Postcards from Babylon: The Church In American Exile

by Brian Zahnd

The original gospel proclamation that the Lord of the nations was a crucified Galilean raised from the dead and that salvation was found in vowing allegiance to Jesus of Nazareth unleashed a shock wave that turned the Roman Empire upside down. Early Christianity was subversive and dangerous—dangerous for Christians and a threat to the keepers of the old order. Most of all Christianity was countercultural. But what about contemporary American Christianity? Is it the countercultural way of Jesus or merely a religious endorsement of Americanism? In his provocative book, Postcards From Babylon, Brian Zahnd challenges the reader to see and embrace a daring Jesus-centered Christianity that can again turn the world upside down."In a bold and daring articulation, Brian Zahnd has sketched a 'Theology of the Cross' for our time and place in the United States of the twenty-first century. He does so in a way that deeply resonates with the primal claims of evangelical theology. He sees that the Gospel is inherently and inescapably countercultural because the God of the Gospel is in particular and passionate solidarity with the 'left behind.'"--Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary"If I had miraculous powers, I would interrupt the programming of every religious broadcast in America, then, as Jesus replaced water with wine, I would substitute the message from Brian Zahnd that you’ll read in this book. Read it and you’ll see why. I recommend that you buy two copies of this book. Immediately read one—underline it and extract quotes from it to share on Facebook and Twitter, and refer to it in sermons and casual conversations. Send the other to that friend or relative who likes to talk about God and country. Include a note asking if they’d be willing to talk with you about it after they read it. Then see what happens as these Postcards from Babylon do their work in you and in others."--Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration"This love letter from a concerned pastor will enrage contemporary Pharaohs and their false prophets who blaspheme by blessing everything that Christ came to free us from. Postcards from Babylon diagnoses the diabolical and invites us to become pilgrims on Christ’s narrow road that delivers us out into life."--Jarrod McKenna, pastor, founder of First Home Project for refugees in Australia

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction, Christianity, Christian, Religion, Politics, Faith

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 14, 2019

About the author

Brian Zahnd is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. As the lead pastor, he is the primary preacher during our weekend services, and he oversees the direction of the church. Pastor Brian is a passionate reader of theology and philosophy, an avid hiker and mountain climber, and authority on all things Bob Dylan.

He and his wife, Peri, have three adult sons and five grandchildren. He is the author of several books, including Unconditional?, Beauty Will Save the World, A Farewell To Mars, and Water To Wine.

Reviews

[Bryana Beaird · Rating 5 out of 5]

I literally read this book twice in two months. It was the single most healing book I read all year.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian Zahnd is one of my favorite contemporary authors. Everything he writes, from books to Tweets, deeply resonates with and challenges me.

This might be his best book (at least of the ones I’ve read). Nationalism has long been the greatest temptation for American Christians. That’s not fair to American Christians, for this has been the biggest temptation to Christians since the beginning (and probably before the beginning). Empires are seductive and have a lot to offer. Whether it is Babylon or Rome, Britain or Germany or America the lure of bowing at the foot of the nation strong.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to be on board with Empire? Strong military that keeps you safe by killing the bad guys (and we’re the good guys, right?). More goods to consume than you can imagine. An economy that never slows down and offers you, at least it says, all the money you can earn. Power and comfort and consumption...mmmm....

Jesus calls his followers to a totally different way of life. Yet it is patently obvious most of us who claim the name Christian have deeply compromised our faith, creating some sort of syncretization between Empire and Jesus. Of course, there can only be one god at the top and when we try to combine these two, the Empire always wins.

Zahnd’s book is challenging and honest and covers a good bit of scripture and history. He even ventures into the specifically American political by pointing out his distaste for Trump years and years ago. American evangelical support of Trump is just the end of decades of submitting their faith to Babylon.

As all of Zahnd’s books, this is one any and all Christians should read. Highly recommended.

