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    The Immoral Majority: Why Evangelicals Chose Political Power Over Christian Values
    Unavailable
    The Immoral Majority: Why Evangelicals Chose Political Power Over Christian Values
    Unavailable
    The Immoral Majority: Why Evangelicals Chose Political Power Over Christian Values
    Ebook332 pages5 hours

    The Immoral Majority: Why Evangelicals Chose Political Power Over Christian Values

    By Ben Howe

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Now a National Bestseller!

    Evangelicals are losing the culture war. What if it’s their fault?

    In 2016, writer and filmmaker Ben Howe found himself disillusioned with the religious movement he’d always called home. In the pursuit of electoral victory, many American evangelicals embraced moral relativism and toxic partisanship.

    Whatever happened to the Moral Majority, who headed to Washington in the ’80s to plant the flag of Christian values? Where were the Christian leaders that emerged from that movement and led the charge against Bill Clinton for his deception and unfaithfulness? Was all that a sham? Or have they just lost sight of why they wanted to win in the first place? From the 1980s scandals till today, evangelicals have often been caricatured as a congregation of judgmental and prudish rubes taken in by thundering pastors consumed with greed and lust for power. Did the critics have a point?

    In The Immoral Majority, Howe—still a believer and still deeply conservative—analyzes and debunks the intellectual dishonesty and manipulative rhetoric which evangelical leaders use to convince Christians to toe the Republican Party line. He walks us through the history of the Christian Right, as well as the events of the last three decades which led to the current state of the conservative movement at large.

    As long as evangelicals prioritize power over persuasion, Howe argues, their pews will be empty and their national influence will dwindle. If evangelicals hope to avoid cultural irrelevance going forward, it will mean valuing the eternal over the ephemeral, humility over ego, and resisting the seduction of political power, no matter the cost. The Immoral Majority demonstrates how the Religious Right is choosing the profits of this world at the cost of its soul—and why it’s not too late to change course.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateAug 13, 2019
    ISBN9780062797094
    Author

    Ben Howe

    Ben Howe is a writer, podcaster, and film - maker, as well as the founder of Howe Creative, a video production company. He has appeared as a commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News, and has written guest columns for the Atlantic, the Washington Examiner, and the Daily Beast, among other publications. You can follow him on Twitter at @BenHowe

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    Reviews for The Immoral Majority

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      A white male evangelical takes a look at the movement and why they chose to follow Donald Trump. This is a thought provoking book. I liked that Mr. Howe established his credentials then went on to explain the evangelical movement, thought process, and gave a solution. He covers a lot in this book. He is right that it is controversial but his arguments are sound as he leads us from the evangelicals of the 1980's through today. He is right that we all need to look at ourselves, whether evangelical or not, to see where we need to make corrections to the course of our lives to live as Christians in the devisive world of today and to follow the teachings of Jesus and the Bible, not our will.This is worthy reading for everyone.
    • 4/5
      A refreshing look at the reasons evangelicals have fallen so head over heels for Trump. A most sobering analysis of how they have essentially sold their morality to support an immoral leader simply because he has promised to pass laws and appoint judges that will further the causes evangelicals care most about. Interestingly, according to Howe (and he presents good supporting data) rank and file evangelicals seem to support Trump first for his apparent success with the economy and with the impression that he is making the country safer.

      Although I likely disagree with the author on most of his political views, he is a right-wing conservative, I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment that right-wing evangelicals have wrongly become more nasty and less compassionate. In fact, compassion, according to most right-wing evangelicals seems to be viewed as a weakness, not a virtue.

      I also disagree with some aspects of his assessment of liberals, although he is less harsh than most right-wing critics. I do think he is right about liberals, in part, and their use of political correctness as a way to silence of the opposition sometimes is a tool they use. I think liberals could learn a little from his assessments, but many of his characterizations of liberals should be taken with a grain of salt. I do appreciate that he recognizes the existence of liberal Christians that have been much more compassionate and often more civil than right-wing evangelicals.

      I recommend this book to people from both ends of the political spectrum. It will likely anger many right-wing evangelicals, but it might help them see themselves better and their rampant hypocrisy. Liberal will also likely be angered by some parts of the book, but could likewise gain some insights about themselves if they can tamp down their anger and ponder some of what Howe says. If nothing else, Howe's message might help make a space for civil dialog across the ever deepening political divide.