The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory

One of the best books I've read in a long time, and an important read for anyone who identifies as evangelical, or is evangelical-adjacent, like me. I appreciate how carefully reported this book is, showing that the big white evangelical stars, like Franklin Graham, have chosen power over Christ; but so too have the small-town pastors, who have chosen power in Trump over Christ. It's sobering and dismaying, but the last chapter gives me hope that things can yet change.

"For such a time as this," Esther was called. And in this time, a Christian political correspondent is the expert needed. Thank you, Tim!

If you think it is crazy how evangelicals can support a politician who seemingly counters the very teachings of Jesus, you’ve got to read this book. I love the writing in this book! That should not be surprising since the author is an outstanding political reporter who also has an insider advantage as the son of a preacher.

LBJ lost the South for a generation, and Tim Alberta explains what happened next! 

As a lapsed Catholic and quasi-atheist/agnostic college professor studying political polarization, I often think that Christianity has become completely synonymous with white Christian nationalism in the U.S. Alberta’s book chronicles the internal politics within the evangelical church that helps explain this dangerous fusion of evangelicalism with conservative Trumpian politics today.

But, more importantly, his book helped me see that there are still many Christians who reject this version of their faith and who embrace a vision of Jesus more in keeping with the one I grew up loving: gracious, humble, and with unending love for those unlike himself.