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Jesus v. Evangelicals: A Biblical Critique of a Wayward Movement
American evangelicalism is at a crisis point. The naked grasping at political power at the expense of moral credibility has revealed a movement in disarray. Evangelicals are now faced with a will they double-down and continue along this perilous path, or will they stop, reflect, and change course? And while support of Donald Trump has produced the tipping point of the evangelical crisis, it is not by any means its only problem. Evangelicals claim the Bible as the supreme authority in matters of faith. But in reality, it is particular readings of the Bible that govern evangelical faith. Some evangelical readings of the Bible can be highly selective. They distort the Bible's teaching in crucial ways and often lead evangelicals to misguided attempts to relate to the world around them. Many Christians who once self-professed as "evangelicals" can no longer use the term of themselves because of what it has come to represent--power-mongering, divisiveness, judgementalism, hypocrisy, pride, greed. Some leave not just evangelicalism but Christianity for good. Jesus v. Evangelicals is an insider's critique of the evangelical movement according to its own rules. Since evangelicals regard themselves governed by the Bible, biblical scholar Constantine Campbell engages the Bible to critique evangelicals and to call out the problems within the contemporary evangelical movement. By revealing evangelical distortions of the Bible, this book seeks to restore the dignity of the Christian faith and to renew public interest in Jesus, while calling evangelicals back to his teaching. Constantine Campbell appeals to evangelicals to break free from the grid that has distorted their understanding of the Bible and to restore public respect for Christianity in spite of its misrepresentations by the evangelical church.
256 pages, Paperback
Published January 17, 2023
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305 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 1, 2024
I really wanted this book to have substance, but most of it just felt like the author’s personal opinions and grudges against evangelicals. He barely touched on the history, didn’t explain the stories of the major churches he had beef with, and then seemed to glaze over or oversimplify issues which led to absolutely no solutions
March 4, 2023
Evangelicalism is in trouble. For those inside, they may not recognize it as the faith they once proclaimed. For many inside, it has become too aligned with political movements, especially the evangelicalism that is in the United States. To those outside of evangelicalism, the movement looks harsh, unkind, hypocritical, and hopelessly out of touch with reality.
In this book, Campbell, who is well-informed about evangelicalism, especially US evangelicalism, examines what is happening and how this measures up with biblical faith. If you were a practicing Christian during the 1990's and early 2000's, you watched many of the issues and scandals Campbell discusses play out in real time. I did. This is also a very personal work in some ways. Campbell is honest about his own divorce. He has experienced his own share of disillusionment with Evangelicalism.
Campbell talks about "fault lines," which I think are the best way of describing the issues. These fault lines are:
1) US Evangelicalism is overly politicized.
2) Evangelicalism maintains an "us versus them" mentality.
3) Evangelicalism comes across as practicing judgmentalism and a lack of humility.
4) Evangelicalism is divisive and results in "tribalism." In my opinion, the use of this word "tribe" to describe groups of people with similar theological convictions is unfortunate. I think "faction," "camp," or "clique" is a better choice. Campbell is merely using the word every other evangelical white guy seems to use.
5) Evangelicalism has an understood code of "acceptable" and "unacceptable" sins. Eg., it's okay for a man to be arrogant and boorish, but he can't cheat on his wife.
6) When it comes to matters of marriage and divorce, Evangelicals "shoot their own wounded."
7) By promoting and fostering the mega-church model, Evangelicalism promotes the negative aspects of consumerism, celebrity and entertainment.
8) Fringe groups who deviate from typical evangelical distinctives have become the popular face of evangelicalism, tarnishing the name. Eg. prosperity teachers are considered Evangelicals.
One of the themes which runs through Campbell's work is that Evangelicalism is actually wedded to those things the Bible rejects: privilege, power-seeking, authoritarianism. It's definitely not your mother's Evangelicalism.
Campbell ends the book with the question of what to do with the name: keep it, re-define it, or ditch it. I think it's about more than the name. It's more useful to ask what are the core teachings of Christianity. Does Evangelicalism align with these?
In the meantime, my advice is to look at other denominations. As Campbell says "Evangelicalism does not have a monopoly on Jesus or the Bible. Jesus does not belong to them."
In this book, Campbell, who is well-informed about evangelicalism, especially US evangelicalism, examines what is happening and how this measures up with biblical faith. If you were a practicing Christian during the 1990's and early 2000's, you watched many of the issues and scandals Campbell discusses play out in real time. I did. This is also a very personal work in some ways. Campbell is honest about his own divorce. He has experienced his own share of disillusionment with Evangelicalism.
Campbell talks about "fault lines," which I think are the best way of describing the issues. These fault lines are:
1) US Evangelicalism is overly politicized.
2) Evangelicalism maintains an "us versus them" mentality.
3) Evangelicalism comes across as practicing judgmentalism and a lack of humility.
4) Evangelicalism is divisive and results in "tribalism." In my opinion, the use of this word "tribe" to describe groups of people with similar theological convictions is unfortunate. I think "faction," "camp," or "clique" is a better choice. Campbell is merely using the word every other evangelical white guy seems to use.
5) Evangelicalism has an understood code of "acceptable" and "unacceptable" sins. Eg., it's okay for a man to be arrogant and boorish, but he can't cheat on his wife.
6) When it comes to matters of marriage and divorce, Evangelicals "shoot their own wounded."
7) By promoting and fostering the mega-church model, Evangelicalism promotes the negative aspects of consumerism, celebrity and entertainment.
8) Fringe groups who deviate from typical evangelical distinctives have become the popular face of evangelicalism, tarnishing the name. Eg. prosperity teachers are considered Evangelicals.
One of the themes which runs through Campbell's work is that Evangelicalism is actually wedded to those things the Bible rejects: privilege, power-seeking, authoritarianism. It's definitely not your mother's Evangelicalism.
Campbell ends the book with the question of what to do with the name: keep it, re-define it, or ditch it. I think it's about more than the name. It's more useful to ask what are the core teachings of Christianity. Does Evangelicalism align with these?
In the meantime, my advice is to look at other denominations. As Campbell says "Evangelicalism does not have a monopoly on Jesus or the Bible. Jesus does not belong to them."
January 22, 2024
Unfortunately, I had several problems with this book.
With an engaging premise, and many thoughtful insights peppered throughout, this book ultimately fails to deliver on the problems it seeks to correct. Sadly, it seemed that the author Campbell wrote this book to settle some scores. Campbell has been burned by evangelicalism broadly. Though we would agree that evangelicalism is a wayward movement, Campbell's criticism felt very personal, and in this instance, I believe it does a disservice to the actual arguments that could be levied against evangelicals.
For example, Campbell correctly identifies the problems with evangelical political worship, megachurches, and tribalism. However, his analysis of several other critically important issues for evangelicals does seem to be attacking the worst representations of the whole. Instead of debating the issues theologically/Biblically, Campbell spends a lot of time divulging personal anecdotes and vague generalizations.
