What do you think?
Rate this book
Confessions of a Former Fox News Christian
Seth Andrews idolized Rush Limbaugh. He listened to Glenn Beck. He read Ann Coulter. He watched Fox News. He was an evangelical Christian once tethered to right-wing media, which constantly warned of an attack on American values by liberals and secular humanists. Today, Seth is a liberal and secular humanist. This book explores the Fox News culture, which both reflects and informs American conservatism, shaping public opinion on important issues like religion, government, race, foreign policy, war, protest, LGBT rights, and the Constitution. It's an exposé of conservative media's "closed systems" which constantly feed on (and feed into) public outrage, ignorance, bigotry, and fear. It's also the story of one man's personal journey into a larger and better world.
217 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 22, 2020
96 people are currently reading
374 people want to read
About the author
Seth Andrews
13 books133 followersSeth Andrews is an American author and speaker on the subject of atheism.
He is the creator and host of The Thinking Atheist, and the author of the self-published books Deconverted and Sacred Cows. Prior to his atheist activism, he was a fundamentalist Christian and had a ten-year career as a Christian radio host.
He is the creator and host of The Thinking Atheist, and the author of the self-published books Deconverted and Sacred Cows. Prior to his atheist activism, he was a fundamentalist Christian and had a ten-year career as a Christian radio host.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 25, 2020
This Seth's fourth book. In Confessions of a Former Fox News Christian, Seth takes a deep dive in to how the country became so divided, and how Fox News in particular contributed to this. Seth was a former far-right Christian evangelical radio host, and he also breaks down his personal transformative journey from drinking the Fox News kool-aid to becoming an atheist speaker and podcaster. He currently hosts the most popular atheist podcast on the planet, The Thinking Atheist. He's got the perfect radio voice, is very intelligent, and empathetic, and this makes for interesting and enlightening shows and entertaining and well written (and narrated) books.
Back to the book. Seth breaks down a particular subject in each of its thirteen chapters. He starts out with the advent and rise of Fox News and angry white conservative radio and goes on to address a variety of subjects which the far-right is currently pounding the proverbial table about such as: national pride, freedom of speech, guns, Christian privilege, the American justice system, abortion, the reality behind the "good book", and bigotry relating to LGBT Americans. The book isn't a 200 page skewering of the far-right and evangelical right, though, as ends with a chapter addressing the "loony left" and how liberals are also not immune to bad ideas.
This was a fun and informative read. Being a long time fan some of Seth's personal history was review but I learned a lot about the rise of Fox News and angry white guy radio, and, being of a similar mindset, enjoyed the content of the balance of the short rapid-fire chapters.
In 2018, Seth brought his speaking tour to Minneapolis, sponsored by the Minnesota Atheists, and I was able to meet him and his wife, Natalie. Good times.
Back to the book. Seth breaks down a particular subject in each of its thirteen chapters. He starts out with the advent and rise of Fox News and angry white conservative radio and goes on to address a variety of subjects which the far-right is currently pounding the proverbial table about such as: national pride, freedom of speech, guns, Christian privilege, the American justice system, abortion, the reality behind the "good book", and bigotry relating to LGBT Americans. The book isn't a 200 page skewering of the far-right and evangelical right, though, as ends with a chapter addressing the "loony left" and how liberals are also not immune to bad ideas.
This was a fun and informative read. Being a long time fan some of Seth's personal history was review but I learned a lot about the rise of Fox News and angry white guy radio, and, being of a similar mindset, enjoyed the content of the balance of the short rapid-fire chapters.
In 2018, Seth brought his speaking tour to Minneapolis, sponsored by the Minnesota Atheists, and I was able to meet him and his wife, Natalie. Good times.
September 2, 2020
I could not put this book down. It is non-fiction but it's well-written, not like most non-fiction. I believe our current polarization stems largely from doing away with the fairness doctrine and can only be cured by listening to the arguments of the other side. Seth Andrews provides perspective on both sides of tough issues like gun control and abortion. He explains the mindset of a Fox News viewer in a way that liberals can relate to and presents well thought out, nuanced positions. Perhaps most significantly, he serves as proof that people can and do change. FYI, by coincidence I read this immediately after finishing Andrew Seidel's The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American which this book references and though they are on different subjects, there are some interesting overlaps between the two books.
October 9, 2022
Giving this 4 stars because I genuinely enjoyed listening to it. Due to my bias, this book is an echo chamber for me: I already believe what Andrews is preaching, and I glory in hearing his take-down of people like Glenn Beck, O’Reilly, etc. I would have liked to hear more about how he unpacked his conditioning, but it seems he actually detailed that more in his book “Deconverted” - may have to give that a read.
Now for me trying to be objective - I’m not sure that this book has enough fact-citing to convert someone who isn’t ready to be converted. It works for me, and it works for a skeptic, but is Andrews’ own un-indoctrination enough to help his former fellow? This might be too opinion based for that, though it is understanding.
It’s explanation of how Fox News does what it does is great.
