refuses to die down. Discontent over...... By Rob Boston (3 comments)
Rick Warren's Connections To The New Apostolic Reformation
Nearly two and a half years to the day, I wrote an early article detailing Rick Warren's connections with Paul Yonggi Cho nee David Yonggi Cho--a figure who is practically at Ground Zero regarding...... By dogemperor (10 comments)
Foreclosures and churches
"Foreclosures Don't Spare the House of God" This is the headline for a news story found though our local paper on December 27, 2008 ( http://www.theledger.com/article/20081227/ZNYT01/812273003 ). After reading and thinking about the article,...... By ArchaeoBob (2 comments)
Is the Religious Right on the Decline?
Although I am a Christian, most people know I am against the agenda of the Religious Right. It stands diametrically opposed to Jesus' teachings on love, compassion, forgiveness, social justice, non-judgmentalism, and nonviolence. ...... By TexasCowboy (4 comments)
Another vote against Warren
Steven Waldman at The Huffington Post thinks Obama's decision to invite religious right megachurch pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration is a wise choice. While recognizing that Warren is a...... By John McKay (1 comment)
Family Research Has Gall
Today, (December 8, 2008) because I am on their mailing list I received a year end fund raising letter from the Family Research Council (FRC). ...... By JerrySloan (1 comment)
What's next for the Religious Right? Back to the Future.
After the collapse of the Moral Majority in the late `80's and the during the rise of the Christian Coalition, another movement, (or better description) of hysteria was sweeping over the country. It became...... By Stacey Tallitsch (3 comments)
After the election
Some observations I've made, now that the election has been over for several days (admittedly based only a few samples- but I think that they are telling): Unlike when Bush won (when conservatives were...... By ArchaeoBob (1 comment)
Shorter Dobson - Post-Election Special
James Dobson devoted two half-hour radio shows to his post-Obama victory thoughts along with a cadre of six other religious conservatives. Here is a brief summary of their discussion... ...... By tacitus (5 comments)
Katherine Harris & Ken Malone, October 3, 2008
(what this story is really about): this post is an adjunct to a larger story, Katherine Harris, Sarah Palin Linked To Same Prayer Warfare Network which explores the fact that both Katherine Harris and...... By Bruce Wilson (1 comment)
Ignorance and Arrogance
Ignorance results primarily from two sources: poverty and privilege. Either denied an education or entitled to power, this isolation that enables ignorance breeds arrogance, and our society suffers from both.In an interview on American...... By Jay Taber (3 comments)
Imagining a Witchcraft-Fighting Vice President
Other recent Talk To Action stories on this subject Katherine Harris, Sarah Palin Linked To Same Prayer Warfare Network Palin's Movement Urges 'Godly' To 'Plunder' Wealth of 'Godless' Palin's Spiritual Warfare Network Partners With...... By Bruce Wilson (1 comment)
Spiritual Mapping and Spiritual Warfare - Muthee and the "Transformations" Franchise / 1
Palin's Churches and the Third Wave Series By The New Apostolic Reformation Research Team Introduction A video starring Thomas Muthee as a prayer warrior and witch hunter was released in 1999. "Transformations" was the...... By Ruth (0 comments)
Spiritual Mapping and Spiritual Warfare - Muthee and the "Transformations" Franchise / 2
Palin's Churches and the Third Wave Series By The New Apostolic Reformation Research Team Part Two (continued)part one part three A video starring Thomas Muthee as a prayer warrior and witch hunter was released in 1999....... By Ruth (1 comment)
Spiritual Mapping and Spiritual Warfare - Muthee and the "Transformations" Franchise / 3
Palin's Churches and the Third Wave Series By The New Apostolic Reformation Research Team Part Three (continued)part one part two There are Transformations networks connected to Sentinel Group and "prayer warriors" under the authority of Wagner's...... By Ruth (0 comments)
Rev Andrew Weaver: A Fighter for Justice to the End
In the world of the intertubes the word "friend" has taken on a whole new meaning. A friend can be someone you've never met, never even talked to except through the medium of the...... By mick arran (0 comments)
Setting Priorities
Two of the people with the most on-the-ground experience in dealing with white christian nationalists in the United States -- Devin Burghart and Eric Ward (both currently with Center for New Community's Building Democracy...... By Jay Taber (0 comments)
Christianity was Hijacked
Kevin Annett's documentary film Unrepentant tells the story of the Canadian holocaust. For those unfamiliar with the systematic mass murder of indigenous people in Canada by the United Church of Canada and the Canadian...... By Jay Taber (0 comments)
IMAGINE: Media as a Sanctuary for Dissent
"The media should be a sanctuary for dissent. It is our job to go to where the silence is."-Amy Goodman ...... By eileen fleming (0 comments)
Berlet, Clarkson and Maley on the Radio
The syndicated radio program Writer's Voice , which originates at WMUA, the radio station at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, recently featured Dispatches contributors Chip Berlet, Leo Maley, and me in an hour...... By Frederick Clarkson (0 comments)
Reconquering a Continent
When it comes to threatening behavior, mainstream media's cover-up of Governor Palin's violent friends is a much bigger story than her abuse of power. Of particular interest to Native Americans -- according to Dr....... By Jay Taber (0 comments)
Power of Moral Sanction
With the question of how to effectively oppose the rise of fascism in the United States now in vogue, I thought it apropos to revisit this essay from 2002, The Power of Moral Sanction....... By Jay Taber (0 comments)
Where's the Action?