Again, for someone who agrees with the shortcomings evangelicalism tends to offer, it was frustrating to read from an author who often correctly identified issues and yet failed to expand upon them with the care and precision that the subjects deserve.
With an engaging premise, and many thoughtful insights peppered throughout, this book ultimately fails to deliver on the problems it seeks to correct. Sadly, it seemed that the author Campbell wrote this book to settle some scores. Campbell has been burned by evangelicalism broadly. Though we would agree that evangelicalism is a wayward movement, Campbell's criticism felt very personal, and in this instance, I believe it does a disservice to the actual arguments that could be levied against evangelicals.
For example, Campbell correctly identifies the problems with evangelical political worship, megachurches, and tribalism. However, his analysis of several other critically important issues for evangelicals does seem to be attacking the worst representations of the whole. Instead of debating the issues theologically/Biblically, Campbell spends a lot of time divulging personal anecdotes and vague generalizations.
Again, for someone who agrees with the shortcomings evangelicalism tends to offer, it was frustrating to read from an author who often correctly identified issues and yet failed to expand upon them with the care and precision that the subjects deserve.
May 29, 2024
A very interesting book to say the least. While "evangelicals" have been proponents of the Biblical & Christian Worldview, but have they foregone the way of truth for power in the political realm?? I fully and wholeheartedly believe that the whole of the Christian community of believers have been tasked with getting involved with the politics of their states and countries. The reason being is that we are to be morally guided and led. However, there is this problem within the political realm of picking the candidate that seems to be least evil, or so we would believe. Don't get me wrong, I too have been caught up in this desire for the best candidate, despite each candidate's failings...and we all have failings as believers! This book takes to task all evangelicals their failings to fulfill the need of the Biblical/Christian World view mindedness and the necessity in our lives to follow the commissions that we have been tasked with by Christ, Himself! A great book to read which will truly make you think and reassess your leanings.
January 18, 2024
An important read for anyone questioning this unhealthy culture. His points resonate with what I have been feeling about my faith over the past four years and it is comforting to know that I'm not alone in these thoughts. My only semi-negative critique was with the chapter on divorce and remarriage. It wasn't a bad chapter, but it felt a little out of place in the book. He had a divorce and it seems like the response from his evangelical circle was unkind. Much of the chapter felt like a cathartic writing where he needed to get this off his mind, but unlike the other chapters that dealt with very broad issues (celebrity pastors, megachurches, judgement and hypocrisy, politics and the culture wars, etc.) within the evangelical movement that many people, regardless of their backgrounds, have experienced, the concept of 'divorce' applies only to a fraction of his readers. If I were his editor, I would have recommended taking the chapter out and expanding it into a book of its own. Otherwise--a really important read for Christians (especially in presidential election year 2024).
May 3, 2024
I was so excited when I found out that Con, my jazz lecturer, is also a New Testament scholar and author of this book. I think it is such an important read, especially in light of the growing disillusionment many Christians are facing with the state of the modern evangelical church culture. Con hits the nail on the head, not only accurately defining Bebbington's quadrilateral of evangelicalism (conversionism, activism, biblicism, & crucicentrism), but explaining how the movement has strayed so far from its roots into political power, hypocrisy, and many other things that Jesus warned against. I absolutely loved the last couple of chapters and Con's presentation of the true picture of Jesus as told by the Gospels, juxtaposed with the Jesus that evangelicals made in their own image.
January 4, 2025
As an ex SDA, and evangelical, I saw all this happening over time. Although, I would go further and call it Apostate Christendom. This isn’t even the half of it.
It’s much, much worse. It’s the image of the beast in Revelation. God calls them to come out of her unless
they partake of her sins.
It’s a corrupt church through and through.
A. W. Tozer - A Prophetic Word 50 years old
PROPHETIC WORD FROM 50 YEARS AGO - A. W. TOZER
"Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy. I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly Evangelicalism, one by one. The house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God, a man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells,left among them."
"I hear Jesus saying...Mat 23:37-38: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to her, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is left to you desolate"
"As the Church now stands, the man who sees this condition of worldly evangelicalism is written off as somewhat fanatical. But the day is coming when the house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God among them. I would like to live long enough to watch this develop and see how things turn out. I would like to live to see the time when the men and woman of God-holy, separated and spiritually enlightened - walk out of the evangelical church and form a group of their own; when they get off the sinking ship and let her go down in the brackish and worldliness and form a new ark to ride out the storm."(END)
It’s much, much worse. It’s the image of the beast in Revelation. God calls them to come out of her unless
they partake of her sins.
It’s a corrupt church through and through.
A. W. Tozer - A Prophetic Word 50 years old
PROPHETIC WORD FROM 50 YEARS AGO - A. W. TOZER
"Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy. I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly Evangelicalism, one by one. The house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God, a man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells,left among them."
"I hear Jesus saying...Mat 23:37-38: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to her, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is left to you desolate"
"As the Church now stands, the man who sees this condition of worldly evangelicalism is written off as somewhat fanatical. But the day is coming when the house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God among them. I would like to live long enough to watch this develop and see how things turn out. I would like to live to see the time when the men and woman of God-holy, separated and spiritually enlightened - walk out of the evangelical church and form a group of their own; when they get off the sinking ship and let her go down in the brackish and worldliness and form a new ark to ride out the storm."(END)
June 1, 2024
As the choice of my not-evangelical Sunday School Class, this book was read weekly over what turned out to be more time than we anticipated due to COVID, other health issues, travel for work/pleasure, visiting friends and/or family. So momentum occasionally stalled. Nonetheless, I found it informative, sometimes repetitious, and yet worth the effort. Truthfully though, I am glad to be done with it. It just lasted too long.
January 14, 2024
So many great insights. I feel "seen" as a follower of Jesus who does not want to be thrown in the mix of "evangelicals."
April 24, 2023
Where We Went Wrong
20 April 2023
I won’t say that I know the author, but I do know people who know him personally. In fact, he was the New Testament lecturer of my Vicar when he was at Bible College. The interesting thing is that Campbell seems to generally write books that involve Biblical exegesis, so it seems to suddenly move and write a book about how the Evangelical movement is progressively coming into conflict with the teachings of Jesus suggests that this is something that has hit him personally, and is of quite a concern to him. I actually discovered this book when he, and a number of other people, where promoting it on Facebook, and seeing a book that addresses issues that I have been concerned about for a while, particularly one written by a lecturer at Moore Theological College, which happens to be quite a conservative institution, grabbed my interest almost immediately.
When I became a Christian I identified as an evangelical, namely because all of my friends identified as such, and the leaders of the church that I attended where also saying that we were. Ten years later I wanted absolutely nothing to do with the term (this was during the presidency of George W Bush). The thing was that when I became a Christian, we used the term because it separated us from many of the other churches, namely those who didn’t believe that the Bible was the inspired word of God, and the Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. However, things had changed significantly since then that people like Campbell no longer want to be connected with the movement.