Side-eyes in the chapter where Andrews used “homosexuals” a bit too much to refer to gay people, and while I agreed with where he was going in his chapter “Loony Liberals” (creating tempests in teapots), the examples he picked were … off.
These weren’t really confessions, though. Andrews just serials what Fox News Fanatics believe, why it’s wrong or farcical, and then adds a “I used to believer this, too.”
But!!!! At the end of the day it was nice to sit in this bubble of sanity, especially since we work right now I’m being forcibly subjected to Fox News 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Now for me trying to be objective - I’m not sure that this book has enough fact-citing to convert someone who isn’t ready to be converted. It works for me, and it works for a skeptic, but is Andrews’ own un-indoctrination enough to help his former fellow? This might be too opinion based for that, though it is understanding.
It’s explanation of how Fox News does what it does is great.
Side-eyes in the chapter where Andrews used “homosexuals” a bit too much to refer to gay people, and while I agreed with where he was going in his chapter “Loony Liberals” (creating tempests in teapots), the examples he picked were … off.
These weren’t really confessions, though. Andrews just serials what Fox News Fanatics believe, why it’s wrong or farcical, and then adds a “I used to believer this, too.”
But!!!! At the end of the day it was nice to sit in this bubble of sanity, especially since we work right now I’m being forcibly subjected to Fox News 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
November 25, 2020
Given just how much the Trump presidency and his loss in the 2020 election has shown the "religious right" in our country to be depraved, conspiracy theory spouting lunatics who now, find that even Seth Andrews' previous news source, Fox News, is in fact establishment and not right enough. In 20 years time, perhaps we will have a volume from someone equally reformed and reasonable titled, "Confessions of a former QAnon - OANN - Newsmax christian." However what we have here is a cogent summary of just how to break out of a misinformed bubble, not to replace it with another bubble, but to be able to genuinely form your own opinions and not give any time to those who wish to spread fear, divisiveness, illiteracy, scientific ignorance, and general unlettered stupidity with pride. He charts an interesting course between his previous views and his current humanist/liberal views and offers means of helping others to break out of the toxic spin-cycle from the "No-Spin Zone." His addresses to current people of his persuasion as to how they need to police some of the lunacy in their own party and in their social media interactions specifically are well-formed and certainly necessary. The ability to actually change your mind and that of others is fantastically rare, but, in a nation now filled with people who just lost their Q-appointed savior because of the greatest tragedy in human history, a free and fair election where the candidate who won the popular vote also won the electoral vote, they will be looking for the next bubble/cult/news source now that even Fox has let them down...
January 4, 2021
2/3's of the way through I was going to rate this book a 3.5/5 because while it was written well (spoken well, I listened to the audio book) it's all thing people who are critical of conservative Christians have heard before with the exception of people unfamiliar with Seth's story. Much of this section was saber rattling and rallying the base. Cool. But that's not how it ended.
Then Seth REALLY opened up. I've followed him a year and he dropped some bombs. He approached things quite reasonably in a way all could and should be able to understand.
He then went on to reason with democrats in a way I fully respected.
I do not think there was anything said in this book I disagreed with and much that I strongly throw my support.
Probably the most frustrating thing is that the people who need to read this book won't. They don't read the book their own God gave them so why would they listen to liberal atheist from hell? *eye roll*
Then Seth REALLY opened up. I've followed him a year and he dropped some bombs. He approached things quite reasonably in a way all could and should be able to understand.
He then went on to reason with democrats in a way I fully respected.
I do not think there was anything said in this book I disagreed with and much that I strongly throw my support.
Probably the most frustrating thing is that the people who need to read this book won't. They don't read the book their own God gave them so why would they listen to liberal atheist from hell? *eye roll*
February 16, 2021
Damn near perfect until that last chapter. Liberal extremism is absolutely a thing, but accepting that cultural appropriation and microaggressions exist and are harmful is not extremism. Saying “r*tard” is obviously bad, but calling out other ableist terms like “lame” is going too far? The only difference between those two terms is time and awareness. Somehow the call for nuance lacks enough nuance.
Still a really good book, though. Highly recommend.
Still a really good book, though. Highly recommend.
April 2, 2021
This is my first read by Seth Andrews, and I wasn't disappointed. Andrews is a liberal Democrat, an atheist, and a humanist, and in this book he talks about his former life and beliefs as a conservative republican and evangelical Christian. Andrews takes about a dozen chapters and does deep dives into each of the main beliefs of conservative Christians; ranging from the second amendment, to abortion, gay marriage, and how their religious beliefs play into their political leanings. Andrews also touches on the loudest conservative voices; Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity and O'Reilly, to name a few. The author does a fantastic job of citing all of the numbers and figures he quotes, dating the tweets he cites and listing the websites, books or newspapers he gleans information from. His book and viewpoints are based on fact, not emotions or fiction. The analysis he does on each of the topics is relevant, relatable, and well-thought out.
