Jesus and John Wayne, Kristin Kobes du Mez
Jesus and John Wayne, Kristin Kobes du Mez
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Jesus and John Wayne
How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

Author: Kristin Kobes du Mez

Narrator: Suzie Althens

Unabridged: 12 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Kalorama

Published: 07/14/2020


Synopsis

How did a libertine who lacks even the most basic knowledge of the Christian faith win 81 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016? And why have white evangelicals become a presidential reprobate's staunchest supporters? These are among the questions acclaimed historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez asks in Jesus and John Wayne, which explains how white evangelicals have brought us to our fractured political moment.

Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping account of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, showing how American evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism. Evangelical popular culture is teeming with muscular heroes—mythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of "Christian America." Chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done.

A much-needed reexamination, Jesus and John Wayne explains why evangelicals have rallied behind the least-Christian president in American history and how they have transformed their faith in the process, with enduring consequences for all of us.

About Kristin Kobes du Mez

Kristin Kobes Du Mez is a professor of history at Calvin University and the author of A New Gospel for Women. She has written for the Washington Post, Christianity Today, Christian Century, and Religion & Politics, among other publications. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Laura on May 27, 2023

I have no idea how to translate what I just learned into a “star” rating. Was her research five star? I feel pretty confident saying it is. Was the content unbearable at times, so cringey that I wanted to quit? For sure. One star. Is there room for disagreement on some of her conclusions? 4 stars? I......more

Goodreads review by David on March 29, 2020

Usually I will stay away from books on religion. Everyone’s passions overtake their judgment, facts are few, fleeting and ignored, and no minds are changed in the reading. But the pop culture intersection of American politics and American evangelicalism proved tempting, and thankfully, most worthwhi......more

Goodreads review by Silvia on July 10, 2024

This audiobook is not just informative, but deeply thought-provoking. Author Du Mez deftly navigates the sometimes thorny intersections of religion, gender, and power within American evangelicalism, providing listeners with opportunities to consider some uncomfortable truths about the historical and......more

Goodreads review by Rex on August 18, 2022

I was raised in a conservative Evangelical household. So was my wife, and so were most of my friends of my generation. Part of this identity was theological: the inerrancy of the Bible, which for most of us entailed young-earth creationism, was the critical plank. But a politics defined by oppositio......more

Goodreads review by Alex on January 21, 2021

Well, I have mixed feelings about this book. There was much that I really enjoyed. It is first of all just a really good, easy read. Du Mez introduces a whole host of major "evangelical" and conservative figures who have exerted considerable influence on the American church and American politics in......more