A Letter to My Anxious Christian Friends: From Fear to Faith in Unsettled Times by David P. Gushee

A Letter to My Anxious Christian Friends: From Fear to Faith in Unsettled Times Reviews

• 
  Bob

  Summary: Written as a series of letters, this is an exploration of what it means as a Christian to both love and be anxious for one's country as people of faith committed to the global kingdom of God.
  
  David P. Gushee thinks there are good warrants for American Christians who love their country to be anxious--the erosion of a Christian consensus, the economic jolts we have faced as a country, the deep fractures along lines of race and values that we have experienced, the violence of our streets, and the instances where police have also exercised force unjustly. Written in the run up to the 2016 presidential election, Gushee explores what it means both to face the issues that arouse such fear, and step back from the fractured political discourse to try to think as Christians about what it means to live into our faith instead of being governed by our fears (and perhaps those who play upon them).
  
  He writes:
  
  "...the assumption lying behind this book is that it is okay for Christians to care enough about the country they live in to be anxious about it. It is, indeed, perfectly acceptable for Christians to be patriots, to love their country with a robust and full heart. Many of my fellow Christian leaders do not agree with me on this, and they have good reasons for their views. Mainly their worry is that American Christians, in particular, have a hard time distinguishing between God and country when they attempt to love and serve both. I think that I can point to a path of critical, informed patriotism through the various reflections offered here. But I acknowledge that I do love this country, and precisely because I do, I want it to be the best country it can be. If you agree, read on."
  
  The rest of the book consists of twenty reflections (letters) divided into two parts. The first eight are an exploration of who we are as a country of Americans, the place of Christians within that, how we understand our form of government and the development of political parties, the state of our civic character, and how Christians might think about patriotism. He helps his readers understand the changing place of the church in this country and how we might think about that. What I appreciated best were some of his reflections on how we are and are not a Christian nation--both the Christian influences upon our institutions and the fact that no nation can be a "Christian nation" as Israel was the people of God. Gushee is able to speak honestly both about our flaws and injustices as a nation, as well as commend the cultural goods that might be observed and built upon. He commends a kind of patriotism that is not an "America first" mentality but rather a wanting what is best of this country for all of its people while being mindful of our place in the world.
  
  The second part of the book then considers how we might move from fear to faith in addressing some of the fearsome challenges we face:
  
  Race: a call for white majority Christians to listen.
  
  Police: while commending most law enforcement personnel, pressing for greater oversight and rooting out of unjust policing practices.
  
  Sex: as one who has previously endorsed gay marriage in the civil sphere, he argues that our focus is better spent on the more casual and thoughtless expressions of sexuality and its heart-wrenching consequences.
  
  Abortion: while deeply troubled by a casual approach to abortion, especially late-term abortions, and favoring some legal restrictions on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and threats to the life of a mother, he argues for greater focus on preventing pregnancies that would lead to abortion.
  
  Aliens: here, he would like to see reforms proposed before our recent election cycle for comprehensive immigration reform that both secures borders while providing some path for undocumented persons who have not broken other laws to gain some kind of legal status.
  
  Guns: this is one he speaks deeply and passionately about, questioning whether the founders had in mind the proliferation of weaponry we see.
  
  Money: he calls us beyond competitive greed to a generosity with our resources.
  
  Climate: he decries that denial of climate change and the partisan impasse that leads to doing nothing while creation suffers, and with it many of the most vulnerable.
  
  War: we have been at war for most of the last century. While nations must protect themselves, he argues there are many tools and Christian should press for the nonviolent ones to be used insofar as possible and for constitutional processes to be protected.
  
  Executions: the death penalty is an anomaly, the consequence for only a handful of murders, and often inequitably applied at great cost to our system.
  
  Education: a call to pursue the best possible education for all our people. Surprisingly, he calls for removing tenure and union protections of incompetence while saying students, teachers, and parents all are required to make this work.
  
  Health-care: all of God's children should have access to affordable and adequate care. A generous patriotism doesn't want any to fall through the cracks.
  
  The strength of this book is that it articulates an ethic that is broadly pro-life, and expands upon what would be a generous and faith-informed vision of patriotism. Obviously, not all will agree with all he commends. I personally took issue with what I thought a cavalier treatment of Romans 13 about authority that imputed Paul's statements to his privileged status as a Roman citizen. I thought this was biblical eisegesis and unnecessary to make his case against unlawful use of police force.
  