The only sticking point I have is the name of the book- I feel like it is misleading. While Andrews was a Fox News Christian, (he does explain what he means by that,) that's only touched on in the first chapter. The rest of the book plays out rather like a conservative-beliefs-manifesto of sorts, with the author simply agreeing that's what he used to believe as well. It's not really a book of confessions as it is an expose of the alt-right. This book isn't going to change any minds, I fear, simply because the ones who read it already agree with Andrews. I don't see any conservative Christians reading this, let alone getting past the first chapter. That being said, I would highly recommend this to anyone who's on the political fence, or is unsure of where the conservative right stands.
The only sticking point I have is the name of the book- I feel like it is misleading. While Andrews was a Fox News Christian, (he does explain what he means by that,) that's only touched on in the first chapter. The rest of the book plays out rather like a conservative-beliefs-manifesto of sorts, with the author simply agreeing that's what he used to believe as well. It's not really a book of confessions as it is an expose of the alt-right. This book isn't going to change any minds, I fear, simply because the ones who read it already agree with Andrews. I don't see any conservative Christians reading this, let alone getting past the first chapter. That being said, I would highly recommend this to anyone who's on the political fence, or is unsure of where the conservative right stands.
July 18, 2021
As always, Seth delivers in a big way. One of the more intelligent, rational humans I've encountered. Strongly recommended!
December 29, 2021
Most people like to think of themselves as open-minded, but not many change their minds about deeply held beliefs. Scott Andrews is someone who had a drastic change from a staunch Bible-thumping conservative to a progressive atheist. This book describes his metamorphisis.
Andrews was an admitted prime-time Fox News addict. He writes, "I was the product of a hugely conservative, fundamentalist Christian, rah-rah-Ronald-Reagan culture."
Raised in Oklahoma by fundamentalist parents, Christian conservatism was instilled early. Like others in his tribe, he viewed his country as a Christian nation that was under attack. He also worked as a radio host for a dozen years on a Christian station. Fox News fed his resentment and anger against the liberals who were purportedly destroying America.
This book is about how he did an about face in a way that few of us do or admit to. This reviewer was also a part of the Religious Right for many years until, at age 57, I resigned as the leader of my township Republican Party and walked across the aisle to join the Democratic caucus in the state legislature. My views also moved to the left. Unlike Andrews, I still go to church.
Andrews examines the history and impact of Fox News, and of the indispensable role of Roger Ailes, the longtime chairman and CEO of Fox News. Ailes provided a home for conservatives, reinforcing their beliefs, and stoking their indignation. Fox News tells its predominantly Christian viewers that traditional values are in danger. As one study puts it, Fox News traffics in "the emotions of victimization."
Conservatives are more likely to rely upon a single source for their news than are liberals. Fox News viewers are less well informed than viewers of other networks, believing such myths as covid-19 is like the flu, Obama is a Muslim, and Trump won re-election in a landslide.
Though Fox News depicts itself as family friendly, dozens of female employees accused Roger Ailes of sexual harassment. Gretchen Carlson settled her lawsuit for $20 million. Another family values advocate -- Bill O'Reilly -- settled half a dozen harassment lawsuits for $50 million.
Conservative talk radio is dominated by hosts who foment white make grievance. Seth Andrews was a Rush Limbaugh "dittohead." Andrews shared Limbaugh's biases against gays, "feminazis," and “halfrican Americans" like Obama.
Andrews identified as a Christian nationalist, believing God was on the side of the USA and against her enemies. The premise is that the USA is a Christian nation."
Like the Moral Majority, Andrews was one of "the privileged (who) blamed the downtrodden for their own misery." Fox News has stories about the supposed war agaist faith and against Christmas. "It’s a war on Christ!” warned Franklin Graham.
The author denies that American Christians are being persecuted. He notes that “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” He rejects Christian nationalism that conflates faith with patriotism. An example is this jaw-dropping statement from Trump spiritual advisor Paula White: “To say no to President Trump would be saying no to God.”
Andrews now recognizes how he and other Fox News Christians subordinated faith for politics. For example, the gun culture among many white evangelicals seems contradictory to the faith. Jesus, after all, preached turning the other cheek, not smoting enemies with deadly weapons. Blind support for US military interventions also seems contrary to love thy neighbor as thyself.
At the same time that Andrews' politics were changing, he lost his Christian faith. Believers will find a challenging chapter critiquing the Bible. He described his deconversion in his autobiography, Deconverted: a Journey from Religion to Reason (2012).
A former Republican who switched parties, Andrews recognizes that his new party is just as fallible and susceptible to corruption as his old one. A former conservative who is now a liberal, he nonetheless rejects "far-left factions knee-jerk into such extreme 'wokeness' that they damage the causes they ostensibly promote...we must clean up our own liberal house before it is burned to the ground by arsonists." Those are views this reviewer shares. ###
Andrews was an admitted prime-time Fox News addict. He writes, "I was the product of a hugely conservative, fundamentalist Christian, rah-rah-Ronald-Reagan culture."