One of the main reasons I wanted to distance myself from the term at the time that I did was because I had moved on from my friendship group and had made a new group of friends at university. The thing was that at the time Bush had been elected president and the evangelical church in America had seen it as a coup – for the first time one of their own was now president. Look, while I have a lot of criticisms in regards to Bush’s presidency, the one thing I will not criticise is his faith – I have seen nothing that would tell me that he is anything other than a genuine Christian. In fact, unlike the movement as a whole, as far as I am aware, Bush actually attended a rather moderate church.
The reason that I ended up clashing with evangelicals mainly involved the issue of social justice. You see, I have left wing tendencies and a lot of the Christians I knew were decidedly right wing. The idea was that if you pursued social justice then you would eventually leave the biblical foundations of the church behind so it was better to spend your time converting people and when people become Christian they would act in a socially just manner, and as such you would end up killing two birds with one stone. Well, twenty years later I can assure you that this doesn’t work. In fact, when Evangelicals were elected to parliament, especially in the right wing parties, they just went further to the right.
The big issue that I had with the church that I attended at the time was the issue of leadership, and that is one of the big issues I still have with Christianity. This is actually something that is addressed in the book. You see, the church I went to really pushed the idea of leadership to the point that to grow as a Christian you needed to enter leadership. The problem was that the clergy acted as the gatekeepers, and if they didn’t think you were good enough then you wouldn’t be promoted. As such, I watched all of my peers be elevated to leadership positions while I was left behind. That made me think that I had failed as a Christian.
Another issue he discusses is the idea of acceptable sins. You see, if a pastor’s marriage fails then in a lot of these churches they will be out of a job. However, if the pastor is a bully and a thug they generally keep that position until it becomes untenable, and they basically do a huge amount of damage in the meantime. There are some issues with this though. First of all, in my experience, the first one isn’t all that clear cut – I have known pastors that have had failed marriages who have continued on as if nothing has happened. I have also known church leaders that have been protected and supported by the church because, well, it was obviously the wife’s fault. However, on the other hand, the issue of bullying and thuggery is something that is really quite hard to deal with. What do you do, do you sack them as soon as the first complaint comes in – well, if that happened you wouldn’t have any Christian leaders, and pastors would be so scared of being removed due to a single complaint that they will basically water down their message and become useless. Do you wait until there is enough evidence to support the claims – well the problem with that is that the ones who are bullies and thugs will be supported by their army of goons, or the damage would have pretty much ruined the church as it is.
The church that I used to attend seemed to appoint leaders based on how popular and charismatic they were, which I also consider really quite problematic. You see, when they have the support of an inner circle they ended up being protected, and thus start pushing around those that are seen as being insignificant. Mind you, they also use some quite cult-like tactics, such as equating leaving the church with deserting God. That is not necessarily the case because a lot of people leave the church not because of God, but because of the church. Oh, and woah to them who decide to come back because all of a sudden you have been privileged to have been allowed to return, and you should be thankful for that – you vile sinner.
Campbell does have some quite interesting things to say about Megachurches, and it made me realise what the benefits of a small, local church are. Like, one of the biggest issues is that the church is so big that you really don’t feel like being part of a community. In fact, you can spend years there but not end up meeting anybody. The other issue is that you never actually know the pastor. The pastor tends to surround himself with his selected few, and they surround themselves with their selected few, and all of a sudden you discover that you are a part of a church of bullies (because you, the congregant, aren’t worthy to speak to the senior pastor). The other interesting thing is that the leadership of these churches are biblically trained, but then again one of the biggest problems with Christian churches is that basically any idiot can start one.
I still remember my high school – a lot of the students there went to a large pentacostal church. I suspect that the congregation grew beacause people that went to other churches left that church to go to the larger one because, well, all their friends were there. That actually happened with the church I attended. They ran the university Christian group, and what ended up happening is that the members of the group that went to other churches ended up coming to my church because all of their friends were there. In a way what was happening was that a lot of the suburban churches were dying because all of the young people were leaving to go to the churches where all their friends were going to. Mind you, the response to that was that these suburban churches weren’t preaching the gospel, but I can tell you from experience that this was not necessarily the case. I went to a suburban church for three years and they preached the gospel from the pulpit every Sunday, but when I stepped through the door they were literally in death’s door.
Personally, I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is a confronting book, and Campbell does discuss a number of theological concepts that are probably not really suited to a book like this. However, I suspect that one of the reasons that he wrote this was partly because of the perceived evangelical support for President Trump, and the number of Jesus flags seen flown during the January 6th attempted coup. I guess that is why he also opened his book with a blistering attack on how a lot of Christians are aligning themselves with political parties and attempting to perform hostile takeovers. In fact, that is an issue that has become apparent in Australia within the Liberal (conservative) Party, where they have had to invalidate candidates because Christians have joined branches to get their people elected. In fact, the whole party is currently at war with itself resulting in them being assigned to the opposition benches all across the country.
Personally, I would recommend giving this book a read, if only because it is a good argument to point out that we Christians aren’t all a bunch of right-wing loonies, nor did we support the attempted coup on January 6th. Sadly though, the history of Christianity is unfortunately replete with misinformations and lunatics attempting to take over the asylum.
20 April 2023
I won’t say that I know the author, but I do know people who know him personally. In fact, he was the New Testament lecturer of my Vicar when he was at Bible College. The interesting thing is that Campbell seems to generally write books that involve Biblical exegesis, so it seems to suddenly move and write a book about how the Evangelical movement is progressively coming into conflict with the teachings of Jesus suggests that this is something that has hit him personally, and is of quite a concern to him. I actually discovered this book when he, and a number of other people, where promoting it on Facebook, and seeing a book that addresses issues that I have been concerned about for a while, particularly one written by a lecturer at Moore Theological College, which happens to be quite a conservative institution, grabbed my interest almost immediately.
When I became a Christian I identified as an evangelical, namely because all of my friends identified as such, and the leaders of the church that I attended where also saying that we were. Ten years later I wanted absolutely nothing to do with the term (this was during the presidency of George W Bush). The thing was that when I became a Christian, we used the term because it separated us from many of the other churches, namely those who didn’t believe that the Bible was the inspired word of God, and the Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. However, things had changed significantly since then that people like Campbell no longer want to be connected with the movement.
One of the main reasons I wanted to distance myself from the term at the time that I did was because I had moved on from my friendship group and had made a new group of friends at university. The thing was that at the time Bush had been elected president and the evangelical church in America had seen it as a coup – for the first time one of their own was now president. Look, while I have a lot of criticisms in regards to Bush’s presidency, the one thing I will not criticise is his faith – I have seen nothing that would tell me that he is anything other than a genuine Christian. In fact, unlike the movement as a whole, as far as I am aware, Bush actually attended a rather moderate church.