  Because Gushee tries to cover so much ground, especially in the second part of the book, in a series of short reflections, many of his recommendations, which tend to echo more progressive positions in most cases, come with relatively little biblical or theological argument, nor is there much of an effort to address opposing views. As a result, my sense is that the book will be re-assuring to those of Gushee's "anxious friends" from a more progressive outlook, but dismissed by his conservative "anxious friends." Nor do I feel it will promote dialogue between these factions within the Christian community who are anxious for very different reasons (it's telling to me for example that he is silent about issues of religious liberty). I found Russell Moore's Onward a far more helpful resource for promoting this kind of engagement.
  
  Perhaps the two might better be read together. Perhaps the places they differ might open up the safe space for Christians to wrestle toward an ethic of societal engagement that is neither left nor right but distinctively Christian. I think that is what both authors would want. And for Gushee, an ethic of faith working through love is much preferable to one that resides and responds in fear.
  
  ______________________________
  
  Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher via a pre-publication e-galley through Edelweiss. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
• 
  Jeanie

  I have to say that after reading this, I am more anxious. The author by chapter goes from topics to abortion to education. Each chapter is short and conversational.
  
  
  I was put off by several things. One of them being home schooling. I have many friends that have homeschooled with great success and he affirms that as well but he also and I will use his own words Sometimes the students who resulted from these efforts were wonderful, sometimes they were poorly prepared for college, and sometimes they were just odd. ..odd? That may be true, but odd comes in all walks of life, social status and secular schools as well.
  
  Another put off for me was the issue of abortion. He seems to be pro choice which many Christians are and he lists why abortion is necessary however, he is adamant about gun control with all the stats. Where are the stats when it comes to abortion and the life that it takes? In fact his wording of fetus vs. baby is telling. It is the weak and the oppressed as Christians we must always stand up for. I don't condemn those that choose abortion but we must speak out on what abortion is. The gospel many times can be offensive when it comes to social issues and rights of others. You cannot be on the fence with abortion and that was his direction with his text. There are many ministries available to help, there are choices..abortion does not have to be only the choice. (this was not encouraged)
  
  
  There was other issues that I turned off by and very little that I was encouraged by. Was this book helpful? No it seems that culture needs to influence the church instead of the church influencing the culture. Our need for the gospel was not prevalent. There probably was less than a handful of scripture if any included in this text which makes my point that this is more of rambling instead of addressing the issues with the gospel. With deep regret, I would not recommend.
  
  A Special Thank You to Westminster John Knox Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review
  
  I thought I would look this Arthur on google and I found this interest article. It is rather long but I did have a hard time reading this book because I felt like I could not get a grasp on what the Gospel was to him. As always the gospel is good news but you have to know the bad news as well to embrace the good. ....
  https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/ar...
• 
  Cyndi Beane-Henry

  The dedication page of this book sets the tone immediately with: "To every Christian who tries to love America".
  
  If you are a Christian in America today, you know exactly where this book is headed. It is headed to the fall of a great nation, encouragement to the Saints of today, and the promise of a new world to come.
  
  Gushee is new to me, as I haven't read any of his works before. But I am fully on board with his style. And mostly, his message.
  
  This book couldn't have come at a better time in America's history. Our Country has been torn apart from the latest elections. Recessions. Depressions. Lack of moral fiber. Laws protecting the accused but not the victim in crimes.
  
  All the while, Christians are faced with the ever increasing de-Christianization of America. We can't post the 10-Commandments. We can't say the Lord's Prayer in our schools. If we stand up for what we believe in, we're called fanatics. We're ostracized and put down.
  
  So, how does the Christian today stay faithful, and keep his/her eye on the prize Christ set before us without losing the very essence of what Christ taught us?
  
  Gushee brings things to a simple answer. It's always been simple. It's just not the easy road to follow.
  
  But, then, we are told, "Wide is the gate, and narrow the road,". And we must stick to that narrow road that leads to our rewards. We cannot give in to the ways of the world. We must live in the world, but not of the world.
  
  This is a must read for all Christian in America today. A very real eye opener. And a message that lets us know, we are not in this alone.
  
  This book is available in print or Kindle.
  
  I give this Five Stars and..a big Thumbs Up!
  
  I also give this my Highly Recommended Award.
  