Raised in Oklahoma by fundamentalist parents, Christian conservatism was instilled early. Like others in his tribe, he viewed his country as a Christian nation that was under attack. He also worked as a radio host for a dozen years on a Christian station. Fox News fed his resentment and anger against the liberals who were purportedly destroying America.
This book is about how he did an about face in a way that few of us do or admit to. This reviewer was also a part of the Religious Right for many years until, at age 57, I resigned as the leader of my township Republican Party and walked across the aisle to join the Democratic caucus in the state legislature. My views also moved to the left. Unlike Andrews, I still go to church.
Andrews examines the history and impact of Fox News, and of the indispensable role of Roger Ailes, the longtime chairman and CEO of Fox News. Ailes provided a home for conservatives, reinforcing their beliefs, and stoking their indignation. Fox News tells its predominantly Christian viewers that traditional values are in danger. As one study puts it, Fox News traffics in "the emotions of victimization."
Conservatives are more likely to rely upon a single source for their news than are liberals. Fox News viewers are less well informed than viewers of other networks, believing such myths as covid-19 is like the flu, Obama is a Muslim, and Trump won re-election in a landslide.
Though Fox News depicts itself as family friendly, dozens of female employees accused Roger Ailes of sexual harassment. Gretchen Carlson settled her lawsuit for $20 million. Another family values advocate -- Bill O'Reilly -- settled half a dozen harassment lawsuits for $50 million.
Conservative talk radio is dominated by hosts who foment white make grievance. Seth Andrews was a Rush Limbaugh "dittohead." Andrews shared Limbaugh's biases against gays, "feminazis," and “halfrican Americans" like Obama.
Andrews identified as a Christian nationalist, believing God was on the side of the USA and against her enemies. The premise is that the USA is a Christian nation."
Like the Moral Majority, Andrews was one of "the privileged (who) blamed the downtrodden for their own misery." Fox News has stories about the supposed war agaist faith and against Christmas. "It’s a war on Christ!” warned Franklin Graham.
The author denies that American Christians are being persecuted. He notes that “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” He rejects Christian nationalism that conflates faith with patriotism. An example is this jaw-dropping statement from Trump spiritual advisor Paula White: “To say no to President Trump would be saying no to God.”
Andrews now recognizes how he and other Fox News Christians subordinated faith for politics. For example, the gun culture among many white evangelicals seems contradictory to the faith. Jesus, after all, preached turning the other cheek, not smoting enemies with deadly weapons. Blind support for US military interventions also seems contrary to love thy neighbor as thyself.
At the same time that Andrews' politics were changing, he lost his Christian faith. Believers will find a challenging chapter critiquing the Bible. He described his deconversion in his autobiography, Deconverted: a Journey from Religion to Reason (2012).
A former Republican who switched parties, Andrews recognizes that his new party is just as fallible and susceptible to corruption as his old one. A former conservative who is now a liberal, he nonetheless rejects "far-left factions knee-jerk into such extreme 'wokeness' that they damage the causes they ostensibly promote...we must clean up our own liberal house before it is burned to the ground by arsonists." Those are views this reviewer shares. ###
November 7, 2024
This was an interesting book to read in 2024 with the benefit of some hindsight. As the other reviews cover the book content well, I'll focus on some other things not already mentioned here.
The book came out in 2020, with its most recent citations being from April, 2020. That was around the time that then-President Trump quit denying that COVID-19 was a problem, but before most of the ~1.2 million reported (~1.9 million estimated) American fatalities had occurred. Quite a bit has happened since then, including: the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 and the resulting protests; Trump's loss in the 2020 United States Presidential Election to Joe Biden; Trump's subsequent attempts to overturn the free and fair election, culminating in the January 6 United States Capitol attack. (Trump's large-scale attack on law enforcement made a mockery of Republican Party posturing as the party of law and order - but Republicans are still campaigning on this claim to their gullible gaslit marks.) Since then, Trump and other MAGA figures, including Fox News, have been involved in a remarkable number of court cases. Fox platformed Trump's election lies and paid the largest known libel settlement ($787.5 million) to Dominion Voting Systems; a potentially even larger lawsuit from Smartmatic is still pending as I write this. Trump himself became the first former President convicted of felonies, and faces three more criminal indictments. Trump also faces large civil judgements, pending appeals.
In a thus-far successful ploy to avoid a likely prison sentence, Trump declared his candidacy for the 2024 election at a record-early date. Trump then rolled through the Republican primaries, secured the Republican Party nomination, and in just a few hours I will learn whether he goes back to the White House, or instead possibly to the Big House. (Post-election update: well, we saw how that turned out.)
That little recap of recent history shows the problem with writing a book about politics. History remains a work in progress, and whatever you write about current events will soon need an update. If Trump wins the election tonight, then Seth's book might have come before even the halfway mark in Trump's testing of America. What Trump did after Seth's book, or what came to light about things Trump did earlier, was arguably worse than the outrages that Seth mentions. And if Trump wins tonight, there's a strong chance that much worse is yet to come. In other words, as Seth is a prisoner of when he wrote, he didn't make as strong a case against Fox dogma as he could now or in another four years.