The reason that I ended up clashing with evangelicals mainly involved the issue of social justice. You see, I have left wing tendencies and a lot of the Christians I knew were decidedly right wing. The idea was that if you pursued social justice then you would eventually leave the biblical foundations of the church behind so it was better to spend your time converting people and when people become Christian they would act in a socially just manner, and as such you would end up killing two birds with one stone. Well, twenty years later I can assure you that this doesn’t work. In fact, when Evangelicals were elected to parliament, especially in the right wing parties, they just went further to the right.
The big issue that I had with the church that I attended at the time was the issue of leadership, and that is one of the big issues I still have with Christianity. This is actually something that is addressed in the book. You see, the church I went to really pushed the idea of leadership to the point that to grow as a Christian you needed to enter leadership. The problem was that the clergy acted as the gatekeepers, and if they didn’t think you were good enough then you wouldn’t be promoted. As such, I watched all of my peers be elevated to leadership positions while I was left behind. That made me think that I had failed as a Christian.
Another issue he discusses is the idea of acceptable sins. You see, if a pastor’s marriage fails then in a lot of these churches they will be out of a job. However, if the pastor is a bully and a thug they generally keep that position until it becomes untenable, and they basically do a huge amount of damage in the meantime. There are some issues with this though. First of all, in my experience, the first one isn’t all that clear cut – I have known pastors that have had failed marriages who have continued on as if nothing has happened. I have also known church leaders that have been protected and supported by the church because, well, it was obviously the wife’s fault. However, on the other hand, the issue of bullying and thuggery is something that is really quite hard to deal with. What do you do, do you sack them as soon as the first complaint comes in – well, if that happened you wouldn’t have any Christian leaders, and pastors would be so scared of being removed due to a single complaint that they will basically water down their message and become useless. Do you wait until there is enough evidence to support the claims – well the problem with that is that the ones who are bullies and thugs will be supported by their army of goons, or the damage would have pretty much ruined the church as it is.
The church that I used to attend seemed to appoint leaders based on how popular and charismatic they were, which I also consider really quite problematic. You see, when they have the support of an inner circle they ended up being protected, and thus start pushing around those that are seen as being insignificant. Mind you, they also use some quite cult-like tactics, such as equating leaving the church with deserting God. That is not necessarily the case because a lot of people leave the church not because of God, but because of the church. Oh, and woah to them who decide to come back because all of a sudden you have been privileged to have been allowed to return, and you should be thankful for that – you vile sinner.
Campbell does have some quite interesting things to say about Megachurches, and it made me realise what the benefits of a small, local church are. Like, one of the biggest issues is that the church is so big that you really don’t feel like being part of a community. In fact, you can spend years there but not end up meeting anybody. The other issue is that you never actually know the pastor. The pastor tends to surround himself with his selected few, and they surround themselves with their selected few, and all of a sudden you discover that you are a part of a church of bullies (because you, the congregant, aren’t worthy to speak to the senior pastor). The other interesting thing is that the leadership of these churches are biblically trained, but then again one of the biggest problems with Christian churches is that basically any idiot can start one.
I still remember my high school – a lot of the students there went to a large pentacostal church. I suspect that the congregation grew beacause people that went to other churches left that church to go to the larger one because, well, all their friends were there. That actually happened with the church I attended. They ran the university Christian group, and what ended up happening is that the members of the group that went to other churches ended up coming to my church because all of their friends were there. In a way what was happening was that a lot of the suburban churches were dying because all of the young people were leaving to go to the churches where all their friends were going to. Mind you, the response to that was that these suburban churches weren’t preaching the gospel, but I can tell you from experience that this was not necessarily the case. I went to a suburban church for three years and they preached the gospel from the pulpit every Sunday, but when I stepped through the door they were literally in death’s door.
Personally, I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is a confronting book, and Campbell does discuss a number of theological concepts that are probably not really suited to a book like this. However, I suspect that one of the reasons that he wrote this was partly because of the perceived evangelical support for President Trump, and the number of Jesus flags seen flown during the January 6th attempted coup. I guess that is why he also opened his book with a blistering attack on how a lot of Christians are aligning themselves with political parties and attempting to perform hostile takeovers. In fact, that is an issue that has become apparent in Australia within the Liberal (conservative) Party, where they have had to invalidate candidates because Christians have joined branches to get their people elected. In fact, the whole party is currently at war with itself resulting in them being assigned to the opposition benches all across the country.
Personally, I would recommend giving this book a read, if only because it is a good argument to point out that we Christians aren’t all a bunch of right-wing loonies, nor did we support the attempted coup on January 6th. Sadly though, the history of Christianity is unfortunately replete with misinformations and lunatics attempting to take over the asylum.
October 14, 2024
I really enjoyed the honesty of this author’s voice. He clearly loves Christ and strives to be an honest Christian. He is not afraid to critique his roots and I appreciate that. I was particularly interested in his perspective on Mega Churches. I’ve never saw the appeal of mega churches but I hadn’t thought of all the truly negative aspects of them before. Very useful.
Thanks for writing.
You will enjoy this book if you :
1) enjoy critiques of Christianity that do not try to deny the biblical teachings of Jesus the Christ.
2) want to think deeply about the meaning of evangelical and how it has changed over the years.
3) like nonfiction, that quotes the Bible and current research in the same paragraph.
4) nonfiction that has a autobiographical aspect to it.
Thanks for writing.
You will enjoy this book if you :
1) enjoy critiques of Christianity that do not try to deny the biblical teachings of Jesus the Christ.
2) want to think deeply about the meaning of evangelical and how it has changed over the years.
3) like nonfiction, that quotes the Bible and current research in the same paragraph.
4) nonfiction that has a autobiographical aspect to it.
April 19, 2023
Excerpts:
-------
the book offers the following criticisms.
- American evangelicalism in particular has become politicized to the extent that its spiritual nature has been distorted.
- Evangelicals tend to have an “us versus them” mentality toward outsiders.
- Evangelicalism suffers from the perception and reality of judgmentalism.
- Evangelicals are often highly divisive, exacerbating theological and cultural divisions that create tribal boundaries.
- Evangelicals have an understood code of acceptable and unacceptable sins.
- Evangelicals tend to shoot their wounded by the way they treat marriage failure, divorce, and remarriage.
- Many evangelicals celebrate potentially unhealthy church models.
- The popular face of evangelicalism has been overrun by those peddling false gospels.
- The term evangelical no longer means what it once did, posing a significant problem for all evangelicals.
As serious as they are, I contend that these problems are merely symptoms of a deeper illness. If that’s right, what is the illness? And what is its remedy?
-------
Jesus does not advocate political activism for the establishment of his kingdom, nor does he endorse political power as the means to achieve kingdom purposes. Instead, believers are instructed to obey the authorities (1 Peter 2:13—14; Romans 13:1—7) and to pray for them (1 Timothy 2:1—2). While the pursuit of political office is not prohibited, it is odd that many evangelicals today believe that the primary way they can do God’s work is to win elections and support partisan priorities. This belief often prevents them from doing what God *has* called them to do.