  
  
  DISCLAIMER: This book was provided by Amazon Vine in exchange for an independent and non-biased review. You can find the book Here for purchase.
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Eric

  Gushee's book presents a sort of drive-by commentary on a range of hot button issues, basically endorsing progressive(ish) positions in each case. Because there are a dozen or so of these, and because the letter is pretty short, the chapters are not very satisfying. Each devotes 5-6 pages to an issue that has occupied entire volumes elsewhere.
  
  Ultimately I think this book is caught in a bind. In order to reach its anxious Christian audience, the letter needs to be short and relatively simple, and it needs to cover a range of issues. But in doing so, it forfeits a lot of its persuasive force.
  
  In my understanding of Christianity, the fearful Christian is a contradiction in terms. I find it incredibly bizarre that so many are taken in by this gun-toting, cultural paranoia. To his credit, Gushee seeks to calm their fears, and I hope he succeeds.
• 
  Penny

  I'm not sure who the intended audience for this book is. It seems to be just the author expounding his personal opinions on all the hot button issues of the day, opinions based on...well, actually I don't know, because he doesn't tell us. I’m not quite sure who the anxious Christians are - those who agree with the author or those who do not - but I don’t see much here that would ease anxiety on either side.
• 
  Jim

  A short book full of so, so much. I went through a lot of thoughts and a lot of emotions reading this book.
  
  At first, I followed a lot of what he said.
  
  Though I did begin to wonder how he could remain objective about the "right" and the "left" when so many ways he characterized these issues didn’t seem quite so objective.
  
  And at first, thought it began to fall apart in chapter 7 with:
  

  
  “I think we have good reason at this time in our long national sojourn to be anxious about the erosion of the moral (and religious) ethos that once formed and constrained our expressions of the maximized liberty of our political system. The delicate balance that the founders expected—a free people, but not utterly free, because they are shaped and constrained by the force of a powerfully religious and moral culture—is in the process of being lost.”
  

  
  And I thought this because what I see too often is that the "religious ethos" often acts against the "moral ethos". I am seeing that secular people act in more moral ways than religious people. And he even gives evidence of this in previous chapters. And here he wants to connect morality directly to degrading entertainment and corrupt corporate heads. But, what about the right and their rejections of civil rights you've gone on about in the previous 6 chapters?
  
  And another example, chapter 9 doesn’t seem to mesh with many conservative viewpoints - with its devotion to equality, figuring out your privilege, and how extensive racism truly is.
  
  And it seems to continue in that vein.
  
  But then, about one-third of the way through the book, I realized what Gushee was actually trying to do here! He’s taking a page from Lakoff's
  Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate He's framing! Holy crap! This is the holy grail! The above quote is obviously from a Christian perspective. And he’s talking to Christians. It really makes sense. Gushee is a Christian, talking to Christians, from a Christian perspective. It really is a great work - and it took me a couple times of reading to get that.
  
  He talks about it all. Patriotism, left vs right, guns, abortion, race, climate change, the death penalty.
  
  Wow. This book is amazing. One of the first examples I’ve seen of truly trying to frame the issues in this manner.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and Westminster John Knox Press for a copy in return for an honest review.
• 
  Jace Broadhurst

  I like gushee,possibly because the path I followed, is similar to his own. I’ve enjoyed many of his books, but this book was too basic to be helpful. On each topic, he chooses to set the landscape, and then, to only give a few words of wisdom regarding each topic. Of course, This is the problem when you pick the most controversial subjects and try to keep a book short. It is a good introduction to controversial issues in the church and culture. This suggests a direction, but gives no answers. Perhaps that is because he wants you to realize there aren’t answers, there is only wisdom.
• 
  Robert D. Cornwall

  The current election season is causing a lot of angst among the American people. It's also causing Christians to deal with uncomfortable questions about our relationship to culture and nation. There is need for a calm word to Christians so that they might live by faith rather than fear. Of course, there is also a need for Christians to be challenged by their faith to live in the nation with their faith as their guide. To do this, we'll need an expert guide. There are few better guides in our day than David Gushee.
  
  Gushee writes a letter to anxious Christians living in America, a letter that is long enough a book. In this book/letter Gushee covers a multitude of issues. For the most part he urges calm, but at times, as is true with the words about climate change he finds it necessary to encourage his readers to get a better focus on the issue at hand.
  
