440. Title: Baptizing America
Author: Kaylor, Brian and Beau Underwood
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: 978-0-82720338-9
Date Finished: 2024-06-17
My Comments: The Christian Church in America has always had a strong relationship with the government of the country, certainly too strong. With the rise of (White) Christian Nationalism in recent years, we're seeing the continuation of this relationship arise to the point of possible destruction of our form of government. The connection between church and state, which is defined as separate in our constitution, has always been too close and strong, mostly without our even noticing. As with many differentiating ideas in recent history, we see thing differently now than we used to and can see the problems generated more clearly than in the past. Seeing how we can keep the separation of church and state, in terms of power fully in place while still allowing moral influence to flow from church to state is very difficult. If we don't solve this issue, and soon, we may lose our democracy. This is a book of many small examples with a less than stellar set of solutions at the end. It's worth reading.

Amazon Description: In the face of a rising threat to both church and democracy, Baptizing America provides an urgent examination and an enlightening critique exposing the dangerous undercurrents of Christian Nationalism. How can Mainline Protestants spot such practices in their own activities? A crucial call to reckon with influences before it's too late. Christian Nationalism presents an existential threat to both Christ's church and American democracy. Now is the time -- before it is too late -- to reckon with all the places its pernicious influence arises. On full display in recent elections, Christian Nationalism also exists in sanctuaries where an American flag has been displayed for decades, when we pledge allegiance to one nation "Under God," or when the U.S. is called a Christian nation. Baptizing America critiques the concept of civil religion, arguing that such expressions are far more dangerous than we realize. Mainline Protestant congregations will likely recognize themselves in the overlooked expressions of Christian Nationalism that pop up in the activities of both church and state.

441. Title: What to Believe?
Author: Caputo, John D.
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: 978-0-231-55866-2
Date Finished: 2024-07-19
My Comments: Radical theology seems to be a exploration of the ghost of God, in which there is barely anything there. Gone are the OMNIs and all that's left is the possibility of something. The more Caputo I read (and listen to), the better I understand him. This book is written in 4 languages, German, French, Latin and English, and the better you know those, the more you will understand (I don't!). While it's a lot of work, I do think I got something from the reading. Recommended if you are willing to do the work.

Amazon Description: If you no longer “believe in God,” the Supreme Being of classical theology, or you never did in the first place, is there anything you still ought to believe, anything you should cherish unconditionally, no matter what? In this lively and accessible book, addressed to believers, “recovering” believers, disbelievers, nonbelievers, and “nones” alike - to anyone in search of what they really do believe - the acclaimed philosopher and theologian John D. Caputo seeks out what there is to believe, with or without religion. Writing in a lucid and witty style, Caputo offers a bold account of a “radical theology” that is anything but what the word theology suggests to most people. His point of departure is autobiographical, describing growing up in the world of pre-Vatican II Catholicism, serving as an altar boy, and spending four years in a Catholic religious order after high school. Caputo places Augustine’s Confessions, Tillich’s Dynamics of Faith, and Jacques Derrida and postmodern theory in conversation in the service of what he calls the “mystical sense of life.” He argues that radical theology is not simply an academic exercise but describes a concrete practice immediately relevant to the daily lives of believers and nonbelievers alike. What to Believe? is an engaging introduction to radical theology for all readers curious about what religion can mean today.

442. Title: Democracy at Risk: The Dangers of Project 2025
Author: Fowlers, J. E.
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: kindle-none
Date Finished: 2024-07-27
My Comments: This is a very sparse description of seven of the many parts of Project 2025 with the same arguments against each part listed. You won't gain much by reading this. Amazon's idea of 'detailed analysis' is far different from mine. Not recommended.

Amazon Description: In a time of major shifts and challenges in US politics, Democracy at Risk: The Dangers of Project 2025 takes a hard-hitting look at the controversial proposals of Project 2025 and their potential to reshape American society. This book is timely and essential, offering a detailed yet accessible analysis of the project’s goals and the far-reaching implications for democracy, civil rights, and social equity that will impact every American. This book explores the impact Project 2025 will have on the United States, including: The centralization of power and its threat to checks and balances The dismantling of federal agencies and its impact on public services The rollback of civil rights and diversity initiatives The severe restrictions on reproductive rights The return to punitive criminal justice policies and their effect on marginalized communities The suppression of free speech and media control The economic policies that could widen inequality and undermine social safety nets Drawing on historical context and current political dynamics, Democracy at Risk provides a comprehensive overview of Project 2025's potential to erode democratic institutions, increase inequality, and roll back decades of progress in civil rights. But it's not too late to change America's future. Learn about: The importance of vigilance and civic engagement in safeguarding democracy Strategies for protecting free speech, civil rights, and social equity Grassroots and institutional responses to counteract regressive policies The critical role of citizens in defending democratic values Democracy at Risk is both a warning siren and a call to action for all who value justice, equality, and the democratic principles that underpin a free society.

443. Title: Prequel
Author: Maddow, Rachel
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: 978-0-59344452-8
Date Finished: 2024-09-13
My Comments: This is an excellent description of how Hitler and the Nazi's tried to destroy democracy in the U.S. before and during WW2 and replace it with fascism. It looks too much like what is happening with Project 2025 today. It details the failure our our justice system to prosecute many in congress or to even allow the publication of what people discovered about these events. Highly recommended.

Amazon Description: Inspired by her research for the hit podcast Ultra, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the far-right edge of our politics for the better part of a century. Before and even after our troops had begun fighting abroad in World War II, a clandestine network flooded the country with disinformation aimed at sapping the strength of the U.S. war effort and persuading Americans that our natural alliance was with the Axis, not against it. It was a sophisticated and shockingly well-funded campaign to undermine democratic institutions, promote antisemitism, and destroy citizens' confidence in their elected leaders, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the U.S. government and installing authoritarian rule. That effort worked-tongue and groove-alongside an ultra-right paramilitary movement that stockpiled bombs and weapons and trained for mass murder and violent insurrection. At the same time, a handful of extraordinary activists and journalists were tracking the scheme, exposing it even as it was unfolding. In 1941 the U.S. Department of Justice finally made a frontal attack, identifying the key plotters, finding their backers, and prosecuting dozens in federal court. None of it went as planned. While the scheme has been remembered in history-if at all-as the work of fringe players, in reality it involved a large number of some of the country's most influential elected officials. Their interference in law enforcement efforts against the plot is a dark story of the rule of law bending and then breaking under the weight of political intimidation. That failure of the legal system had consequences. The tentacles of that unslain beast have reached forward into our history for decades. But the heroic efforts of the activists, journalists, prosecutors, and regular citizens who sought to expose the insurrectionists also make for a deeply resonant, deeply relevant tale in our own disquieting times.

444. Title: Paul the Pharisee
Author: Crossan, John Dominic
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: 978-1-59815-217-3
Date Finished: 2024-10-03
My Comments: Crossan compares the authentic letters of Paul with the stories about Paul in Acts, and finds great differences. I enjoyed the comparison, but I was not as impressed by the evolution story I think he was trying to write. I agree that the story is there, but I would have appreciated more detail here. A longer book?? Still, recommended.

Amazon Description: Paul the Pharisee celebrates not just the New - Paul as Jew but the New - New - Paul as Jewish Pharisee. Granted past Christian, Jewish, and Roman matrices of interpretation, this book explores the historical Paul through the fourth matrix of Evolution. (Think of those matrices as four Russian nesting Matryoshka dolls.) We are not on the Titanic; we are the iceberg. What, then, does Pauline “resurrection” have to do with human evolution?