-------
The irony is that by prioritizing victory in a cultural war, today’s evangelicals have compromised their ability to fulfill Jesus’ commission, having lost credibility and moral standing in the public square. By fighting for political influence no matter the cost, evangelicals are no longer viewed as trustworthy arbiters of spiritual truth. They are seen not as Jesus’ representatives in the world but as power-hungry, self-interested hypocrites.
-------
American Christianity has a long and complicated history of compromise on the matter of racial justice. The Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845 because of a dispute over whether a slaveholder could be commissioned as a missionary. Rather than acknowledge slavery to be sinful, three hundred Baptist leaders split from their northern Baptist counterparts to establish the new denomination. The four founding faculty members of the Southern Baptist Seminary owned slaves and made theological defenses of slavery.
-------
As Dennis Edwards notes, “When the gospel is defined as belief in propositions about Jesus in order to validate an individual’s personal relationship with God and acquire eternal life, the value given to other human beings is a secondary or tertiary matter, or perhaps does not even exist among an individual believer’s list of concerns.”
-------
the evangelical gospel is a crucicentric, penal substitutionary, individualistically sin-focused message. And this evangelical gospel can be found in the Scriptures. The problem is that this understanding of the gospel is narrower than the Scriptures’. Joseph Hellerman comments, “The one-sided emphasis in our churches on Jesus as ‘personal Savior’ is a regrettable example of Western individualism importing its own socially constructed perspective on reality into the biblical text. It is interesting to compare the evangelical gospel with New Testament statements about what the gospel is.
-------
In our desire to simplify and clarify, we tend to modify. Flattening the tensions in the Bible leads to getting it wrong. . . . the Bible’s complexities and tensions should not be flattened in service of an evangelical interpretive grid.
-------
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Love for one another is how Jesus’ true disciples are known. Love reveals the real deal. Love proves the genuine article. Love is the mark of the true believer and the true worshiper.
The flip side of Jesus’ statement is that love erases tribalism. If all true disciples of Jesus are marked by their love for one another, then no competing tribal marker can be legitimate. Who are we to impose theological or cultural barriers that shut others out if they genuinely love Jesus and his followers? Love is the tribal marker that Jesus cares about.
But it’s almost too simple, isn’t it? We can hardly resist the urge to add nuance, lest Jesus’ statement be taken at face value. Surely only the naïve would do that. What if some of Jesus’ followers were to accept theological error even while they love others? Can it really be true that genuine disciples of Jesus are known by this one characteristic?
How we answer that question will reveal much.
-------
Driscoll’s resignation had come after years of complaints about his arrogance from people within his church and from the wider evangelical world. . . . Everyone has flaws. Driscoll is a sinner, like everyone else. These platitudes kept more serious responses at bay until Driscoll’s leadership style finally became too toxic to manage anymore. But it is interesting to note that the church’s board acknowledged Driscoll’s arrogance, bad temper, harshness, and domineering leadership, and yet they said that he had “never been charged with any immorality.” My question is, What constitutes immorality, then, in their View? Does arrogance not qualify? Does harshness not qualify? Does domineering leadership not qualify? Driscoll can be guilty of all of these things and yet not be guilty of immorality? Seattle, we have a problem.
-------
Whenever I hear a sermon that begins to list the sins for which hearers may need forgiveness, I expect internet pornography to be among the first two or three mentioned. Porn always makes the list, but pride usually does not. Lying usually makes the list; arrogance does not. Idolatry, love of money, and lust for material possessions are on the list; gaslighting is not. Being ashamed of Jesus and the gospel is on the list; lacking charity for all is not.
-------
it’s interesting to note how Jesus interacts with various sinners. His interactions tend to fall into three groups. First are interactions with people who know they’ve sinned and feel bad about it. They come to Jesus humbly, sometimes with tears, hoping for comfort. Without exception, Jesus comforts these sinners, is gentle and kind, and makes no mention of their specific sins. Instead, he announces that their sins are forgiven.
. . .
Second are interactions with sinners who are relatively neutral toward Jesus, but in the course of their conversation he reveals their sins or shortcomings. They usually acknowledge their failures, and Jesus takes the opportunity to teach them something. He does not condemn them, nor does he rub their noses in it.
. . .
This third group of interactions demonstrates what sins Jesus rails against. He harshly rebukes those who are full of pride, those who are hypocritical, those who regard themselves righteous, and those who judge others. Such people are nearly always the religious elite, being Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, or teachers of the law. They are not humble before others and they take offense at Jesus’ welcome of sinners. Of all the ways in which people can fall into sin, surely the sins of this third group are the worst. They are the sins that Jesus rails against. They are the sins for which Jesus offers no comfort or forgiveness. They are the sins that render their protagonists out of relationship with God.
But if all sin is sin, why are these particular sins so bad in Jesus’ mind?
. . .
Humility enables us to see our flaws and failures. Humility enables us to repent and believe. Humility enables us to depend on God’s mercy. Humility enables us to put others ahead of ourselves. Humility enables us to forgive the injustices perpetrated against us. And humility is the only antidote for pride, which, according to Jesus, is one of the greatest of all sins.
-------
-------
the book offers the following criticisms.
- American evangelicalism in particular has become politicized to the extent that its spiritual nature has been distorted.
- Evangelicals tend to have an “us versus them” mentality toward outsiders.
- Evangelicalism suffers from the perception and reality of judgmentalism.
- Evangelicals are often highly divisive, exacerbating theological and cultural divisions that create tribal boundaries.
- Evangelicals have an understood code of acceptable and unacceptable sins.
- Evangelicals tend to shoot their wounded by the way they treat marriage failure, divorce, and remarriage.
- Many evangelicals celebrate potentially unhealthy church models.
- The popular face of evangelicalism has been overrun by those peddling false gospels.
- The term evangelical no longer means what it once did, posing a significant problem for all evangelicals.
As serious as they are, I contend that these problems are merely symptoms of a deeper illness. If that’s right, what is the illness? And what is its remedy?
-------
Jesus does not advocate political activism for the establishment of his kingdom, nor does he endorse political power as the means to achieve kingdom purposes. Instead, believers are instructed to obey the authorities (1 Peter 2:13—14; Romans 13:1—7) and to pray for them (1 Timothy 2:1—2). While the pursuit of political office is not prohibited, it is odd that many evangelicals today believe that the primary way they can do God’s work is to win elections and support partisan priorities. This belief often prevents them from doing what God *has* called them to do.
-------
The irony is that by prioritizing victory in a cultural war, today’s evangelicals have compromised their ability to fulfill Jesus’ commission, having lost credibility and moral standing in the public square. By fighting for political influence no matter the cost, evangelicals are no longer viewed as trustworthy arbiters of spiritual truth. They are seen not as Jesus’ representatives in the world but as power-hungry, self-interested hypocrites.