[Denis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian Zahnd writes with the voice of a Old Testament prophet, not unlike that of Jeremiah exhorting the people of Israel in exile in Babylon. Like his previous book, Farewell to Mars, Postcards from Babylon traces the process of the Church becoming entangled with the State, to its utter detriment. This relatively short book is a refreshing wake up call to the Church in America, specifically in the age of Trump, to pick up its cross and speak prophetically against war and violence, especially when it is sanctioned by the state. Zahnd includes many personal anecdotes which make the book very readable.I especially liked the addition of a list of 40 songs to augment the reading with artists ranging from Bob Dylan to Led Zeppelin, among many others. This is not a difficult book to read, however its message may be difficult (but necessary) to hear, especially for those who resonate with expression of faith that is wedded to empire.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book to anyone trying to make sense of that Christian nationalism the American church finds itself in. Published in 2019, the thesis of this book is even more true today following a global pandemic, continued police violence, gun violence, and political events. The author sets forth a theology that demonstrates how the risen Jesus has always been set against the empire and how America is most similar to a modern day Babylon rather than a redeemed Israel. While the author briefly touches on the intertwined white supremacy mixed into religious nationalism in the US, I believe his can vantage point as a white male has limited his perspective in this way and would have liked for him to have expanded on this additional undercurrent. I’d recommend other Christian writers of color, such as Jemar Tisby, to expand upon this crucial understanding of white supremacy Christian nationalism in America.

[Karl Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Christian living in America, or influenced by American style Christianity should read this prophetic book that calls for Christians to value those things that Jesus valued. Zahnd talks about the USA being Babylon whose primary values relate to power and money. Military and Economy. He challenges Christians to reject those values and replace them with Jesus' values - humility, service and love. A powerful book with a powerful prophetic message which will, I am afraid, be rejected by the vast majority of those who call themselves Christians. You may not agree with everything Zahnd says, but you owe it to yourself to read the book and seriously consider his prophetic message.

[Andrew Carnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible! It should be required reading for every Christian in America.

[Jared Kassebaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for any Christian like me who has grown weary of the nationalism creeping into our faith and seeks a picture of the cross rooted in compassion and pursuit, not a mischaracterized view of kingdom and justice that somehow resembles our conquering empires of earth more than the meek and gentle Jesus who exhorted us to love our enemies. Brian Zahnd has written a helpful book to show us that any empire on earth that we live within, including America, should be viewed not as a new Israel (God's kingdom of political power), but as an analogous Babylon (an empire we are to live within counterculturally while still working for the good of its inhabitants, people of faith or not). He does a phenomenal job outlining the myriad of ways the Bible is explicitly anti-empire, and how that is missed in the way we have watered down Jesus's teachings, as well as our tellings of Christmas and Easter and the Old Testament prophets, who almost always are anti-empire, whether an Israelite call to empire in their time or the oppression of whatever empire they are underneath.

[Wes M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't agree with everything Zahnd said, and felt his thought process was somewhat circular at times times, but I still found this book very thorough and insightful enough to give it 5 stars.

The part that irked at me the most was the, "so what?" at the end of the day. For some of us, we get it - we do live in a Babylon, and some of us are serving within the system have been well adept and aware of discrepancies of following Jesus and American Christianity for quite some time. I would have loved for him to unpack more of what that means and what that would look like - particularly in the images he drew from the Book of Daniel. Otherwise, we're just complaining and bitching at the end of the day.

[R.W. Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will hopefully one day be obsolete and irrelevant, much like Vonnegut's "A Man Without A Country", yet today, it couldn't be more timely and it's message more urgent. It's a love letter (if you will) to the Church that is aimed at reminding Christians who they are, what they should be about, and where their loyalties should lie.

[Heather Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this with hubby while on our getaway this week. There were several "a-ha" moments regarding America and her "empire-ness". Zahnd pinpoints the disconnect between American Christianity and its blind loyalty to American "exceptionalism" and what Jesus actually calls his followers to. Insightful and prophetic.

[Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t think of a more timely or prescient book.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read if you seek to understand the Christian nationalism that is undermining the message of Christ, particularly in the United States.

