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The Hijacking of Jesus: How the Religious Right Distorts Christianity and Promotes Prejudice and Hate
Christianity in America has become almost synonymous with right-wing fanaticism, conservative politics and — courtousy of Mel Gibson — a brutally sadistic version of the religious experience. Millions of devout Christians, like Dan Wakefield, are appalled by this distortion of their faith, which only three decades ago stood for peace, equality, healing, and compassion for society's outcasts — the issues that made up the Ministry of Jesus. How did it come to pass that the Jesus of the New Testament, the Jesus who preached the Sermon on the Mount, has in effect been hijacked by right-wingers and the Republican Party? How is it that mainline Christian denominations and leadership, both Catholic and Prostestant, have remained remarkably silent on the issues of the war in Iraq, the civil rights erosion of the Patriot Act, the growth of poverty and the fact of over 40 million people without health insurance? The Hijacking of Jesus tells the whole sorry tale, from the Goldwater campaign of 1964 to George Bush's stunning re-election in 2004.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 30, 2008
My rating of three stars for this book may be deceiving. There are portions of this book which deserve a rating of four stars, and portions of this book that dserve two stars.
Let me start with my criticisms. The author seems to have read and loved God's Politics by Jim Wallis (for which I do not blame him, it is an excellent and inspiring book) and as a progressive Christian writer decided that he too needed to address the subject of Christinaity and Politics in the current U.S. political environment. Unfortunately, he falls short of the mark set by Wallis. Where Wallis' work is inspirational, uniting, and eye opening this work focuses more on feeling cheated and angry. Now, I'm not necessarily saying there isn't room for anger nor that the author and like minded individuals shouldn't feel upset about the distortion of Christianity over the past quarter century; but Wakefield allows this anger to turn to hate and prejudice. As a progressive Cahtolic I often felt I was being singled out as part of the problem by Wakefield. Throughout the book Roman Catholics who don't fall into his defination of "liberal catholics" are portrayed as being followers of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Throughout the book Wakefield seems to classify any person not within the Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopalian denominations as part of the problem. This not only closed me off to what her was trying to say about the religious right, but also was a stark difference comapred to Wallis' message of brining members of all faiths together to reinvigorate the truth Christian Faith and the teachings of Jesus.
Additionally, Wakefield also fumbles around at points in the book, seemingly more interested in long quotes and citing the people that he has interviewed rather than making a powerful point. Unfortunately sections like this often seem to come immediately after extremely powerful messages and really hitting his points. In fact, the book opens this way. The first ten pages were powerful enough and spoke to me enough that I felt inclined to purchase the book after randomly picking it up. However, the meandering story that follows regarding his experience with the NAE (Nat'l Association of Evangelicals) killed all the momentum of his opening. Wakefield also harm strong points that he's made by repeatedly making glib and flippant remarks following strong messages that belittle what he is tryig to say. These elements were particularly aggravating and to me they seemed like cheap pandering that had no place in a valuable argument.
Finally, Wakefield asails the Religious Right on the issues of abotion and gay marriage, but he assumes that the issue of abortion is far too clear cut. Just because some of us are progressive Christians who believe that in today's society abortion should very rarely be a legal option for a woman does not mean we are all vehement pro-choice supporters. In fact, most of us would tell Wakefield that abortion should be extremely rare and that the 2.5 million that occur every year in this country is a problem that religion needs to address. Religious progressives need to come out as pro-life advocates who recognize the rare need for abortion. I think this was a point caught on in Jim Wallis' book that Wakefield fails greatly on.
These things said, the book did have some very important points and very good sections. To start, Wakefield consistantly focuses the reader on the ultimate teachings of Christ, the Beatitudes. This, he points out, is what it means to be a Christian, and these teachings have been abandoned by the Religious Right. Wakefield's descriptions of the Christian Right, how it came about, and what it really beleives in are fantastic and scary. For example, the fact that many of the Religious Right believe this to be a time of exception in which Christians need not follow the Beatitutdes teachings because now is a time period in which we must follow the teachings of the Warrior Christ in order to prepare for the rapture. He makes these and other points extremely well.
He also does a fantastic job of describing how the Religious Right teamed with the Republican party and their goals in politics. Also, his description of the ongoing attempts to take over more moderate mainline Christian denominations were enlightning. In fact, had he limited this book to an indepth look at what the Christian Right is trying to do to Christianity and the U.S. government, there is no doubt in my mind that it would have been better.
Overall this book does carry a very good message and some very important information, but it hurts itself at points by giving in to anger and rage. It is definately worth reading if one is interested in the dangers possed by the Religious Right to both Christianity and our democracy. However, I would read Jim Wallis' God Politics first for a stronger message that offers much of the same material without the prejudice and with more inspiration.