-------
American Christianity has a long and complicated history of compromise on the matter of racial justice. The Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845 because of a dispute over whether a slaveholder could be commissioned as a missionary. Rather than acknowledge slavery to be sinful, three hundred Baptist leaders split from their northern Baptist counterparts to establish the new denomination. The four founding faculty members of the Southern Baptist Seminary owned slaves and made theological defenses of slavery.
-------
As Dennis Edwards notes, “When the gospel is defined as belief in propositions about Jesus in order to validate an individual’s personal relationship with God and acquire eternal life, the value given to other human beings is a secondary or tertiary matter, or perhaps does not even exist among an individual believer’s list of concerns.”
-------
the evangelical gospel is a crucicentric, penal substitutionary, individualistically sin-focused message. And this evangelical gospel can be found in the Scriptures. The problem is that this understanding of the gospel is narrower than the Scriptures’. Joseph Hellerman comments, “The one-sided emphasis in our churches on Jesus as ‘personal Savior’ is a regrettable example of Western individualism importing its own socially constructed perspective on reality into the biblical text. It is interesting to compare the evangelical gospel with New Testament statements about what the gospel is.
-------
In our desire to simplify and clarify, we tend to modify. Flattening the tensions in the Bible leads to getting it wrong. . . . the Bible’s complexities and tensions should not be flattened in service of an evangelical interpretive grid.
-------
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Love for one another is how Jesus’ true disciples are known. Love reveals the real deal. Love proves the genuine article. Love is the mark of the true believer and the true worshiper.
The flip side of Jesus’ statement is that love erases tribalism. If all true disciples of Jesus are marked by their love for one another, then no competing tribal marker can be legitimate. Who are we to impose theological or cultural barriers that shut others out if they genuinely love Jesus and his followers? Love is the tribal marker that Jesus cares about.
But it’s almost too simple, isn’t it? We can hardly resist the urge to add nuance, lest Jesus’ statement be taken at face value. Surely only the naïve would do that. What if some of Jesus’ followers were to accept theological error even while they love others? Can it really be true that genuine disciples of Jesus are known by this one characteristic?
How we answer that question will reveal much.
-------
Driscoll’s resignation had come after years of complaints about his arrogance from people within his church and from the wider evangelical world. . . . Everyone has flaws. Driscoll is a sinner, like everyone else. These platitudes kept more serious responses at bay until Driscoll’s leadership style finally became too toxic to manage anymore. But it is interesting to note that the church’s board acknowledged Driscoll’s arrogance, bad temper, harshness, and domineering leadership, and yet they said that he had “never been charged with any immorality.” My question is, What constitutes immorality, then, in their View? Does arrogance not qualify? Does harshness not qualify? Does domineering leadership not qualify? Driscoll can be guilty of all of these things and yet not be guilty of immorality? Seattle, we have a problem.
-------
Whenever I hear a sermon that begins to list the sins for which hearers may need forgiveness, I expect internet pornography to be among the first two or three mentioned. Porn always makes the list, but pride usually does not. Lying usually makes the list; arrogance does not. Idolatry, love of money, and lust for material possessions are on the list; gaslighting is not. Being ashamed of Jesus and the gospel is on the list; lacking charity for all is not.
-------
it’s interesting to note how Jesus interacts with various sinners. His interactions tend to fall into three groups. First are interactions with people who know they’ve sinned and feel bad about it. They come to Jesus humbly, sometimes with tears, hoping for comfort. Without exception, Jesus comforts these sinners, is gentle and kind, and makes no mention of their specific sins. Instead, he announces that their sins are forgiven.
. . .
Second are interactions with sinners who are relatively neutral toward Jesus, but in the course of their conversation he reveals their sins or shortcomings. They usually acknowledge their failures, and Jesus takes the opportunity to teach them something. He does not condemn them, nor does he rub their noses in it.
. . .
This third group of interactions demonstrates what sins Jesus rails against. He harshly rebukes those who are full of pride, those who are hypocritical, those who regard themselves righteous, and those who judge others. Such people are nearly always the religious elite, being Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, or teachers of the law. They are not humble before others and they take offense at Jesus’ welcome of sinners. Of all the ways in which people can fall into sin, surely the sins of this third group are the worst. They are the sins that Jesus rails against. They are the sins for which Jesus offers no comfort or forgiveness. They are the sins that render their protagonists out of relationship with God.
But if all sin is sin, why are these particular sins so bad in Jesus’ mind?
. . .
Humility enables us to see our flaws and failures. Humility enables us to repent and believe. Humility enables us to depend on God’s mercy. Humility enables us to put others ahead of ourselves. Humility enables us to forgive the injustices perpetrated against us. And humility is the only antidote for pride, which, according to Jesus, is one of the greatest of all sins.
-------
October 18, 2025
Thought provoking! Whether you agree or disagree with the author, it is wise as followers of Christ to consider the impact of our behavior and treatment of others have on both Christians and non-Christians. This books highlights weak areas.
October 3, 2023
Last 2 chapters are worth reading..
September 18, 2024
I've often found myself in an interesting position over the years since I became a Christian. I have been adjacent to many people who would have called themselves evangelical or have attended organizations or institutions that are associated with evangelicals. Despite all of this, I've never really felt comfortable with the label.
In part this was because it seemed unclear what people meant by the term. Even worse, it seemed like it meant different things to different people. It felt like a label that was more complicated than it was. I have always and still prefer the label Christian, since it is more about who I'm following than some other label people have come up with.
I say all of this because I found this book helpful in dealing with many of the issues that have led me to refrain from ever using the label for myself. Constantine Campbell deals with many issues that are in the evangelical ecosystem. The focus on partisan politics, the judgmentalism, the focus on certain sins while ignoring others that are maybe even more important to deal with, and the division over minor issues.
While I do find many of his chapters helpful, I also found other chapters less helpful. As we got towards the end, I felt like he was losing a bit of steam. While I do think megachurches and the fringes of the movement were worth addressing, they weren't overall as strong and I found myself thinking that I imagine some evangelicals wouldn't really like those things either. Granting I do feel like things have shifted a bit since I was associated with more evangelical influences, so it may be me that's mistaken there.
I've seen many people level the charge that Campbell is just airing his grievances here and has a grudge. I don't really see it that way. What I felt from the book in general was someone who considered himself a part of the movement and often thought the negative critiques of the movement were overstated until he found himself on the outside especially due to his divorce. While I do think that his chapter on divorce was a bit too long, probably due to his personal investment on the topic, but I didn't really feel that it was just a grudge that led him to write the book.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I think that many of his critiques are on point and while he may be a little weaker on the where to go from here, I don't think he leaves us without any direction. Instead he typically points to to words or actions of Jesus and calls on us to imitate him. I mean his final chapter reviews all the issues and gives a verse to refute it. It's maybe not a huge plan, but I think that's the way it goes with faith and trying to follow Jesus. There isn't a flowchart of what to do in every situationist, but an approach to life that allows us to interaction with each situation considering how Jesus would love and care for those around us.