[Zach Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes!
This.
All of it.

[Tom Funk · Rating 4 out of 5]

For such a Binary Time as this

We live in a time of binary choices, a time where we are constantly called to choose one side or another. It seems at times that there is no middle ground on any issue of public concern and compromise and cooperation have become traitorous concepts. At the center of this lies one’s view of America. Is it Ronald Reagan’s shining city on a hill or Bono’s gleeful exporter of the war machine ( “ Bullet the Blue Sky.”)
At times Christians forced to take sides on this issue have failed to perceive that the narrative they are swallowing may be inconsistent with the affirmations of faith they’ve made. Many don’t think twice about whether pledging unswearing allegiance to America may mean compromising your allegiance to the One who is our true king.
Brian Zahnd introduces a compelling binary choice for American Christians that may otherwise go unnoticed- Is Jesus your Lord or is it your political party? He makes the case that the purposes of empire have always been the same, whether its Babylon, Rome, Britain or, yes, America. Empires accumulate power and force challengers to bend to their will. They thrive by the use or threat of violence.
Religion is often a useful tool to promote unity a d squelch dissent and this is no less true of our current context, where we recently have been told by a prominent church leader we must “ not vote wrongly” in order to be faithful.
Much of this analysis is insightful and would be beneficial to those who haven’t given much time to thinking through these issues.
I would offer a caveat to the confident proclamation that to embrace the American ideal is to compromise faith in Christ. Christians are told to pray for the king and be subject to the authorities and at some level a love for the place you live seems implicit in those commands . Yes Caesar is always going to compete for the full allegiance Jesus asks, and America can become a substitute god if we fall into the deception of replacing faith in country for faith in our Lord. But not every action of America is a power grab. Not every military action the USA has undertaken has been to expand its empire. I find it hard to fit WW II into this model. The current aid to Ukraine doesnt fit well either. And our history of nonmilitary aid to those countries where we have little strategic interest , such as the AIDS assistance in Africa 20 years ago doesn’t match up with hegemony. Zahnd says America is a kinder and gentler empire but an empire none the less . Maybe.
In an age less divided this book might be written off as overly dramatic. But in these times it might be, despise its flaws, the tonic she needs.

[Janice Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could, I would give this book 10 stars as it easily moved into one of my top 5 favorite non-fiction books of all time. It's timely, relevant, well-written and well-documented with a bounty of bible verses/history/stories to back it all up. Feel like you have been living in an alternate reality during the era of Trump? Feel like nationalism and a strong military should be defended and part of Christianity? Feel like the evangelical church has lost its way? This book is for you and you and you and you and you. This book both challenged and validated my feelings. And I've walked away changed in a way that is hard to describe....I finished the book two days ago, but it is constantly permeating my thoughts. I can't remember the last time a book did that! All but 2 chapters have been highlighted so much, they are almost unreadable. Like Allison O said in her review, "I wish I had the money to send this book raining down like leaflets of hope all over this country."

P.S. I especially loved this quote:
"It's not the task of the church to make America Great Again. It is the task of the contemporary church to make Christianity counter-cultural again. Once we untether Jesus from the interests of the empire, we begin to see how counter-cultural and radical Jesus' ideas actually are. Enemies? Love them. Violence? Renounce it. Money? Share it. Foreigners? Welcome them. Sinners? Forgive them. These are the kinds of radical ideas that will always be opposed by the principalities and powers, but which followers of Jesus are called to embrace, announce and enact."

[Don Lowrance · Rating 1 out of 5]

A gift from someone who wanted to enlighten me. I read it, listened to the audio version, took notes, watched YouTube videos and researched Zahn on the net. Some writers have a gift for subversive writing. Zahnd has such a gift. He misuses text as well as the words to 60's Hippy songs to make a distorted point. He tries hard to blame Caesar or Rome for the death of Christ and Paul and connect that to Nationalism (bad word in Zahnd's vocabulary). He then accuses America past and present for such Religious Nationalism of which President Trump is the epitome of evil Nationalism. President Trump is a flawed character but no more so than any Hollywood elite and many other philandering Presidents while they were in office (JFK being the most egregious). Finally, his lame attempt at reading his own HipHop rap in the last chapter is beyond crude.

