Tea Party Culture War by Stephen Johnston

Johnston believes we are at a point of no return for America. He writes, “The 2012 presidential election represents a fight for America to determine whether our nation will become a godless socialist country or an economically sound one based on biblical values.”

The book is in three parts. The first part covers the cultural attacks by the belief systems of theism, naturalism, and pantheism. The second part examines how non-theistic worldviews have influenced the American government and economy. The third part is an examination of how eastern mysticism has invaded religion and the Christian church in particular. He ends the book with a section on eschatology.

Johnston hopes that when you reach the end of the book, you will clearly understand that America is truly in a culture war.

There is good news and bad news about this book. The good news is that Johnston presents an excellent historical look at the various influences on current culture. His section on financial history, especially banking in England, was great. I found a great deal of historical information there I had never seen before.

The bad news is that Johnston sometimes make statements that are a bit over the edge, I think. For example, “The welfare state in America is creating a growing number of entitled sociopaths who are incapable of determining right from wrong.” And “Rick Warren and Robert Schuller's 'Chrislam' is an unbiblical unity of Christianity and Islam.”

Sometimes he wants to write the platform for the Party. “[Those in the Tea Party] must advocate for nuclear energy as the only feasible alternative to petroleum.”

Sometimes he would have us believe that our problems is the result of a conspiracy. He claims the problems afflicting America “reflect the destructive accomplishments of a long-term conspiracy against American society.” He fails to identify the conspiracy makers, however.

Sometimes he treats the nation as if it were an entity with a will of its own. “...[T]he reality is that if the United States is to prosper, it must return to its roots, worship God, and obey the core principles of the Judeo/Christian values on which it was founded.” I can see people worshiping God, but a nation?

Sometimes his writing is a little simplified in its conclusion. He writes that Einstein's theories “laid the foundation for the 'Big Bang Theory,' which would basically disprove the validity of evolution.” Really! Lest we didn't get it the first time, he repeats it later. “Albert Einstein's theories of relativity and Hubbell's [sic] finding that the universe had a beginning point were seriously undermining the validity of the theory of evolution, as it was now becoming apparent that the billions of years needed for Darwin's system of mutant species to work simply did not exist.” I am sure there are many evolutionary scientists who say the 13.7 billion year age of the universe might be long enough.

But then, I think America is off the hook. Johnston says the future of the nation lies in the hands of the Tea Party members. “As those of us in the Tea Party worship and obey God and His laws, our country will be blessed. But if we turn from God and fail to follow His laws, then we will bring judgment to our country and our children's children. Their fate is in our hands!”

OK, Tea Party members. The pressure is on.

You can find out more about the book and the author at http://www.teapartyculturewar.com/about.

Watch a video here.

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Steve Johnston grew up in Southern California and was raised by fundamentalist Christian parents. He received degrees in law and theology. He is the former Vice-President of Apache Gas Company and former CEO of Morning Star Industries. He has served as a prison chaplain, is a supporter of the Tea Party and has written a previous book, When is Judgment Day? He divides time between his homes in Palm Desert, California and Brookings, Oregon.

Wine Press Publishing, 232 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book for the purpose of this review. I read this book on a device where the page numbers did not correspond to that of the printed book. Therefore, I was unable to give the appropriate page numbers for the quotes from the book.