Also after the book came out, Trump's Pope-controlled Supreme Court supermajority overturned Roe v. Wade. Since then, Republicans have been something like the dog that caught the car on abortion. As Wikipedia recounts,
Whenever voters have been given a choice, thus far they have come down consistently against the theocrats. Thus from a tactical standpoint, it doesn't matter much what the Fox News marks think about abortion. When voters get to decide, there usually aren't enough theocrats to exert government control over the uterus. Accordingly, the anti-choice crowd has relied on non-democratic means to override the will of the people, such as the multi-decade project of the Federalist Society to increase the number of conservative judges who, with their lifetime appointments, no longer need to care about what voters think.
But I could point out a peculiarity in the "Fox News Christian" argument against abortion that Seth relays to us:
But does it become easier to understand? Not when I think for a few seconds about it. Seth doesn't point out the glaringly obvious flaw in the argument that he no longer accepts. Namely, that Christians believe the soul is immortal and immaterial, thus making its defense both unnecessary and impossible. This imaginary soul survives anything, even a nuclear explosion. The only thing that mortal humans can defend is the biological part, the soul's prison of cells. Defending the part we can defend carries a large risk of being harmful to the soul, because in the normal course of things the zygote is going to grow up to be a sinner in need of salvation. What if the resulting sinful human fails to believe the correct religion, out of the thousands on offer? Then the soul that didn't need saving in the first place ends up in hell for eternity, experiencing endless burning and torture from the loving God.
It's not clear what the various Christian brands believe about the status of the aborted soul - the bible certainly doesn't clarify it, which wouldn't be surprising given that the pre-scientific goat-herders who wrote the bible had no idea of how fertilization and development work. (They also did not know where the Sun goes at night, making the bible worse than useless for astronomy.) So given the bible's silence, every Christian gets to make up their own story. It seems a bit unfair to send those souls to hell when they couldn't have committed any sin yet. Thus if the imaginary God views fairness like I do, zygote heaven is probably a pretty decent place. It might even be the actual (fictional) heaven. In that case, if Christians took their Great Commission seriously and they wanted to save the maximum possible number of souls, then they would fertilize and abort as many zygotes as possible.
The incoherency of the "soul" argument against abortion illustrates the disordered thinking of the anti-choice brands of "Christian." It might be more correct to say that the reason they give is not their true reason. The true reason might be that they are illogically conflating your embryo with their baby, such that harm to the one becomes harm to the other. (The error of connecting things that are in fact unrelated is called apophenia.) This sentiment is similar to that of the dog fanciers who complained about Kristi Noem shooting her dog. If you happen to be a person who keeps dogs, and loves them, then hearing about some other person shooting their dog can feel like an attack on your dog, even though it is not.
Seth also points out the inconsistency between the Fox News Christian's deep concern for the embryo, and then their subsequent loss of concern for the resulting baby. We see this most pointedly at the southern US border, where grown-up embryos from Latin America come looking for work in the USA. Pro-"life" folks tend to be less enthusiastic about "life" when it's an undocumented immigrant. And just to pile on the irony, some fraction of those immigrants exist because Republican Presidential administrations kept blocking US assistance to family planning programs in low-income countries. That is, the number of future migrants is to some degree a policy choice, and Republicans have consistantly supported natalist policies ever since Reagan. Seth doesn't point out how pro-life attitudes increase the number of future immigrants for Fox News to terrify its viewers with - that's a point I'd like to see made loudly and often.
The book came out in 2020, with its most recent citations being from April, 2020. That was around the time that then-President Trump quit denying that COVID-19 was a problem, but before most of the ~1.2 million reported (~1.9 million estimated) American fatalities had occurred. Quite a bit has happened since then, including: the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 and the resulting protests; Trump's loss in the 2020 United States Presidential Election to Joe Biden; Trump's subsequent attempts to overturn the free and fair election, culminating in the January 6 United States Capitol attack. (Trump's large-scale attack on law enforcement made a mockery of Republican Party posturing as the party of law and order - but Republicans are still campaigning on this claim to their gullible gaslit marks.) Since then, Trump and other MAGA figures, including Fox News, have been involved in a remarkable number of court cases. Fox platformed Trump's election lies and paid the largest known libel settlement ($787.5 million) to Dominion Voting Systems; a potentially even larger lawsuit from Smartmatic is still pending as I write this. Trump himself became the first former President convicted of felonies, and faces three more criminal indictments. Trump also faces large civil judgements, pending appeals.
In a thus-far successful ploy to avoid a likely prison sentence, Trump declared his candidacy for the 2024 election at a record-early date. Trump then rolled through the Republican primaries, secured the Republican Party nomination, and in just a few hours I will learn whether he goes back to the White House, or instead possibly to the Big House. (Post-election update: well, we saw how that turned out.)