  Because Gushee's roots are evangelical, his primary audience is the white evangelical community that seems beholden to a particular party that could be acting contrary to their best interests. Whether one is part of that particular community or not, this is a prescient book. It speaks to our times and our anxieties, calling forth from us wisdom and courage to go against the grain.
  
  Gushee is an ethicist and a public theologian. He theologizes about public life in a way that is accessible, thoughtful, and challenging. You're going to find yourself in agreement at points and disagreement at others. That's the way it should be.
  
  The book is comprised of twenty chapters, most of which are relatively brief. The first half of the book focuses on foundation issues, such as American identity, the role of Christians in America, the relationship of Christianity to democracy, political parties, divisions in the country, the role of judges, character, and patriotism (a must read). In each of these chapters Gushee invites us to consider what it means to be Christian and American. He reminds us, much as John Fea does in his books, that the debate over whether America is a Christian nation is a diversion. The fact is, Christians have formed a majority of residents since the beginning of the nation. At the same time, the Constitution never established Christianity. Today the nation is increasingly pluralistic, and so even if were once Christian, we're no longer as dominant as was once the case. While democracy isn't a Christian way of governing, it does reflect certain Christian insights. Thus, the two are compatible.
  
  The remaining chapters focus on specific issues ranging from race to health care. In between he discusses police, sex, abortion, immigration, guns, money, climate, war, executions, education. On abortion he stands on the pro-life side of the equation. On sexuality, he's conservative in one sense, but wants to open the question about inclusion of LGBT folks in church and culture. If you were to judge Gushee's positions according to party, he would probably look more Democrat than Republican, but while he recognizes the role of parties, and that the two party system isn't going away, he wants us to think beyond party.
  
  AS we traverse this difficult season, he would like us to live faithfully. That means looking to faith as a guide and recognizing our responsibility for each other. That is one important reason why he takes such an impassioned position on climate change. As the son of a climate scientist he has a good background on environmental issues. He challenges the "global warming is a hoax" crowd with science, but he also reminds us that it's the poor who are most vulnerable. So, let's get busy.
  
  This is a book for our times. Hopefully in time we'll deal with the issues in a responsible way. In the meantime we need to do some introspection and commitment to doing the right thing.
  
• 
  Michelle

  In a little less than a month Americans will be voting for a new president. This will be a landmark year for the presidency. Will a woman become president, for the first time in U.S. history? Or, will we choose someone who has never been in politics?
  
  Author David P. Gushee covers many items that are on our minds in his new book, `A Letter to My Anxious Christian Friends. He covers such topics as homosexuality, illegal immigrants, racism, border control, and abortion. His book is a social issues book written to every Christian who tries to love America.
  
  There are many social and political changes in America today. Changes that would have our founding fathers standing on their heads. But, what about today's Christians, where are we? Do we just stand by as our nation makes changes we don't like? What should a faithful Christian do?
  
  The author's purpose in writing this book is to inform Christians. His goal is to help American Christians see our reality more clearly, assess that reality more thoughtfully, and act more faithfully. What makes this book different from all the rest is the author hopes to inject realistic and empowering hope into a culture and Christian climate filled with pessimism. Many Christians have lost hope and need real, authentic, encouragement.
  
  While this book is authentic it does not have lots of footnotes or fancy words that would make it a chore to read. It's more like a fellowship with other Christians. So what can Christians do? They can advocate for what they believe in.
  
  
  Disclaimer: I received this book from Net Galley.
• 
  Lena Smith

  This book was okay. It got better as I read it. However I felt like the author was just skimming the surface of most of the issues he discussed. He often provideded very few details to back up his opinions and did not provided evidence to back up his opinions. For a book that was supposed to be from a Christian to fellow Christians, he did not cited the Scripture nearly as much as I felt like he should, especially in talking about the Christian response to various issues. In fact, discussion of the proper Christian response was not explained fully and not supposed with evidence.
• 
  Jack

  Insightful and well written
  
  Gushee finds a course between the polarities to consider reasonable and faith based responses to the issues currently before our country.
• 
  Jessica Brazeal

  Meh. I had high hopes for this and this didn't quite get there for me. I loved Gushee's "Changing Our Mind," but he was less adamant in this one.
• 
  Paul Womack

  A brief overview of significant social and cultural issue from a Christian angle. Invites deeper theological reflection, to include whether or not Christian identity can be a faithful and ethical identity and override political or tribal identities.