Aikman
begins by reviewing the current literature on the state of
Christianity in America, paying special attention to what has been
written about American teens and young adults.
He asks,
“Was America ever a Christian nation?” If your criterion is that
90 percent of the population considered themselves Christians (even
if they never went to church), then, Aikman writes, America was at
one point Christian. But, others argue, if you mean the nation was a
society reflecting the ideals of Scripture, then early America does
not deserve to be called Christian. Aikman notes that Winthrop did
desire to build such a state, with laws modeled on the Old Testament.
He
reviews the steady rise of opposition to Christianity in the U. S.,
describing the works of Hegel and Feuerbach and their effect on
American universities. He traces the influence of Darwinism and
follows the changes in the academic world and culture. He notes the
influence of Billy Graham and then the erosion of respect for
Christianity in the 1960s. He concludes that driving out religion,
specifically Christianity, from higher education altogether succeeded
to a large extent.
Aikman
writes that serious setbacks to Christianity can and have been
reversed, such as the Wesleyan revival in England. This is not the
end of the story for Christianity in America. He reports on the
Chinese rediscovering God, the resurgence of theism in academic
philosophy departments, the work of Christian campus organizations,
and the renewed interest in Calvinism among the young.
This is
a good introductory review of Christianity in America. Those who have
read a great deal on the topic may not find anything new here.
The
encouragement at the end of this book gives one hope. Christianity
may be down, but it is not out.
See more
about this book at www.onenationwithout.com.
David
Aikman is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist, a
bestselling author, and a foreign affairs commentator based in the
Washington, DC area. You can learn more about him at
www.davidaikman.com.
Baker
Publishing Group, 204 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book for the purpose of this
review.
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