The Gospel according to America: A Meditation on a God-blessed, Christ-haunted Idea

by David Dark

Using icons from music, literature, film, and politics, David Dark hopes to provide fodder for lively conversation about what it means to be Christian and American in this day and age. The end result of this conversation, Dark hopes, will be a better understanding that "there is a reality more important, more lasting, and more infinite than the cultures to which we belong," the reality of the kingdom of God.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity, American, Politics

Paperback

First published February 19, 2005

About the author

David Dark is the critically acclaimed author of "The Sacredness of Questioning Everything," "Everyday Apocalypse: The Sacred Revealed in Radiohead, The Simpsons, and Other Pop Culture Icons" and "The Gospel According To America: A Meditation on a God-blessed, Christ-haunted Idea." An educator, Dark is currently pursuing his PhD in Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University. He has had articles published in Paste, Oxford American, Books and Culture, Christian Century, among others. A frequent speaker, Dark has also appeared on C-SPAN’s Book-TV and in an award-winning documentary, "Marketing the Message." He lives with his singer-songwriter wife, Sarah Masen, and their three children in Nashville.

Reviews

[Longfellow · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Gospel According to America is not America's gospel as seen through the eyes of politicians, the ruling administration, talk radio, or even the population in general, whom Dark would probably expect to parrot any of the above sources, at least for the most part.

Rather, the "gospel" Dark refers to is the American vision as portrayed through its great authors, musicians, and filmmakers. Even beyond artists, anyone with a message which potentially subverts the louder, more popular messages may be included here, those who live artistic-like lives, people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dorothy Day.

I love this idea, but I can't say Dark presents his collage of examples in a way such that the details will stick with me. The volume of references and allusions is simply overwhelming. The individual chapters in this book don't have as narrow a focus as his first book, Everyday Apocalypse, had. In EA, each chapter had a clear thesis and a specific subject, and the thesis was supported by examples from a fairly narrow pool (the songs of Radiohead or the stories of Flannery O'Connor, for example).

In The Gospel According to America, there is basically one thesis, and each chapter explores a specific genre to illustrate Dark's point. A genre summary:

Chapter 2: an expansion on his thesis, with literature as a focus (Whitman, Ginsberg, Melville)
Chapter 3: literature (Hawthorne, Melville, Faulkner, and Pynchon)
Chapter 4: music (a plethora of references, of which Dylan, Wilco, Guthrie, Waits, and R.E.M. are a few)
Chapter 5: science fiction (Rod Serling (Twilight Zone), Philip K. Dick, Ursula K. Le Guin and others)
Chapter 6: movies (David Lynch, Kubrick, etc.)
Chapter 7: revolutionary lives (MLK, Dorothy Day, Will Campbell, and others)

Because Dark incorporates so many sources, the entire text seems to be constructed of a hodge-podge of quotes and references--even cliches. The truth is, some of Dark's sentences are so esoteric I can't imagine anyone enjoying this who doesn't get a majority of his references and allusions, and I wonder in some cases if it's even fair to call these allusions. At times, it seems a bit closer to plagiarism, as sources are often not mentioned directly, and only readers with the same knowledge will have any idea what he is alluding to. Yes, the pieces are all connected, but it feels Dark is shooting at his thesis with buckshot.

He hits it, of course. And as I've read the second half of the book, my appreciation for it has grown, mostly because his main points have become more and more clear: to claim a monopoly on truth or right action is a grievous error; beware of smug confidence in our own perspective and understanding; reach toward empathy; avoid a perspective filled with dichotomies; do not dismiss carelessly any dissenting, minority voice; and perhaps most important of all is Dark's subtle yet inherent plea: he who has ears to hear let him hear.

Update: reading this review five years after writing it, I can see two things I got right: 1) I truly don't remember any of the details from this book, and 2) my review is nonetheless useful to me, for I recognize the same themes listed in the previous paragraph in his subsequent publications, The Sacredness of Questioning Everything and Life's Too Short to Pretend You're Not Religious. This obsession with trying again and again to articulate a particular lens through which to view life and through which to maintain healthy personal awareness, growth, and critical thought about the world in which I live is something I really love about some authors (Vonnegut, Henri Nouwen, John Steinbeck, etc.), and Dark is solidly in this group for me. The reminders of how to live well are always inspiring and never come at the wrong time.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Dark's latest offering, I wanted to revisit this work from about a decade ago. It's amazing how directly applicable its content is today. Dark's observations about political discourse, though written in a different America, are as poignant as ever.

Dark does a good job of writing in a very smart, wry way, yet always careful not to talk over the heads of the "Waffle House crowd," to whom, it would seem, this book is dedicated. As always, Dark offers voices from his attention collection, voices which call into question all of our assumptions and status quo, be it the Silver Leaf Quartette of Norfolk, R.E.M., Thomas Pynchon, or Will Campbell. Dark has a way of illuminating the ways these voices challenge us and focuses their light on areas of life, both public and private, which are in desperate need of illumination.

I will conclude with a passage from the book on Jesus' resurrection, which struck me as a central theme of this book:
"Herod is terribly displeased by all this, because resurrection is bad news for anyone whose power depends on lethal force. He doesn't want dead people coming back. That ruins the whole point of his illustrious career. That means that history isn't written only by winners, and that might might not make right. The 'silenced' aren't ultimately silenced." (p. 160)

The Lord is risen. Amen.

[John Pannebaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit hard to follow at times due to the writing style, this is still a hidden gem of a book. Published in 2005, and described as book striving "to provide fodder for lively conversation about what it means to be Christian and American in this "weird moment,"" this book should have been required reading for all believers since 2008.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark offers a series of essays that reflect on American culture, that seek a fuller Christian gospel, and call for civility in political discourse. This last call he ties to the image of his father chatting with friends down at the Waffle House (the civility call is leveled to both sides, but his examples seem mainly about the uncivil right). He reflects on culture from literature (making we want to reread Moby Dick and Huck Finn and to take Mason and Dixon down off my shelf), to music, movies and TV. He also reflects on historical figures, from Lincoln to Dorothy Day. His writing is engaging and powerful at times, if not tightly organized. By focusing on both America and the church (frankly more on the former) he risks eliding them together. I know his point is the opposite, but the church gets lost amid his eloquence at times. Still highly recommended.

[Joel Geib · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is frustratingly difficult to understand. I tried to keep from criticizing Dark's first book, "Everyday Apocalypse," because of it's sometimes-difficult writing style. I liked the way he wrote it so much. But with this book of his, I really think that perhaps he had no intention of making it accessible to the general public. It's sad that many will miss his likely excellent insight in this book.

[Todd Putney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book written in 2005 but speaks to our life today in America

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book! I highly recommend it.