That little recap of recent history shows the problem with writing a book about politics. History remains a work in progress, and whatever you write about current events will soon need an update. If Trump wins the election tonight, then Seth's book might have come before even the halfway mark in Trump's testing of America. What Trump did after Seth's book, or what came to light about things Trump did earlier, was arguably worse than the outrages that Seth mentions. And if Trump wins tonight, there's a strong chance that much worse is yet to come. In other words, as Seth is a prisoner of when he wrote, he didn't make as strong a case against Fox dogma as he could now or in another four years.
Also after the book came out, Trump's Pope-controlled Supreme Court supermajority overturned Roe v. Wade. Since then, Republicans have been something like the dog that caught the car on abortion. As Wikipedia recounts,
"Referenda conducted in the decision's wake in Kansas, Montana, California, Vermont, Michigan, Kentucky, and Ohio uniformly came out in favor of abortion rights, generally by margins that were both bipartisan and overwhelming."It's interesting to read Seth's coverage of the abortion controversy in Chapter 11 with the benefit of this hindsight. For example, Seth pleads for understanding and empathy between the two sides, which is well and good when it's two people having a discussion about what they should choose. (Don't like abortion? Don't have one.) But only one side is pro-choice! The other side, the Fox News Christian side, wants to use police state power to take away choice from everyone.
Whenever voters have been given a choice, thus far they have come down consistently against the theocrats. Thus from a tactical standpoint, it doesn't matter much what the Fox News marks think about abortion. When voters get to decide, there usually aren't enough theocrats to exert government control over the uterus. Accordingly, the anti-choice crowd has relied on non-democratic means to override the will of the people, such as the multi-decade project of the Federalist Society to increase the number of conservative judges who, with their lifetime appointments, no longer need to care about what voters think.
But I could point out a peculiarity in the "Fox News Christian" argument against abortion that Seth relays to us:
Still, approximately 80 percent of U.S. citizens embrace some type of heaven, a place where the soul resides after physical death. Given that significant number and the fact that 167 million Americans claim some flavor of Christianity, it becomes easier to understand why nearly half of the population opposes abortion. Often, that opposition isn’t motivated by a desire to discriminate against or control women but is instead laser focused on the unborn child, the precious soul, the human life that has no ability to defend itself. That rallying cry stirs the righteous to battle. Defenseless children are under attack, so God’s army must mobilize. Ultimately, this is an evangelical crusade to defend a soul residing among the multiplying cells.
But does it become easier to understand? Not when I think for a few seconds about it. Seth doesn't point out the glaringly obvious flaw in the argument that he no longer accepts. Namely, that Christians believe the soul is immortal and immaterial, thus making its defense both unnecessary and impossible. This imaginary soul survives anything, even a nuclear explosion. The only thing that mortal humans can defend is the biological part, the soul's prison of cells. Defending the part we can defend carries a large risk of being harmful to the soul, because in the normal course of things the zygote is going to grow up to be a sinner in need of salvation. What if the resulting sinful human fails to believe the correct religion, out of the thousands on offer? Then the soul that didn't need saving in the first place ends up in hell for eternity, experiencing endless burning and torture from the loving God.
It's not clear what the various Christian brands believe about the status of the aborted soul - the bible certainly doesn't clarify it, which wouldn't be surprising given that the pre-scientific goat-herders who wrote the bible had no idea of how fertilization and development work. (They also did not know where the Sun goes at night, making the bible worse than useless for astronomy.) So given the bible's silence, every Christian gets to make up their own story. It seems a bit unfair to send those souls to hell when they couldn't have committed any sin yet. Thus if the imaginary God views fairness like I do, zygote heaven is probably a pretty decent place. It might even be the actual (fictional) heaven. In that case, if Christians took their Great Commission seriously and they wanted to save the maximum possible number of souls, then they would fertilize and abort as many zygotes as possible.
The incoherency of the "soul" argument against abortion illustrates the disordered thinking of the anti-choice brands of "Christian." It might be more correct to say that the reason they give is not their true reason. The true reason might be that they are illogically conflating your embryo with their baby, such that harm to the one becomes harm to the other. (The error of connecting things that are in fact unrelated is called apophenia.) This sentiment is similar to that of the dog fanciers who complained about Kristi Noem shooting her dog. If you happen to be a person who keeps dogs, and loves them, then hearing about some other person shooting their dog can feel like an attack on your dog, even though it is not.
Seth also points out the inconsistency between the Fox News Christian's deep concern for the embryo, and then their subsequent loss of concern for the resulting baby. We see this most pointedly at the southern US border, where grown-up embryos from Latin America come looking for work in the USA. Pro-"life" folks tend to be less enthusiastic about "life" when it's an undocumented immigrant. And just to pile on the irony, some fraction of those immigrants exist because Republican Presidential administrations kept blocking US assistance to family planning programs in low-income countries. That is, the number of future migrants is to some degree a policy choice, and Republicans have consistantly supported natalist policies ever since Reagan. Seth doesn't point out how pro-life attitudes increase the number of future immigrants for Fox News to terrify its viewers with - that's a point I'd like to see made loudly and often.
