Jason Kirk
asked
Jason Kirk:
[Answering questions that I wasn't able to get to during our book launch party.] From Cincinnati David: "Was 9/11 the foundation of a fundamental change in the teaching and messaging in church? This was touched upon in the book but I was wondering what your personal experience was in 2001."
Jason Kirk
9/11, 2016, January 6th, and Brown v. Board of Education were significant turning points within American religion, not so much because they changed what was getting preached, but because they changed the volume, intensity, and demands for fealty. The masks slipped, little by little, until they revealed to everyone who hadn't noticed yet that the movement that'd allegedly been founding on anti-abortion politics had actually been founding on white grievance.
We can go back and see the shift in political messaging in conservative churches, though it was already intensely anti-Democrat, queerphobic, and anti-immigrant. See: the weepy-warrior Promise Keepers giving way to the manly, manly gruntball theatrics of Neo-Calvinism, Mel Gibson, and guys who liked Teddy Roosevelt way too much.
My personal 2001 experience: My timeline and Isaac's were different. I'd already begun tuning out conservative pastors as best I could, but 9/11 definitely fed my ingrained apocalyptic fears (and hunger). The night of 9/11, I had Zao's "Liberate te ex Inferis" (a metal album about going to Hell) on loop as one friend read Revelation over and over — and six others played Gran Turismo for like nine hours.
We can go back and see the shift in political messaging in conservative churches, though it was already intensely anti-Democrat, queerphobic, and anti-immigrant. See: the weepy-warrior Promise Keepers giving way to the manly, manly gruntball theatrics of Neo-Calvinism, Mel Gibson, and guys who liked Teddy Roosevelt way too much.
My personal 2001 experience: My timeline and Isaac's were different. I'd already begun tuning out conservative pastors as best I could, but 9/11 definitely fed my ingrained apocalyptic fears (and hunger). The night of 9/11, I had Zao's "Liberate te ex Inferis" (a metal album about going to Hell) on loop as one friend read Revelation over and over — and six others played Gran Turismo for like nine hours.
More Answered Questions
Jason Kirk
asked
Jason Kirk:
[Answering questions that I wasn't able to get to during our book launch party.] From Matt: "I'm hoping that some of the book extras are around the timeline structure, both Isaac's life and growth and real-life happenings. Were there any real events you wanted to include but just couldn't work them in?"
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more