For a better read, see R. R. Reno's 'Return of the Strong Gods'. The intro and first two chapters are all you need to read to understand Zahnd and his ilk.

Beware this monster of iniquity and spend your time on a more satisfying read.

[Tristan Sherwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Within *Postcards from Babylon* Brian Zahnd takes prophetic aim at the American church’s love affair with nationalism and exceptionalism—a love affair resulting in delusions and practices which are totally out of sync with the way of Jesus. With boldness, passion and clarity, Zahnd announces, through each of his ‘postcards’, a revolutionary message that the evangelical church in America desperately needs to hear: ‘Jesus is Lord! And Caesar, Mammon and Mars are not.’

Zahnd’s urgent message is highly recommended—not just for America, but for all of us, everywhere. The confusion of conflating our nation with the Kingdom of God is something that seems to be on the rise. And so we need voices like Zahnd’s to denounce our myths, peel back the masks of our imperial agendas, and to remind us that our allegiance is to a cross, not a flag.

—Tristan Sherwin, author of *Love: Expressed*

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will go down as the most important book I have read in 2021. I will re-read passages in it often. If everyone who calls themselves “Christian” or follower of Christ had read this book, Trump would never have done the damage the White Evangelical “church” allowed him to do and January 6, 2021 would never have occurred and occurred with their urging and blessing. America is the new Babylon and the real Christian church is her only hope not to go the way of former empires-total destruction. I wish I had the money to send this book raining down like leaflets of hope all over this country. This book is supported with Bible verses, not interpretations of Bible verses and not twisting those verses. Read this book.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

IS IT THE CHURCH’S TASK TO ‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN’?

Pastor and author Brian Zahnd wrote in the first chapter of this 2019 book, “Through my teens and twenties I was happy to remain a counterculture ‘Jesus freak.’ I knew that following Jesus required me to resist the dominant culture of materialism and militarism. But eventually the Jesus Movement was absorbed by the Charismatic Movement and would be slowly seduced by the siren songs coming from the prosperity gospel and the religious right. The gradual synthesis of the gospel with material prosperity and political power happened gradually enough, and with enough biblical proof-texting to make it seem plausible. And I went along for the ride… because I had been lulled to sleep; but in my mid-forties I suddenly woke up… disturbed at how comfortable American Christianity had become with the dominant culture… We didn’t start out as radical followers of Jesus only to end up being duped by a cadre of prosperity gospel hucksters and religious right power-mongers! So I revolted and rediscovered (at great cost) the counterculture faith I first knew as a teenager… It was a decision that saved my soul. It was a costly decision, but … it was worth it.” (Pg. 8-9)_

He clarifies, “I’m committed to Christian nonviolence, but I’m not an anarchist. I view police functions as necessary to maintain a civil society. But … it’s clear that Paul does NOT envision Christians possessing Caesar’s sword…. When Paul talks about the government in Romans 13, he is talking about a pagan government… [which] still serves a useful purpose in maintaining a civil society… Paul is NOT… giving Christians a way to ignore Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount!” (Pg. 13) He continues, “So, yes, Paul calls us to be ‘subject to the governing authorities.’ … Jesus was subject to the governing authority of Pontius Pilate, but that doesn’t mean the Roman governor was acting justly!... [Jesus] shamed the principalities and powers in his crucifixion and was vindicated by God in his resurrection.” (Pg. 15)