July 26, 2023
Growing up Christian / conservative, and having already moved away from both ideologies, this book really helped to clear up a lot of confusion I had around how politics and religion has shaped the current landscape in the United States. My only wish is that he would write an addition to cover everything that has happened since late 2020, since I feel the US’s landscape has gotten even worse and more polarizing.
October 10, 2020
This is a fascinating skeptical book about the "other side".
Seth has a great radio voice and his unique charm that comes through on the page.
There's some general political and religious commentary, but it's mostly auto-biographical.
Seth has a great radio voice and his unique charm that comes through on the page.
There's some general political and religious commentary, but it's mostly auto-biographical.
September 20, 2020
Andrews is always entertaining and well informed. Interesting read
October 6, 2020
I really can't express how much I love and respect Seth Andrews. He's well-written, well-spoken, intelligent, and, above all as far as I'm concerned, compassionate, and this book certainly didn't disappoint me in reaffirming those impressions of him.
I could probably write a lot but I do really want to highlight how very much I appreciate him for noting the issue with abortion and how we argue for the right to abortions. I'm really about as pro-choice as you can get but the rhetoric my side uses really DOES ignore the biggest problem, which is that pro-lifers really DO think it's a matter of saving human life. The behavior of women (and controlling sexuality in general) definitely plays a big part for many people, but that is not the only thing. This is such a good example of how we'll never change anything unless we bridge gaps in understanding of the world and can't even have productive conversations until we at least honestly acknowledge our opponent's actual position. Idk, relatively few things get my blood boiling like anti-abortion things but I think he's exactly right and this compassionate and thoughtful way of framing it is really what we most need to affect change in the world - it's the compassionate way, but it's also the most strategic way.
I could probably write a lot but I do really want to highlight how very much I appreciate him for noting the issue with abortion and how we argue for the right to abortions. I'm really about as pro-choice as you can get but the rhetoric my side uses really DOES ignore the biggest problem, which is that pro-lifers really DO think it's a matter of saving human life. The behavior of women (and controlling sexuality in general) definitely plays a big part for many people, but that is not the only thing. This is such a good example of how we'll never change anything unless we bridge gaps in understanding of the world and can't even have productive conversations until we at least honestly acknowledge our opponent's actual position. Idk, relatively few things get my blood boiling like anti-abortion things but I think he's exactly right and this compassionate and thoughtful way of framing it is really what we most need to affect change in the world - it's the compassionate way, but it's also the most strategic way.
February 16, 2021
This book does a decent job of giving information that the Fox News addict might not realize, as well as giving background information to the liberal secular humanist that they might not realize. Sadly, the chapter on the Bible and Evangelicals, as well as a few other places in the book, really does not demonstrate sound hermeneutics, but rather a shotgun approach-- which is a method that unfortunately is found in Evangelical circles as well. The writing style is humorous, but there is some colorful language. This would be a decent book for someone in college to read and use as a discussion book to bridge the Fox News to the CNN crowd-- putting conversation pieces on the table.
As a pastor with very conservative upbringing I chose to read this book because I am seeing further polarization in our nation over political concepts. I have to be willing to read "deconversion" stories to see possible wholes in my thinking, and also to know where people are at.
As a pastor with very conservative upbringing I chose to read this book because I am seeing further polarization in our nation over political concepts. I have to be willing to read "deconversion" stories to see possible wholes in my thinking, and also to know where people are at.
October 31, 2020
Accurate!
I seriously considered leaving that one word as my review because that plus five stars says it all. My life and thought processes have been extremely similar to Seth Andrews’, right down to the fact that I also attended a Christian private school that used little American flags to indicate the need for a teacher to come help.
This book was so resonant for me (and Mr. Andrews’ narration of the Audible version is so enchanting) that I listened to the entire book while cleaning my house on a Saturday. If only I could surgically implant this entire book into the brains of some people I know...I agree with another reviewer who said the people who could benefit most from this book would never read it. Besides that, I think there are many truths that simply have to dawn upon you yourself.
I seriously considered leaving that one word as my review because that plus five stars says it all. My life and thought processes have been extremely similar to Seth Andrews’, right down to the fact that I also attended a Christian private school that used little American flags to indicate the need for a teacher to come help.
This book was so resonant for me (and Mr. Andrews’ narration of the Audible version is so enchanting) that I listened to the entire book while cleaning my house on a Saturday. If only I could surgically implant this entire book into the brains of some people I know...I agree with another reviewer who said the people who could benefit most from this book would never read it. Besides that, I think there are many truths that simply have to dawn upon you yourself.
