Hillbilly Elegy<\/i>,<\/a>\u00a0then you get a picture of WAFR (and if you haven\u2019t read it then you should).<\/p>\nThe Lies that Hold America Captive<\/b><\/h3>\n
Just so this doesn\u2019t get too long, I\u2019m just going to look at Walton\u2019s first four lies (which are the strongest and most important\u2014often the remaining lies read like important sub-lies to these first four).<\/p>\n
Lie #1 We are a Christian Nation<\/i><\/p>\n
People argue back and forth about whether America was founded as a Christian nation, and whether it is still functioning that way, and how we can get back (or not) to those roots.<\/p>\n
Walton cuts below and behind all this by claiming \u201cThe Unite States cannot be a Christian nation, because God\u2019s plan for redemption does not include a nation-state, and the beliefs and practices of WAFR are opposed to the arc of Scripture\u201d (18).<\/p>\n
With Walton, I totally agree that God\u2019s plan for redemption only comes through the church, not America, or any other nation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The hope for the world is not America.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>It is the church.<\/p>\nThe related lies that creep up are that<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of being made in the image of God, we live in the shadow of the images on Mount Rushmore.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The men are transformed into mythical figures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Our freedom then was not afforded by the blood of Jesus but by the blood of soldiers who took and defended our right to liberty.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Our Father is not Yahweh but a nonspecific Creator, and the Bible is replaced by the Constitution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Instead of the Ten Commandments, we have the first ten Amendments, known as the Bill of Rights\u201d (17).<\/p>\nThe truth, then, is that the church is the true nation of God.<\/p>\n
Lie #2 We are all Immigrants<\/i><\/p>\n
The second lie drills deeper into our collective identity as Americans (or American Christians).<\/p>\n
Walton points out claims that we are a nation of immigrants is a both a factual lie and a fantasy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Concerning facts, many American were brought here as slaves.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>And many came as refugees.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>And many were natives to this land and had it brutally stolen.<\/p>\nBut the fantasy behind this lie is that immigrants are here to work, and that work within the \u201cland of opportunity\u201d will necessarily lead to success.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>America is a land for the industrious work, and\u2014as the lie goes\u2014anyone who is not succeeding is personally at fault.<\/p>\nIn essence, for Walton, to believe the lie that we are all immigrants is to believe that we\u00a0earn our place through work.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
But the truth is that our identity comes through adoption into a new family in Christ, given by grace, not as something earned.<\/p>\n
Lie #3 We are a Melting Pot<\/i><\/p>\n
I remember being raised in California with the \u201cmelting pot\u201d story, only to have it replaced as a guiding metaphor with the idea of America as a salad.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>What\u2019s the difference?<\/p>\nAs Walton explains, the idea that America is a melting pot seeks to describe the mosaic of people in America and the hope that when all these people come together that a new and better people will emerge (53).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>This promotes the erasure of differences and demands assimilation.<\/p>\nPractically however, it is not some new and better people that emerges from the American melting pot, but a conformity to values and perspectives and culture of White America.<\/p>\n
But the truth is that God\u2019s kingdom values true differences of ethnicity and culture rather than mere assimilation and conformity.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nLie #4 All Men are Created Equal<\/p>\n
America claims that all are created equal in opportunity and before the law.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>As created equal, America claims to honor people for their success\u2014for their use of their opportunity.<\/p>\nThe dark side of this lie (related to lie #2) is that \u201cif I am behind, no one is to blame except me.\u201d As Walton notes, \u201cto implicate the elaborate system of social barriers keeping me, my family, my people group, or my culture in perpetual poverty is a cop-out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>I need to take personal responsibility.\u201d According to this lie, \u201cthe effects and influence of barriers and opportunity structures are minimized, if not wholly dismissed\u201d (65).<\/p>\nThe truth Walton turns to is that while not all are created equal, all are created in God\u2019s image and that God regularly honors the lowest most.<\/p>\n
Remaining Lies<\/b><\/h3>\n
The remaining lie cover similar ground,<\/p>\n
Lie #5 We are not a Great Democracy
\nLie #6\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The American Dream is Alive and Well
\nLie #7 We are the Most Prosperous Nation in the World
\nLie #8 We are the Most Generous People in the World
\nLie #9 America is the Land of the Free
\nLie #10\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>America is the Home of the Brave
\nLie #11 America is the Greatest Country on Earth
\nLie #12\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>We are One Nation<\/p>\nMy Thoughts<\/b><\/h3>\n
As an evangelical with anabaptist persuasions I was very eager to read\u00a0Twelve Lies<\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>In my teaching and pastoring I long to untangle the church for an uncritical mingling with American Nationalism (on the Right, and yes, also on the Left).<\/p>\nTwelve Lies\u00a0<\/i>goes a long way in uncovering how the lies of American Nationalism infect the church.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>True to his experience, Walton speak from his southern, African-American experience within and around NYC and beyond.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>It is powerful and moving\u2014especially for the already convinced.<\/p>\nBut for those not already convinced? What about those who reading above winced at the description of \u201cWhite American Folk Religion\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>These readers will probably remain unconvinced.<\/p>\nBut that is OK.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIt just means that people like me\u2014in my pastoring and teaching\u2014need to continue the work of disentangling the American Dream and the reality of the Kingdom, and do it in such a way that convinces those unconvinced by\u00a0Twelve Lies.<\/i><\/p>\n
***<\/i>
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
\n<\/p>
Disclosure<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/i>I (Geoff) was provided a copy of this book by IVP to review, and I\u2019m as under contract with IVP for a book that is coming out next year titled\u00a0Does God Really Like Me? Discovering the God Who Wants to Be With Us.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Twelve Lies that Hold America Captive, by Geoff Holsclaw Geoff Holsclaw is a theology professor @ Northern Seminary & a local church pastor. Get his\u00a0FREE \u201c5 Ways for Finding God\u2019s Presence\u201d checklist. Jonathan Walton, in Twelve Lies that Hold America Captive and the Truth That Sets Us Free, delivers an honest\u2014and many times, brutal\u2014examination of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>Jonathan Walton, in Twelve Lies that Hold America Captive and the Truth That Sets Us Free<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, delivers an honest\u2014and many times, brutal\u2014examination of the lies the American (Evangelical) Church has believed about America, and the disastrous place it has led us.<\/p>\n