Let me start with my criticisms. The author seems to have read and loved God's Politics by Jim Wallis (for which I do not blame him, it is an excellent and inspiring book) and as a progressive Christian writer decided that he too needed to address the subject of Christinaity and Politics in the current U.S. political environment. Unfortunately, he falls short of the mark set by Wallis. Where Wallis' work is inspirational, uniting, and eye opening this work focuses more on feeling cheated and angry. Now, I'm not necessarily saying there isn't room for anger nor that the author and like minded individuals shouldn't feel upset about the distortion of Christianity over the past quarter century; but Wakefield allows this anger to turn to hate and prejudice. As a progressive Cahtolic I often felt I was being singled out as part of the problem by Wakefield. Throughout the book Roman Catholics who don't fall into his defination of "liberal catholics" are portrayed as being followers of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Throughout the book Wakefield seems to classify any person not within the Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopalian denominations as part of the problem. This not only closed me off to what her was trying to say about the religious right, but also was a stark difference comapred to Wallis' message of brining members of all faiths together to reinvigorate the truth Christian Faith and the teachings of Jesus.
Additionally, Wakefield also fumbles around at points in the book, seemingly more interested in long quotes and citing the people that he has interviewed rather than making a powerful point. Unfortunately sections like this often seem to come immediately after extremely powerful messages and really hitting his points. In fact, the book opens this way. The first ten pages were powerful enough and spoke to me enough that I felt inclined to purchase the book after randomly picking it up. However, the meandering story that follows regarding his experience with the NAE (Nat'l Association of Evangelicals) killed all the momentum of his opening. Wakefield also harm strong points that he's made by repeatedly making glib and flippant remarks following strong messages that belittle what he is tryig to say. These elements were particularly aggravating and to me they seemed like cheap pandering that had no place in a valuable argument.
Finally, Wakefield asails the Religious Right on the issues of abotion and gay marriage, but he assumes that the issue of abortion is far too clear cut. Just because some of us are progressive Christians who believe that in today's society abortion should very rarely be a legal option for a woman does not mean we are all vehement pro-choice supporters. In fact, most of us would tell Wakefield that abortion should be extremely rare and that the 2.5 million that occur every year in this country is a problem that religion needs to address. Religious progressives need to come out as pro-life advocates who recognize the rare need for abortion. I think this was a point caught on in Jim Wallis' book that Wakefield fails greatly on.
These things said, the book did have some very important points and very good sections. To start, Wakefield consistantly focuses the reader on the ultimate teachings of Christ, the Beatitudes. This, he points out, is what it means to be a Christian, and these teachings have been abandoned by the Religious Right. Wakefield's descriptions of the Christian Right, how it came about, and what it really beleives in are fantastic and scary. For example, the fact that many of the Religious Right believe this to be a time of exception in which Christians need not follow the Beatitutdes teachings because now is a time period in which we must follow the teachings of the Warrior Christ in order to prepare for the rapture. He makes these and other points extremely well.
He also does a fantastic job of describing how the Religious Right teamed with the Republican party and their goals in politics. Also, his description of the ongoing attempts to take over more moderate mainline Christian denominations were enlightning. In fact, had he limited this book to an indepth look at what the Christian Right is trying to do to Christianity and the U.S. government, there is no doubt in my mind that it would have been better.
Overall this book does carry a very good message and some very important information, but it hurts itself at points by giving in to anger and rage. It is definately worth reading if one is interested in the dangers possed by the Religious Right to both Christianity and our democracy. However, I would read Jim Wallis' God Politics first for a stronger message that offers much of the same material without the prejudice and with more inspiration.
April 16, 2019
Reading this made me realize that generally, we've missed the long game of chess being played by white supremacists by way of Christianity. I cannot get over how their mission has been accomplished right before our eyes, as we watched. And they're not finished. Trump is a manifestation of what was set in motion decades ago.
July 16, 2024
AN IMPASSIONED CRITIQUE OF THE "RELIGIOUS RIGHT”
Dan Wakefield (born 1932) is an American novelist, journalist and screenwriter.
He wrote in the first chapter of this 2006 book, "This book is about how the faith of my fathers (my father's father was a Baptist minister...) has been turned upside down to become a cultish kind of Christianity as dangerous as it is distorted, co-opted in the service of a right-wing political agenda that it serves and is served by for the greater profit and power of the billionaires who founded and finance its supportive foundations and institutions... This is also a book about the efforts to challenge the bullying domination of the Religious Right and to reclaim the Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount and the Christianity that led and inspired social and political movements of equality, peace, and justice in this country." (Pg. 3-4)
He states that "The rhetoric of the Religious Right has turned Jesus into ... commander of the Crusades in a nuclear age." (Pg. 19)
He notes the confusion about the difference between "liberal religion" politically, and "liberal religion" theologically, adding, "Most often the two have gone together in ... Protestant churches," while African-American churches "are overwhelmingly conservative theologically and liberal politically." (Pg. 148)
He closes on the note, "Perhaps an even wider majority could be formed among not only those who believe in Jesus but also those who don't, but who believe in the causes he preached of caring for the poor and the outcasts of society." (Pg. 195)
Wakefield's book may stir resentment from religious conservatives, but it's a perspective that they perhaps should consider (which not necessarily agreeing with). Religious liberals will most likely love the book.