In part this was because it seemed unclear what people meant by the term. Even worse, it seemed like it meant different things to different people. It felt like a label that was more complicated than it was. I have always and still prefer the label Christian, since it is more about who I'm following than some other label people have come up with.
I say all of this because I found this book helpful in dealing with many of the issues that have led me to refrain from ever using the label for myself. Constantine Campbell deals with many issues that are in the evangelical ecosystem. The focus on partisan politics, the judgmentalism, the focus on certain sins while ignoring others that are maybe even more important to deal with, and the division over minor issues.
While I do find many of his chapters helpful, I also found other chapters less helpful. As we got towards the end, I felt like he was losing a bit of steam. While I do think megachurches and the fringes of the movement were worth addressing, they weren't overall as strong and I found myself thinking that I imagine some evangelicals wouldn't really like those things either. Granting I do feel like things have shifted a bit since I was associated with more evangelical influences, so it may be me that's mistaken there.
I've seen many people level the charge that Campbell is just airing his grievances here and has a grudge. I don't really see it that way. What I felt from the book in general was someone who considered himself a part of the movement and often thought the negative critiques of the movement were overstated until he found himself on the outside especially due to his divorce. While I do think that his chapter on divorce was a bit too long, probably due to his personal investment on the topic, but I didn't really feel that it was just a grudge that led him to write the book.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I think that many of his critiques are on point and while he may be a little weaker on the where to go from here, I don't think he leaves us without any direction. Instead he typically points to to words or actions of Jesus and calls on us to imitate him. I mean his final chapter reviews all the issues and gives a verse to refute it. It's maybe not a huge plan, but I think that's the way it goes with faith and trying to follow Jesus. There isn't a flowchart of what to do in every situationist, but an approach to life that allows us to interaction with each situation considering how Jesus would love and care for those around us.
June 4, 2025
This book has a lot to say about evangelical Christianity with which I thoroughly agree. There are chapters on politics, mega churches, the charismatic pastor (and I confess that I am a very easy mark for a charismatic pastor), the lunatic fringe which is not so fringy anymore, and the true message of Jesus of Nazareth. I hate that the guy in the White House and his ilk have chosen to use the word Christian to attract their voters. If you think they represent Christianity just take the time to read what Jesus actually said. You don't have to believe in Him as the preexisting, salvation bringing risen Son of God (although I highly recommend it) but just read what he said, and it will be glaringly obvious that the far right is as far from His words and His philosophy as, well, as the east is from the west. Get one of those Bibles with His words in red to save time and skip the begats, and read them. That is all it takes to expose the current whited sepulchres posing as Christians. The Apostle Paul said we should pray for our rulers no matter what, and since he lived under Caligula and Nero I guess the current president is no exception. So I pray for President Donald Trump every night. I pray that he will be knocked off his ass onto his ass by the power of Almighty God just like the Apostle Paul (who was a persecutor and killer of Christians at the time) was knocked down onto the road to Damascus, where he met the risen Christ and was a changed man. If it could happen to Saul of Tarsus, it can happen to Donald of Trump. That's my prayer. The author of this book gives a little word picture of what has happened to evangelical Christianity. He said that in the years prior, when someone wondered what an evangelical Christian was like, they looked at Billy Graham. Now Billy's son is in bed with the current fascist regime (that is my view, not a quote from the book) and that is what people see as Christians. No they are not! This is a good book. I highly recommend it to anyone, right or left, believer or non.
January 28, 2023
“Who am I? I am an evangelical. Or at least I used to be. I don’t know anymore. But I do know I love Jesus and I trust the Bible” is maybe the most healing thing my heart needed to hear.
This book is really good for those of us who are still conservative religiously, but are tired of the politics and hypocrisy of Evangelicalism. De Muz has it half right; Evangelicalism of today is indefensible, but it is the label that has moved, not the beauty of the gospel and the ecumenical call to everyone to come and dine with the King.
The annoying part of this book is the “well, I don’t understand why if you’re really a Christian, you don’t support BLM and pay for people’s abortions. Also why did the church that said they value marriage fire me when I left my wife? And why doesn’t my pastor use the bus that doesn’t exist in my white suburb to get to church? He bought a Honda, so he’s clearly in it for the cash.” So there is plenty to roll your eyes at, but overall I would say it’s a worthwhile read.
On the note of race, don’t have my raising my praise hanky over how we can gain knowledge from secular disciplines, and then completely mess up statistics. If 60% of people in the county are white, and 70% of the population of mega churches are white, clearly that means the KKK is running evangelicalism, right?
This is one of a growing group of books that I would say is for those of us who aren’t “deconstructing”, to use a term that has been overused to have any value. The other side of this, is those of us that see the BS, but see the value and love of Jesus. We love our churches. We trust the Bible. But we see the pain too. We’re working to detangle it all, while understanding life is like really, really complicated. The only place where there are good guys and bad guys is in the movies. As I’ve leaned in to understanding these critiques, but also held on what I think is true, I have discovered a more beautiful, diverse, and life giving faith. Scripture is more valuable when we are not trying to hold to a hyper literalist all or nothing view of scripture.
This book is really good for those of us who are still conservative religiously, but are tired of the politics and hypocrisy of Evangelicalism. De Muz has it half right; Evangelicalism of today is indefensible, but it is the label that has moved, not the beauty of the gospel and the ecumenical call to everyone to come and dine with the King.
The annoying part of this book is the “well, I don’t understand why if you’re really a Christian, you don’t support BLM and pay for people’s abortions. Also why did the church that said they value marriage fire me when I left my wife? And why doesn’t my pastor use the bus that doesn’t exist in my white suburb to get to church? He bought a Honda, so he’s clearly in it for the cash.” So there is plenty to roll your eyes at, but overall I would say it’s a worthwhile read.
On the note of race, don’t have my raising my praise hanky over how we can gain knowledge from secular disciplines, and then completely mess up statistics. If 60% of people in the county are white, and 70% of the population of mega churches are white, clearly that means the KKK is running evangelicalism, right?
This is one of a growing group of books that I would say is for those of us who aren’t “deconstructing”, to use a term that has been overused to have any value. The other side of this, is those of us that see the BS, but see the value and love of Jesus. We love our churches. We trust the Bible. But we see the pain too. We’re working to detangle it all, while understanding life is like really, really complicated. The only place where there are good guys and bad guys is in the movies. As I’ve leaned in to understanding these critiques, but also held on what I think is true, I have discovered a more beautiful, diverse, and life giving faith. Scripture is more valuable when we are not trying to hold to a hyper literalist all or nothing view of scripture.