It would seem the objective of action is at hand. Organizing for that step can take multiple forms, but one that is essential to any political success is generating a list of supporters and...... By Jay Taber (5 comments)
Dispatches from the Religious Left -- on Grit TV
Following the dramatic launch event for Dispatches from the Religious Left: The Future of Faith and Politics in America, held at Middle Collegiate Church in NYC, Laura Flanders invited several of us to appear...... By Frederick Clarkson (1 comment)
Remembering Iran-Contra
For those too young to have watched the live TV coverage of the Iran-Contra scandal, the notion of murderous felonies being coordinated out of the White House basement might seem fanciful. With the new...... By Jay Taber (1 comment)
The Problem With Militias
Sarah Palin supports the militia movement? Public Good Project's Paul de Armond explains why that's a problem. ...... By Jay Taber (0 comments)
Assemblies of God, Palin, and me
I spent eight years of my life as a Pentecostal in the Assembly of God. It's as odd and alien a sect to most people as Mitt Romney's Mormonism. ...... By whaleman42 (2 comments)
Dispatches from the Religious Left -- Now Available!
At least it is now "in stock" over at Amazon.com. It should also be widely available in independent bookstores and chain stores as well. I will not clutter this site with too much news...... By Frederick Clarkson (0 comments)
Transcript for Mary Glazier Video
Transcript of Audio "Opening the Gate of Heaven on Earth: Receiving the New Prophetic Wind for Increase" Conference, June 12 - 14, Everett, Washington Description of Conference at: <a href="http://freshpublishing.com/global-harvest-ministries-c-192-p-1-pr-33372.html ">http://freshpublishing.com/global-harvest-ministries-c-192-p-1-pr-33372.html Mary Glazier Alaska...... By Ruth (0 comments)
"Seven Mountains" and the "Joel's Army" plan for takeover
In yesterday's post, I went into some of the initial detail on a statement given by Thomas Muthee in the infamous sermon where he "annointed" Sarah Palin and also claimed to literally run a...... By dogemperor (0 comments)
Christian Fascism
[also see: Brent Bozell's Newbusters Insults Christian Conservatives - editor] Sarah Palin's propulsion into politics was fueled by religious intolerance, organized through malicious harassment, and targeted at democracy. Her use of the power of...... By Jay Taber (0 comments) More Diaries... Donate to or support Talk to Action Left Behind: Eternal Forces: Installments of Jonathan Hutson's Talk To Action expose series
on the "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game have been viewed by up to 1/2 million people. See our site section featuring Over 35 original articles covering the controversial "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game that has provoked a boycott by a coalition of religious groups and a letter writing campaign urging Walmart to stop selling the game. Media inquiries click here(image: detail from Francoise Dubois' rendition of the Bartholomew's Day Massacre reveals the actual nature of religious warfare) |
BlogsBartholomew's Notes On ReligionChip BerletMax BlumenthalThe Panda's ThumbFrederick Clarkson Chuck Currie DefCon father Jake Stops The World John Gorenfeld Religion Clause Chris Mooney Religious Right Watch The Revealer Jesus Politics Majority Report Radio Blog Mainstream Baptist Orcinus Dispatches from the Culture Wars Ex-Gay Watch The Wall of Separation Blog From The Capital:a blog on religious liberty issues and the separation of church and stateOrganizationsAmerican Booksellers Foundation for Freedom of ExpressionACLUAnti-Defamation LeagueAmerican Library AssociationChristian Alliance for ProgressCitizens ProjectDefCon: Campaign to Defend The ConstitutionFaithful America People For the American wayInstitute For Democracy StudiesInterfaith AllianceJews On First: Defending the First AmendmentAmerican Fundamentalists Americans United for Separation of Church and StateBaptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty The Clergy and laity Network Political Research Associates Theocracy Watch Media Matters for AmericaMilitary Religious Freedom FoundationMontana Human Rights NetworkNational Center For Science EducationReligious Coalition for Reproductive ChoiceThe RevealerSouthern Poverty Law CenterTexas Freedom NetworkCrossLeft: Organizing the Christian LeftTheocracy WatchTruth Wins Out" |
|||||||||||||||