Dan Wakefield (born 1932) is an American novelist, journalist and screenwriter.
He wrote in the first chapter of this 2006 book, "This book is about how the faith of my fathers (my father's father was a Baptist minister...) has been turned upside down to become a cultish kind of Christianity as dangerous as it is distorted, co-opted in the service of a right-wing political agenda that it serves and is served by for the greater profit and power of the billionaires who founded and finance its supportive foundations and institutions... This is also a book about the efforts to challenge the bullying domination of the Religious Right and to reclaim the Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount and the Christianity that led and inspired social and political movements of equality, peace, and justice in this country." (Pg. 3-4)
He states that "The rhetoric of the Religious Right has turned Jesus into ... commander of the Crusades in a nuclear age." (Pg. 19)
He notes the confusion about the difference between "liberal religion" politically, and "liberal religion" theologically, adding, "Most often the two have gone together in ... Protestant churches," while African-American churches "are overwhelmingly conservative theologically and liberal politically." (Pg. 148)
He closes on the note, "Perhaps an even wider majority could be formed among not only those who believe in Jesus but also those who don't, but who believe in the causes he preached of caring for the poor and the outcasts of society." (Pg. 195)
Wakefield's book may stir resentment from religious conservatives, but it's a perspective that they perhaps should consider (which not necessarily agreeing with). Religious liberals will most likely love the book.
July 14, 2020
Good read. Hadn’t heard of it before I got it from a library book sale. Amazing how presciently it speaks about issues we are still dealing with in 2020. I remember the post Nov 2004 spirit/energy when Bush’s victory was framed/touted as a victory for people of values and faith, and thinking he didn’t represent my values and faith. That same anger and energy at feeling one’s religion has been usurped still rings true today. Lot a lot of historical context or information, per se, but the book still does a decent job of laying out the issues.
October 18, 2021
The author may have had some great points but missed the opportunity to make them due to obvious personal judgments about far too many groups. He seemed angry and far too politically minded for my taste. Unfortunately it took me forever to read this book through to the end because of some obvious biases by the author.
June 7, 2021
It was an okay book. I liked the points that were made, however the author did not provide many of their own ideas. There were large excerpts from others. Overall, it was an interesting introductory book for me into religion and politics
August 9, 2011
This is a much-needed book on what some people call the "religious left," which has more to do with feeding the poor, attaining civil rights and justice, providing shelter and medicine for the homeless and sick - things Jesus asked us to do - rather than what the "religious right" is all about, which is gaining power through politics, wedging issues to divide denominations, spending millions of dollars on minority-discriminating agendas, etc. - things Jesus would not want us to do.
This important book hits the road running and doesn't slow or stop until you finish. Immediately, I wanted to look up more books on following Christ rather than Fundamentalism. After reading this, I became sad for the many people who have been sucked into the religious right's mentality of anger and hate. They have single-handedly put a distaste of Christianity and religion in the minds of millions of liberals, who haven't been exposed to what Christianity is really supposed to be about. I hope, through resources like this, the religious right's demented and perverted version of Christianity will diminish so that Christ can actually shine through the many compassionate Christians of the world.
This important book hits the road running and doesn't slow or stop until you finish. Immediately, I wanted to look up more books on following Christ rather than Fundamentalism. After reading this, I became sad for the many people who have been sucked into the religious right's mentality of anger and hate. They have single-handedly put a distaste of Christianity and religion in the minds of millions of liberals, who haven't been exposed to what Christianity is really supposed to be about. I hope, through resources like this, the religious right's demented and perverted version of Christianity will diminish so that Christ can actually shine through the many compassionate Christians of the world.
January 28, 2010
News Flash: Not all Christians are against women's reproductive rights! This book deals with that and many other myths. Also, it's like one big essay against the Religious Right who have tainted the name of Christians everywhere, and more importantly the name of Jesus Christ. I thought it was intelligent and well-researched. It's controversial, sure. However, I think it says what a lot of us are not bold enough to admit. I found it enlightening and hopeful. Plus, it gives me a lot of ammunition for a hearty debate!
October 6, 2011
Very interesting take on the Christian Right and how really unChristian they are. How they have forgotten the teaching of teaching of Jesus and in particular his Sermon the Mount! GREED in the name of Jesus
Excellently book for those who are in doubt about their own Christian Faith as it relates to the Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Excellently book for those who are in doubt about their own Christian Faith as it relates to the Jesus Christ, the Lord.
March 28, 2009
A lot of good information about the Christian Progressive movement and how the far right of Christianity have taken hold of the Republican party.
February 13, 2012
Really 3 and a half stars.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews