Does
God need America? Has no other country done as much for God as
America has? Does God need American Christians to fulfill His plan
for the world (and Israel)?
Turner
writes about the God of American Christianity. He is not the same God
America had in 1630. How God was transformed into the American God of
today is what this book is all about.
Turner
takes us through the Puritan's vision (especially Winthrop) of what
America might become, a utopia, the Promised Land. Cotton preached
that going to America was “God's idea,” and twenty thousand did
so between 1630 and 1640. But their God was the same God John Calvin
knew.
Americans
like Anne Hutchinson and Jonathan Edwards would change the concept of
God so that “God began to morph into the American deity that many
of us know today.” (51) “Because of Edwards, a knowledge-based
Puritan God became a heart-focused American God, and
rather than inviting people to know about God, Edwards became
one of the first to invite people to experience God.”
(56-57)
Turner
continues with the influence of George Whitefield's revival
preaching, the Revolution and the question of including God in the
constitutional framework, Methodism changing America's God from
Calvinist to Arminian, the rise of fundamentalism then
dispensationalism (and the origin of the “rapture”), and most
recently the influence of Billy Graham.
America's
God has been elastic, shaped to fit a variety of ideas, marketed and
manipulated. “Capitalism has shaped how Americans interact with the
divine.” (92) Turner really puts today's popular Christian beliefs
in perspective. Christians haven't always believed in a God who
promotes capitalism or with whom one could have a personal
relationship.
I
am sure this book will irritate many, such as fundamentalists, of
whom Turner is critical. “Fundamentalists use their faith to
dictate the behavior of others. … When a fundamentalist isn't in
control, they don't know how to act.” (119-120) But Turner is an
equal opportunity critic. Just about all branches of contemporary
American Christianity fall prey to his wit and sarcasm. Some may
think Turner is irreverent, criticizing what has become holy to
American Christians. I'd rather like to think that Turner is merely
asking us to really consider the God we Americans know and be very
sure He is the God of the Bible, not a god of our own making.
Matthew
Paul Turner is the author of numerous books. Before he began writing
and speaking full time, he served as editor of CCM (Contemporary
Christian Music) magazine and music and entertainment editor of
Crosswalk.com. He and his wife, along with their two children, live
in Nashville, Tennessee. Learn more at www.MatthewPaulTurner.com.
Jericho
Books (an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc), 256 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for
the purpose of an independent and honest review.
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