December 13, 2021
Seth Andrews is one of my favorite people. His deconversion and changing views and morality so dovetail my own deconversion it just helps me be ok with my own questioning and changing views. Unfortunately, I added about 10 years of deism to my journey, so it wasn't until I was in my mid-50's before I realized I just didn't buy it anymore. Seth is so relatable and he voices his struggles so well. It helps me find my own words. It wasn't easy to let go of those beliefs and he does give voice to the inner struggles many of us experience in such an eloquent way. He's just real. Plus he lives where I spent every summer with my grandparents, going to tent revivals, and learning about Armageddon.
What horrifying stories those were. They weren't bad people and just believed. Unfortunately as a child, so did I.
What horrifying stories those were. They weren't bad people and just believed. Unfortunately as a child, so did I.
June 13, 2022
I love Seth's YouTube channel, and he has helped me through a lot of my own questions about faith.
In this book, Seth really shows why Fox News is not only a danger to your mind, but to the American public at large. It's really well done when broken into its sections and topics like it is.
Asides from some typos and mistakes in the print I had, my only real complaint is that a lot of the book felt filled in with rhetorical questions as opposed to more data or commentary. Maybe that was just me, but it was a little tiring over 75% of the way in.
This is a really important read to all of us who are scared and angered by the rise of White Christian Nationalism in this country, and it's highly advised that everyone check it out.
Score 4.7/5
In this book, Seth really shows why Fox News is not only a danger to your mind, but to the American public at large. It's really well done when broken into its sections and topics like it is.
Asides from some typos and mistakes in the print I had, my only real complaint is that a lot of the book felt filled in with rhetorical questions as opposed to more data or commentary. Maybe that was just me, but it was a little tiring over 75% of the way in.
This is a really important read to all of us who are scared and angered by the rise of White Christian Nationalism in this country, and it's highly advised that everyone check it out.
Score 4.7/5
May 25, 2024
A bit rambly at times, but that happens to the best of us, and Mr. Andrews is definitely among the best of us. He teaches the reader not only about his own personal background and qualifications - from Christian radio host to Atheist podcaster - but the fascinating history of the rise of Far Right media like Fox News and the ever present scourge of AM Radio, Talk Radio. It's witty, informative, and never boring. If you want to learn a great deal about this topic in a small book, this is definitely worth the read.
March 18, 2021
Seth is a great story-teller and shares his take on the increased polarization in America due to echo chambers like Fox News and the dangers of extremism on both the right (Christian Nationalism) and the left with the constant outrage and cancel culture. His deep dive into the early formation of the media powerhouse and its roots were very interesting.
January 23, 2022
I have some thoughts on that last chapter, but I don't feel like sorting them out into something that makes sense outside my head.
Overall, a great book. I was in a similar boat growing up, though thankfully not as extreme, and getting out of that mindset isn't always easy - but it is the right thing to do.
Overall, a great book. I was in a similar boat growing up, though thankfully not as extreme, and getting out of that mindset isn't always easy - but it is the right thing to do.
June 11, 2022
I loved this book. I could hardly put it down. It provides somewhat of a history of Fox News and how it evolved into what it is today. I really wish everybody who watches Fox News on a regular basis could read this book. Not that it would do any good as far as getting them to change, but perhaps it would bring people to a better understanding of each other and why we believe what we believe.
October 11, 2022
I was already a fan of Seth Andrews's podcast before I read this book. He has a great voice, and the audiobook did not disappoint! He did a great job in this book breaking down Fox News culture and relating it to his own experience in conservative Christianity. I could have potentially rated this 5 stars, but I wasn't a big fan of the final chapter, where Andrews discusses the extreme left. While I actually agreed with much of what he said, he also seemed to completely dismiss the issues of cultural appropriation and microaggressions.
March 25, 2024
Fair and Kind Self-Reflection
Seth found a way to walk us through a man shifting his world view using reasoning, reflection, and observation, and he did so while also preserving respect for his old tribe. He also responsibly put the lens on the humanist / liberal world view, carefully pointing out how over-reach can deflate the cause of human goodness. Great read, Seth.
Seth found a way to walk us through a man shifting his world view using reasoning, reflection, and observation, and he did so while also preserving respect for his old tribe. He also responsibly put the lens on the humanist / liberal world view, carefully pointing out how over-reach can deflate the cause of human goodness. Great read, Seth.
October 19, 2020
I have been a listener to Seth Andrews podcast for years and I have enjoyed all of the books the he has written and narrated. This book is no different. Good book. I am really glad I got the audio book version.
June 15, 2022
great read
A thoughtful and hope-inspiring account of Mr. Andrews journey. I hope many more follow this progression from evangelical Christian, Fox News following Republican to a humanist point of view.
A thoughtful and hope-inspiring account of Mr. Andrews journey. I hope many more follow this progression from evangelical Christian, Fox News following Republican to a humanist point of view.
August 15, 2020
I enjoyed that a lot.
September 16, 2020
3.5 stars
October 17, 2020
Best non-fiction book I've read this year. A very balanced view of the fox news phenomenon.
January 11, 2021
Loved the book! It was very educational for me as being from the UK I did not know much about the History of the Christian extremism in the USA. Heavy but enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews