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The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism Hardcover – December 5, 2023
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Instant New York Times Bestseller
One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of the Year
An Economist and Air MailBest Book of the Year
"Brave and absorbing." -- New York Times
“Alberta is not just a thorough and responsible reporter but a vibrant writer, capable of rendering a farcical scene in vivid hues.” -- Washington Post
“An astonishingly clear-eyed look at a murky movement.” -- Los Angeles Times
Evangelical Christians are perhaps the most polarizing—and least understood—people living in America today. In his seminal new book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, journalist Tim Alberta, himself a practicing Christian and the son of an evangelical pastor, paints an expansive and profoundly troubling portrait of the American evangelical movement. Through the eyes of televangelists and small-town preachers, celebrity revivalists and everyday churchgoers, Alberta tells the story of a faith cheapened by ephemeral fear, a promise corrupted by partisan subterfuge, and a reputation stained by perpetual scandal.
For millions of conservative Christians, America is their kingdom—a land set apart, a nation uniquely blessed, a people in special covenant with God. This love of country, however, has given way to right-wing nationalist fervor, a reckless blood-and-soil idolatry that trivializes the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Alberta retraces the arc of the modern evangelical movement, placing political and cultural inflection points in the context of church teachings and traditions, explaining how Donald Trump's presidency and the COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated historical trends that long pointed toward disaster. Reporting from half-empty sanctuaries and standing-room-only convention halls across the country, the author documents a growing fracture inside American Christianity and journeys with readers through this strange new environment in which loving your enemies is "woke" and owning the libs is the answer to WWJD.
Accessing the highest echelons of the American evangelical movement, Alberta investigates the ways in which conservative Christians have pursued, exercised, and often abused power in the name of securing this earthly kingdom. He highlights the battles evangelicals are fighting—and the weapons of their warfare—to demonstrate the disconnect from scripture: Contra the dictates of the New Testament, today's believers are struggling mightily against flesh and blood, eyes fixed on the here and now, desperate for a power that is frivolous and fleeting. Lingering at the intersection of real cultural displacement and perceived religious persecution, Alberta portrays a rapidly secularizing America that has come to distrust the evangelical church, and weaves together present-day narratives of individual pastors and their churches as they confront the twin challenges of lost status and diminished standing.
Sifting through the wreckage—pastors broken, congregations battered, believers losing their religion because of sex scandals and political schemes—Alberta asks: If the American evangelical movement has ceased to glorify God, what is its purpose?
- Print length512 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarper
- Publication dateDecember 5, 2023
- Dimensions6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
- ISBN-10006322688X
- ISBN-13978-0063226883
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Alberta is not just a thorough and responsible reporter but a vibrant writer, capable of rendering a farcical scene in vivid hues.” — Washington Post
"Well researched and comprehensive." — Kirkus Reviews
"Brave and absorbing." — New York Times
"Alberta adeptly illustrates how Christian nationalism is 'destroying the evangelical church' on a big-picture level, as well as how it’s justified individually, framed scripturally, and blared over pulpits in support of hyper-conservative political candidates. While he suggests a 'true Christianity' might still be salvageable, Alberta’s own evidence reveals how deep the rot has already spread. It’s an incisive, unsparing look at a movement in crisis." — Publishers Weekly
"Alberta’s is an astonishingly clear-eyed look at a murky movement." — Los Angeles Times
About the Author
Tim Alberta is a staff writer for The Atlantic, the former chief political correspondent for Politico, and has written for dozens of other publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, and Vanity Fair. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump. He co-moderated the final Democratic presidential debate of 2019 and frequently appears as a commentator on television programs in the U.S. and around the world. He lives in Michigan with his wife and three sons.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper (December 5, 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 512 pages
- ISBN-10 : 006322688X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0063226883
- Item Weight : 1.34 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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The notion - I wish I was a fly on the wall…
You are with this book about the inner workings and motivations of The Christian Business Empire…
My one big gripe about this book is that the author never turns his spotlight on whether the Christian beliefs of evangelical Christians are, in fact, reasonable. Clearly Alberta assumes they are since that is how he was raised. Alberta only examines the reasonableness of the political beliefs that stem from the religion. Several times the author refers to Christian beliefs as “the Truth” with a capital ‘T’. My feeling is that, no, Christian beliefs are not the “Truth.” There is no evidence or proof that Christianity is true – none – so the political actions that flow from these beliefs are based on myths and fairy tales. The book is also written as if evangelical Christianity represents all Christianity in the US. It does not.
Americans are taught that we are never allowed to criticize someone’s religion. I hold no such opinion. Christian Nationalism and the Christianity of the evangelical supporters of Trump will destroy this country. And I will hold all Christians and their religion directly responsible for this.
The case studies Alberta presents are really interesting and more than a little scary. At the end, Alberta’s book has me more convinced than ever that nothing makes atheism look more appealing than American Christianity. Highly recommended for all Americans.
There are also bits of hope, as Alberta talks to Christians who have not bowed the knee to the orange idol, like Russell Moore, Julie Roys, David French, and the pastor who succeeded his late father. I'm not sure I share his optimism about the prospects of steering more of the church back toward Jesus, but it is good to be reminded that such efforts exist (I think of myself as a part of that, having cowritten "Christ or Caesar: Church and Nation in Christian Perspective").
The one aspect I felt was missing, perhaps reflecting the author's church background, was the extremes of the charismatic movement, notably the "New Apostolic Reformation," which played a large role in the events of Jan. 6 and which advances an influential narrative of Trump as the person protecting American Christians from demonic forces. The book would have been more complete had there been a chapter about Peter Wagner, Lance Wallnau, Cindy Jacobs, Dutch Sheets, etc. Those interested in filling in that gap should catch the recent podcast "Charismatic Revival Fury."
The truth is that any real person that profess to be a genuine Christian should read this book with an open mind and heart.
The book challenged my spiritual beliefs and made me realize how far I have been from living a life that reflects Jesus teachings of love, kindness, morality and forgiveness!!!!
Top reviews from other countries
The author begins with detailed and very personal stories of churches that were losing members because the pastor was emphasizing Jesus instead of political outrages. Members were moving to churches that delivered an extreme political message. He interviews a number of pastors who were struggling with how to handle this situation.
The author then visits a number of the politically charged churches and reports on their church services where the key messages seem to be that the country is going downhill and Christians need to fight back. He notes that the services are also designed to provoke fear in the congregation. He then interviews the pastors and asks them how their square their political focus with their Christian faith. Although some of the pastors acknowledge the conflict, they argue that they are just providing what their congregation wants. They then go back to preaching the same way. The author feels that these churches are practicing idolatry.
The author then visits some big rallies where people like Ralph Reed, Charlie Kirk, Eric Metaxas and Paula White are delivering the messages. He sees many of these people are hucksters trying to make money out of the Evangelical community.
The book contains excellent reporting on recent events at the Southern Baptist Conference meetings as they are forced to come to grips with sexual abuse scandals in their churches. Russel Moore's struggles with the SBC are also reported on in detail as Moore was forced out of his leadership position in the SBC because of his unwillingness to endorse Donald Trump as well as his insistence that the SBC deal fairly with the sex abuse scandals.
There is also some excellent reporting about Liberty University and how it tossed out it's religious mission in favor of political boosterism.
On the positive side, Alberta talks to some of the people working to counteract this politicization of the church.
Some of the material has already appeared in The Atlantic where Alberta is a staff writer. His deep faith and knowledge of scripture comes out in the book making this a deeply personal book. The book is also very unsettling as you see how the church is being so politicized. The book is strongly recommended for anyone interested in religion and contemporary US politics. It is one of the most important books published in 2023.