July 21, 2023
There are times when the church needs a healthy dose of Law when it has become unmoored from the Gospel and become a wayward movement. Anglican theologian Constantine Campbell has offered just such a much-needed critique of the Evangelical wing of the Christian Church. He speaks as both an insider (an Anglican evangelical) and an outsider (an Australian who has lived and worked in America, but not an American). That means he is in the right place to see things as they really are and to give a fair critique of how the Evangelical wing of the Church is indeed wayward.
In the book, Campbell addresses the way that Evangelicalism has entangled itself with American politics, celebrity culture, consumerism, and how it has often been harsh and judgmental to those on both the outside and the inside. He also does has an excellent chapter on marriage, divorce, and remarriage from a biblical perspective. And at the end of the book, he draws us back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and muses on some ideas about a way forward.
Overall, while this will most likely be a challenging, and perhaps convicting, book for a number of people, it’s is highly recommended.
In the book, Campbell addresses the way that Evangelicalism has entangled itself with American politics, celebrity culture, consumerism, and how it has often been harsh and judgmental to those on both the outside and the inside. He also does has an excellent chapter on marriage, divorce, and remarriage from a biblical perspective. And at the end of the book, he draws us back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and muses on some ideas about a way forward.
Overall, while this will most likely be a challenging, and perhaps convicting, book for a number of people, it’s is highly recommended.
December 3, 2024
This was a tough one to review. I actually found the beginning of the book a big turn-off. He starts off pretty aggressively critical of the very (or very nearly) the people he's seeking to persuade. Not well played perhaps. I think the reviews bear this out. After telling her my first impressions, my wife asked why I was still reading it. But I persisted, and really appreciated much of what followed. Some parts I will probably return to later to study in greater depth. So, I both enjoyed and was put off by it. I think the apparently uncritical acceptance of Du Mez was a bit alarming, but c'est la vie. In the end, he failed to persuade me that we need to abandon the label "Evangelical" as quickly as possible, but I think my exposure to the term is significantly different than his, and so have a different perspective. His exposure is certainly more privileged than mine, so I am open to hearing more on the matter. That's where I'll leave it for now.
August 23, 2023
A little hard to hear a non-American critique American Christianity. But what he said was right on--people who call themselves Christians should act more like Jesus--not politicians, social commentators, or cultural creators. Are Christians living out a life of faith, compassion, and helping their communities or are they just circling the wagons, rejecting everyone who isn't like them, judging and condemning often hypocritically without taking a good look at their own lives? Believers know they are broken people who need help from God, who attempt to live like Jesus did, who ely on the bible for guidance, and who are being transformed into the image of the God they follow. This is a real Christian--not a right wing, social conservative who pushes American Christian nationalism.
April 1, 2023
How does a Lutheran critique an evangelical critiquing evangelicals? By pointing out that the critique of evangelicalism is evangelical itself. Thus, in correcting error it falls into other evangelical errors. The book actually is not Jesus v. the evangelicals but an evangelical v. the evangelicals. I do want to say that I am very grateful to Con Campbell for all his work in the field of the language of the New Testament. I have read several of his books in that area and pastors should read them. This one however serves to show that when you're starting with evangelicalism you're getting another form of evangelicalism, even if you rightly see (and there are times he does) the errors of it.
May 27, 2023
If I could give this book 6 stars I would. In a world where extremes rule, this is a breath of fresh air from the middle. I’ve been concerned for awhile about the growing connection between nationalism and evangelicals for awhile now and Constantine talked about it so much better than I ever could. I’m so thankful he had the courage and faith to put these ideas out into the world. If you’re concerned about the church in America, or even if you’re not concerned and don’t understand why others are—read this with an open heart and mind. There are hard truths, but truths that are necessary to hear and wrestle with.
June 26, 2023
Overall this book makes a valuable contribution to the debate and offers quite a number of inspired correctives. Yes, there are a few mis-hits, but that is perhaps inevitable in a book of this nature. I'd encourage the reader to push through the 10% that seems a little "underdone".
Having literally written the book on union with Christ, it is perhaps disappointing that Con doesn't also consider the individual and corporate questions he raises from that fundamental perspective as well. Ultimately, the book comes across as being a little too human-centric, which is ironically the underlying criticism of evangelicals here.
Having literally written the book on union with Christ, it is perhaps disappointing that Con doesn't also consider the individual and corporate questions he raises from that fundamental perspective as well. Ultimately, the book comes across as being a little too human-centric, which is ironically the underlying criticism of evangelicals here.
November 5, 2023
When I started reading this book, it was really easy for me to point the finger and think, “yeah THOSE kinds of Christians do those bad things he’s writing about” and I could just sit there all self-righteously. But then as I kept reading, some of the stuff he was saying really hit me hard and I realised that I myself have been guilty of doing some of the same harmful things I have personally been so frustrated with in others. This book really challenged me on so many levels and made me deeply reflect on how I live the Christian life and follow the teachings of Jesus. Highly recommend.
November 21, 2025
I almost didn’t continue this book because the author inserts his opinions, bias, and strong political views. For the book to be a “Biblical” critique there really isn’t a large amount of actual scripture. Also of note the author is not from America and from what I can tell doesn’t live here but he can definitely tell us what we are doing wrong, religiously, politically and otherwise. But with that being said, I finished the book, he is right about a lot of stuff and brings out a lot of good points, I do think it could have been written differently.
January 28, 2023
This is a solid book. It’s scope occasionally feels a bit wider than the title implies and I have varying opinions on some of those wider moments, but it’s all very solid research that prophetically provokes evangelicals to wake up before they continue to stumble down their current path. Worth the read.
June 27, 2023
Initially, I didn't think I would like this book, but it won me over by the end. Campbell builds a solid case, and some of the later chapters are quite excellent. It's a worthy addition to the growing list of books critiquing American Evangelicalism.
Full video review here: https://youtu.be/xCtht9iM68w
Full video review here: https://youtu.be/xCtht9iM68w
July 18, 2023
A very worthwhile critique that is just as the title suggests. Political conservatives may have to prepare themselves for pain unless humility is in their quiver. There is much to be faced and assessed in the light of Campbell’s assessment about what has gone wrong. And a nice reminder about what Jesus himself stands for.
August 23, 2023
Campbell makes some good points. Like many writers, he needs an editor to trim his wandering thoughts into straighter and less wordy paths.
Read p. 207-208 first, then go to the corresponding chapter
For example chapter 4 has some great things to say about a truncated gospel. A book could come from this line of thought. P. 80ff.
Read p. 207-208 first, then go to the corresponding chapter
For example chapter 4 has some great things to say about a truncated gospel. A book could come from this line of thought. P. 80ff.
January 26, 2024
This book was needed and is great. It reads a little bit in opinion and it does have an element of “you read the Bible this way…and I read it this way” but I definitely think that Dr. Campbell reads it in a more loving Jesus focused way.
He has good insights, especially about marriage, sins, and tribalism.
Worth the read.
He has good insights, especially about marriage, sins, and tribalism.
Worth the read.
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