He observes, “The project of Christendom---trying to ‘Christianize’ the world through complicity with Caesar---had come to an end. Secularism has triumphed over Christendom. This is obvious in Europe and is becoming increasingly apparent in North America. The Religious Right may not know this yet, but it will soon enough. Christendom is dead---but Christ is risen… [This] is actually an opportunity for the church to return to its radical roots. Tying the gospel to the interests of empire had a deeply compromising effect upon the gospel, as seen in the sordid history of the church being mixed up with imperial conquest, colonialism, and military adventurism around the world. If secularism helps bring that to an end, I can only say, hallelujah!” (Pg. 16)

He suggests, “It’s not the task of the church to ‘Make American Great Again.’ The contemporary task of the church is to make Christianity countercultural again… we begin to see just how countercultural and radical Jesus’ ideas actually are. Enemies? Love them. Violence? Renounce it. Money? Share it. Foreigners? Welcome them. Sinners? Forgive them… It’s not the Christianity of Constantine that can face the challenge of secularism, but the Christianity of the catacombs.” (Pg. 17)

He acknowledges, “If you’re still fascinated by worldly power, I can see how you might be enthralled by a bully. But if you actually meditate on a visible portrayal of Christ crucified, the notion of God working through the tawdry machinations of power politics appears as ludicrous as it is. But in Babylon, power trumps everything.” (Pg. 23)

He notes, “The church in every western power after Constantine has at some point succumbed to the Siren seduction empire and has conflated Christianity and nationalism into a syncretic religion… in the 1930s, the German evangelical church got tangled up in Nazi red and black… Today the American evangelical church is tangled up in red, white and blue. That this entanglement has been a common failure of the church for centuries doesn’t make it any less tragic.” (Pg. 34)

He poses the question, “Is it permissible for a Christian to be patriotic? Yes and no. It depends on what is meant by patriotism. If… we mean a benign pride of place that encourages civic duty and responsible citizenship, then patriotism poses no conflict with Christian baptismal identity. But if by patriotism we mean religious devotion to nationalism at the expense of the wellbeing of other nations… if we mean a willingness to kill others (even other Christians) in the name of national allegiance, if we mean an uncritical support of political policies without regard to their justice, then patriotism is a repudiation of Christian… identity. It is extraordinarily naïve for a Christian to rule out categorically the possibility of any conflict between their national identity and their baptismal identity… For the ‘American First’ Christian it would create too much cognitive dissonance to actually admit that their loyalty to Christ is penultimate, trumped by their primary allegiance to America, but there are plenty of moments when the truth seeps out.” (Pg. 39-40)

He continues, “Yes, America, I love you… but not like THAT. Not in the way of supreme allegiance and unquestioned devotion. You see, my heart belongs to another… The gospel is the story of Jesus, not the American story… your sixteenth President claimed that America was ‘the last best hope on earth’… but it’s simply not true. The best hope of earth is Jesus, not you… At times you display an arrogance … that makes you an idolatrous rival to my faith in Jesus Christ… That’s what I mean when I say I love you, but not like THAT! If I loved you like THAT I would betray my baptism. I am betrothed …to Christ alone and Christ can have no rivals.” (Pg. 41-42)

He admits, “I’ve been a pastor going on four decades and I can tell you that the greatest challenge to making disciples of Jesus in the American context is that most people are already thoroughly disciples into the rival religion of Americanism… I’m well aware that speaking of America as a rival religion is a hard truth for patriotic ‘God and Country’ Christians to accept, but is it really a matter of dispute? America IS… a religion complete with creation myths, holy days, holy ground … canonized saints, liturgical gestures, and sacred liturgies… The attempt to reconcile Christianity and Americanism into a single religion is the kind of religious syncretism that most conservative Christians claim to be so alarmed about.” (Pg. 44-45)

He states, “America is a continuation of Babylon. America may (or may not be) a gentler, kindler Babylon, but it’s a Babylon nonetheless. To put it another way, King Jesus is not the best version of Caesar; King Jesus is the anti-Caesar. This is what ‘Jesus if Lord’ has always meant.” (Pg. 66)

