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Reborn on the Fourth of July
The Challenge of Faith, Patriotism and Conscience
by Logan Mehl-Laituri
"Logan Mehl-Laituri's testimony is moving and important if we are to understand what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be a soldier. Hopefully this book will be widely read."
—Stanley Hauerwas, author, The Peaceable Kingdom
About the Book & Author
Read more about the true story of an American soldier who, after a full tour of Iraq, sought conscientious objector status and left the military with a new assignment for peace.
Book Excerpt: The Calm Before the Storm
"Soon everything holding me in place, all the cultural and political assumptions I didn't even know I held, would fracture and break, sending me on a foreboding trajectory into unknown territory."
Praise for Reborn on the Fourth of July
"Logan Mehl-Laituri is one of the contemporary prophets for peace, decrying the evils of war and declaring the nonviolent love of Jesus." What Shane Claiborne and others are saying about the new book on faith and patriotism.
A Soldier’s Rebirth: A Q&A with Army Veteran Logan Mehl-Laituri
"With this book, I hope to advance the frontlines of a new and growing space within which we might better process the reality of war through a uniquely Christian lens."
For God and Country: A Video Q&A with Logan Mehl-Laituri
Deborah Arca
Is it our duty as Christians to question war? Reborn on the Fourth of July author Logan Mehl-Laituri responds to this question and others in this exclusive video interview about his new book exploring the tension between loving God and loving Country.
Faith and the Fourth of July: Video Messages to the Church
Patheos Editors
What does it mean to be a Christian and a citizen of a nation? Brian McLaren, Lisa Sharon Harper, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and others share their reflections on faith and patriotism this Independence Day.
Book Club Roundtable
How Does Your Faith Affect Your Patriotism?
Patriotism and Properly Ordered Social Love
Steve Knight
Mehl-Laituri’s story is uniquely inspiring, especially for those of us in the missional church conversation.
Can Lethal Resistance Be Loving?
Leah Libresco
The question I found most interesting is: What kind of resistance should Christians offer to injustice?
From Independence to Interdependence
Carl Gregg
On this Independence Day in addition to celebrating the many freedoms we enjoy in The United States, I invite you to reflect on what it could mean to work toward greater interdependence of all human beings in all places.
How Should the Church Celebrate the Fourth of July?
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
I pray the Church can celebrate the Fourth of July by being honest about all the ways we can bless places, as well as all the ways our violence can be a curse, and in repenting of that, really turning towards Gods' vision of the beloved community.
Lisa Sharon Harper's Message to the Church on the Fourth of July
Lisa Sharon Harper
Author and Sojourner's Director of Mobilizing Lisa Sharon Harper reflects on the meaning of freedom, and how our Christian faith should affect our patriotism.
Good Conscience
Greg Garrett
In Faithful Citizenship, I said something very much like Mr. Mehl-Laituri does in his new book: "I love my country. But I love God more."
The Sin of Nationalistic Faith
Chris Smith
Nationalistic faith is one of the “sins of abstraction” that we push back against in the in Slow Church book because in preferring one nation over others, it fails to consider the whole of God’s work in reconciling all creation.
Join the Roundtable Discussion!
Email us at books@patheos.com with your 300-500 word reflection on this book.
Selected entries may receive a free copy of one of our future book club books!
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