He argues, “Why DOESN’T [God] just destroy the devil? Because the satanic phenomenon is inextricably connected with who we are. God cannot simply destroy the devil in one fell blow without destroying us too… the devil will not be destroyed like Osama Bin Laden was destroyed by Seal Team Six… Jesus destroys the devil by calling us out of rivalry, accusation, violence, domination, and empire, into heaven’s alternative of love, advocacy, peace, and liberation---this is what the Bible calls the kingdom of God.” (Pg.115-116)

He notes, “Politics trumps everything… Unless you really see the kingdom of God and are willing to rethink everything in the light of Christ, politics trumps everything---including faith and ethics. I learned this the hard way. When I pulled away from lock-step allegiance with the Religious Right because I had seen the kingdom of God and had begun to take Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount seriously, many politically conservative Christians accused me to ‘going over to the other side.’ … they could only interpret my kingdom-conscious approach to politics as traitorous. ‘It you’re not on OUR side, you must be on THEIR side!’ … They could not see the kingdom alternative I was pointing to---they could only see us vs. them, Republicans vs. Democrats… With a low ecclesiology, politics trumps everything.” (Pg. 133)

He turned down an opportunity to appear on Paula White’s TV show to promote one of his books: “in trying to communicate to my publisher as to why my faith differed radically from Paula White’s, I cited her fawning adulation for Donald Trump. How could you be enthralled with someone like Donald Trump AND be a follower of Jesus… For me, Donald Trump was the reality TV embodiment of three of the deadly sins---lust, greed, and pride.” (Pg. 135) He continues, “The presidency of Donald Trump has been a relentless tornado of chaos… I write it so my grandchildren will know that during the Trump era I wasn’t duped… and I didn’t go along for the ride… I saw what was happening, I knew it for what it was, and I spoke out.” (Pg. 142)

He concludes, “So it’s from Babylon that I write my postcards… addressed to the bride of Christ I love so dearly… I only want to say what the prophets and apostles have always said, ‘Babylon is fallen,’ just as the apostles have always said that Christ is risen…. The call to take up your cross and follow Christ in the way of co-suffering love will always be a tough sell to those living in a superpower enthralled with conventional greatness, but there will always be those who hear and dare to heed that call…. So shine on, Bride of Christ---even in Babylon shine on!... let us hold forth … a faith that has the power to again and again turn the world upside down.” (Pg. 150-151)

This book will appeal to many Christians struggling with the political implications of the faith.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

America as Empire

I love this book! In fact I need to read it again and think hard. It’s been a long time since I heard someone address idolatry in America. And the author is precise, clear and even cutting. He’s so right on it stings my pride.

This book is great for people in the process of deconstructing their faith. There is something authentic here. Pure. Pure gospel.

I gave it five stars because this book stretches and convicts me.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt this is a prophetic voice of truth to the American church that I wish every American Christian would read. This put to words and to understand so much of what I have been feeling during the past several years and regarding the political climate in the States that has married nationalism and faith. I am thankful for these bold words that are challenging to me and I hope others as well. A breath of fresh air after so much garbage.

[Lynda Cohagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book a week ago, gave it four stars, and then could not stop thinking about it, so I've come back and changed my rating to five stars. This made me reevaluate how I see myself in the Biblical narrative. It also is still making me admit how much of my daily life is consumed, not with the Kingdom of God, but rather with the materialistic consumer culture that is America. Excellent read. Now I need to find folks to discuss it with.

[Dave Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zahnd comprehensibly explores the ever-relevant issue of American Christian nationalism with personal anecdotes and biblical acumen. He's the voice for many hearts dismayed at the syncretism of church and state, and calls Christians to faithfulness in critiquing this unholy merger, while living faithfully in the kingdom Jesus proclaims. Babylon is fallen; Christ is risen.

[Matt LeFevers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a person who highlights books - I did not, in fact, own a highlighter - but this one had enough sentences I wanted to come back to over and over that I went out and bought one.

A fierce, unflinching, yet compassionate dose of prophetic truth. Outstanding.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My kingdom is not of this world."

Babylon will fall. Will we be defending it when it does, with our love of Mammom and Mars? Or will be be found faithful to HIS kingdom?

Very convicting. Highly recommend.

[Kara Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Zahnd correctly diagnoses the underlying problems with the church’s historical and current entanglements with political power and influence. This book is a call back to something truer and more beautiful, even if more costly.

[Laurie Connolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshing read to counterbalance the fearful, nationalistic mood permeating the environment where I currently live.

[Shannon Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A timely read for American Evangelicals enraptured by power, consumerism, and wealth, and have lost what it truly means to follow the slain and risen Lamb of Christ.

[Carter Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Around a week ago, a friend told me that Postcards from Babylon was on sale on the Kindle store for a whopping zero dollars and zero cents. I happily forked over the requisite empty handful of cash to acquire a book I'd been eyeing anyway and happily dove in, wondering what prompted Zahnd to make this book in particular available for free at this particular moment.

From the very first pages, the answer to that question was apparent. Zahnd comes out swinging against the pervasive idea that America is a Christian nation. He poses a starkly different message for the Christian reader - America is instead Babylon. Throughout the book, he ruthlessly deconstructs the notion of America as a Christian nation, America's mission as inherently good, nationalism as a high value for the Christian, etc. His counterargument: we as Christians say that Jesus is King, and we are to have no other allegiances. He exposes the rampant, pernicious, and often hidden entanglement between Christianity and Americanism that could lead Christians to confess Jesus as lord while championing the ugliness of the industrial-military complex, the glorification of war, and the ascension of the megalomaniac Donald Trump.

Zahnd offers a powerful, alternative imagination for the life of the American Christian, calling to mind the work of the exilic prophets of the OT who call Jewish people to steadfast, nonviolent faithfulness while living in the midst of a death-machine empire. Brueggeman's influence is very evident in Zahnd's work. Zahnd calls us to boldly live into the way of Jesus best encapsulated in loving acceptance of-and even striving toward-the cross. He demonstrates that sacrifice and suffering for others is not just a byproduct of the way of Christ but in fact the very pinnacle of the life of Christ. His message for the religious right is that this Way is completely incompatible with that of empire, the way that would somehow confess Jesus as Lord while relishing and glorifying in the death of other humans, a fundamentally incompatible pairing.

It's very clear why Zahnd made this book available at this moment. As Trump ascends again to the presidency, his policies of hatred of the foreigner, the refugee, the other are sweeping the nation, filling some with vindictive satisfaction and others with despondency. Finding myself in the second camp, my primary temptation in my place of privilege is to bury my head in the sand, protect myself from negative emotion, and shelter in place. But Zahnd, and ultimately Jesus, offer a better way, pointing out that now is the time not for fear but for boldness and love, care for neighbor, radical forgiveness, listening, trusting sacrifice, living into the promise of new life in Christ rooted in his message of unrelenting, bold love. Zahnd through this book is a powerful and encouraging prophetic witness for our current cultural moment, reminding us of the ultimacy of our allegiance to Christ and the true life to be had in it and the death to be found in ultimate allegiance to empire.

[D.J. Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tough read in that Zahnd is passionate and edgy (his words). While he doesn't want to be angry, sometimes the thoughts can be read that way. I only saw 1 one star rating from someone who thought Zahnd was off his rocker (that's my mild way of putting it), and that reviewer was clearly in the camp that Zahnd is arguing against (someone putting empire/nationalism/Caesar above Christ yet the person probably wouldn't say that; s/he would say Christ was in the empire/nationalism/Caesar). The other 1 and 2 star ratings were looking for even more of the same and/or more practical ideas for how to live in Babylon while following Christ. That may be a book for someone else to write (or perhaps has already written). A book like that would be helpful given it is lonely standing for Christ and Christ alone. It was extremely encouraging seeing all the four and five star ratings. I applaud Zahnd for wanting it down in writing for his children and grandchildren to see that he stood against religious nationalism. I haven't decided whether to buy the book yet or not. I did a lot (A LOT) of highlighting online.