Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America? [Hardcover]

Cal Thomas (Author), Ed Dobson (Author, Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

Thi account from two insiders explains how and why the religious right failed to transform America.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Two "insiders" from the religious right explore why the Moral Majority has failed to accomplish its goals despite two decades of aggressive political maneuvering. Although the authors reveal secrets and lies, such as the fact that most of the Moral Majority's so-called "state chapters" are "little more than a separate telephone line in a pastor's office," this is not a tawdry kiss and tell book. In fact, Dobson and Thomas strongly support most of the Christian values behind the organization's political machinery. But they have come to believe that politics is too corrupt and distorted an arena for Christians to use to enact social change.

Ed Dobson, who helped draft the Moral Majority platform and served as personal assistant to Jerry Falwell, offers a particularly compelling chapter in which he compares the U.S. to Northern Ireland, where Dobson grew up as a Protestant. "We have politicized the gospel with our agendas," he writes. "To be part of the Christian right is to be part of the Republican party. For some, this means to be a real Christian, you must be a Republican. That is heresy and is only a short distance from the extremism of my Irish counterparts."

Ultimately, devout Christians and the people they are trying to influence are the most hurt by the corruption of church through politics, according to coauthor Cal Thomas, a former spokesperson for the Moral Majority. For example, by making the Pro-Life movement a political issue, he claims the Christian right has lost sight of more supportive antiabortion tactics, such as focusing on offering homes and finding jobs for destitute single mothers. Ultimately, the duo calls for a change in strategy--hoping to create followers of the Christian agenda through positive example, consistent living, and devout faith rather than brute political force. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

According to syndicated columnist Thomas and minister Dobson, the Religious Right has done more harm than good. Once on the frontlines of the culture wars as adjutants in Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority, the authors now call for "unilateral disarmament" by the Religious Right. If conservative religious leaders are to be effective, the authors say, they must use radically different strategies than they have until now. Thomas and Dobson contend that if the Religious Right's goal is to reclaim America for Christ, it must ask itself if both God and the government are the sources of hope. They claim that the government does not have the power to force virtue on people who do not want to be virtuous. The Religious Right, they note, has become ineffective because it has been acting like a political party or special interest group competing for a share of political power. Rather, say Thomas and Dobson, the movement should be modeling the message of Jesus as they seek cultural change. Although the authors emphasize their continuing commitment to the Religious Right, they note that "we are calling for a longer-lasting endeavor than the one too many of us have devoted too much time to for too long." The book offers a glimpse into the workings of the Religious Right as well as strong comments on the relationship between religion and politics in America.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 290 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan Publishing Company (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310226503
• ISBN-13: 978-0310226505
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trusting the Right Power Instead of the Power of the Right, July 19, 2000

By 

Gregory A. Boyd (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America? (Hardcover)

What a GREAT book! I wish every evangelical Christian would read this book. If only Amazon had a 10 star rating!

Though people constantly tried to get him to do otherwise, Jesus never allow himself to be co-opted into the politics of this world. He rather testified to the truth that he was about an entirely different kingdom by letting himself be killed by the politics of this world! Never once did he enter into the politically charged atmosphere of his day by even commenting on the relative merits or vices of the Roman leaders. His mission was about something unrelated to what these leaders did or did not do.

Along similar lines, Paul reminds Christians to be followers of their heavenly Lord and not "to be occupied with civilian affairs" (2 Tim 2:4). And the author of Hebrews reminds Christians they are "aliens" in this world because they are "citizens of heaven." When we follow the example of Jesus and live THIS calling out, we have a power to change lives and affect the world that is not of this world. We win the world back for God, one soul at a time.

Many, if not most, contemporary evangelicals have completely missed this. They sincerely believe that the battle is to be fought and won in the arena of earthly politics. Here is where Thomas and Dobson make their contribution. They "hit it out of the park"! These authorsl point out that evangelicals have come to do what Jesus never did, and what the Bible forbids us to do. We have waged war with "flesh and blood," forgetting that our real battle is "against principalities and powers" (Eph 6). We have spent our time and energy futily trying to tweak the world's hopelessly corrupt system -- and feeling very proud with little (temporary) gains -- instead of living our call to be ambassadors of an entirely different, counter-cultural, kingdom. In the process, we have damaged our reputation to the unbelieving world and diluted our kingdom authority. We have been corrupted by the desire for political might.

With the wisdom of experience and the skill of seasoned writers, Thomas and Dobson expose this for the deception that it is. In so doing, they remind us that "though we are IN the world, we are not OF the world." "We do not wage war as the world does." Our weapons are person-to-person love, prayer, fasting, self-sacrifice and faith.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A true reflection of the sate of political nature!, December 8, 2000

By 

K. Powers "kmpowers" (Washington, D.C. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blinded by Might (Paperback)

Blinded By Might gives a poignant insight into the world of Church/State politics and what is presented is not the most uplifting view. Quite unintentionally, the authors provide a Nietzschean framework in which (every) man's desire for power (i.e., the will to power) is all-consuming and forces political actors to behave in ways that can only be viewed as self-serving.

During the 1960's and 1970's `fundamentalist' Christians were feeling continually disenfranchised as our country continued its downward spiral. This malaise was evidenced by waved after wave of Supreme Court rulings that legalized abortion, removed prayer from schools, and began to remove all-things-religious from civic life-the Supreme Court and the federal bureaucracy was becoming the de jure enforcement arm for the concept of the separation of Church and State. Into this moral breech several people began to tread, including Cal Thomas, Jerry Falwell, James Kennedy, etc. In 1980 the Moral Majority began to assert its political authority, helping to usher in the Reagan presidency through its successful grassroots motivation. What Thomas and Dobson seek to portray is an inside glimpse into the political as well as ideological shortcomings inherent in the involvement of Christians in the political realm. Trouble did not arise, when the religious right began to wane in political power...it is when the Moral Majority was at the height of its power that problems become obvious; the primary problem being a lack of results in policy formation.

How did this problem occur? The Moral Majority and Christians became married to the Republican Party. Marriage forces people to overlook flaws in their partner and Jerry Falwell and his group did just that. A major problem for Christians is the false assertion that politics is all about ideals. Unfortunately, once you are thrown into the lion's den, often you are forced to behave pragmatically in order to survive. "The subordination of conviction to the pragmatic was also evident in politics-which is one of the dangers of too close an association by the church in affairs of state." All-too-often the leaders of the religious right end up "casting their pearls before swine." The religious right movement thought it could change hearts and morality from a top down approach, when in fact it is only at the one-to-one level that people change.

As it relates to previous works, Blinded By Might is not theoretically far removed from the Wallis or Colson pieces. Ideologically all three books vary greatly in their approaches and prescriptions, but all seek to analyze the nature of Christians in the political realm. Faith Works, admonishes Christians for not doing enough, and Kingdoms In Conflict shows the power of Christians operating within and outside of the political sphere, whereas Blinded By Might serves as a warning about the perils of blurring the church/state line. Furthermore, anyone who desires to serve in positions of church leadership should be especially reticent to enter politics because the joys are fleeting and the will-to- power is intense.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An important book which needed to be written., May 23, 2000

By 

David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America? (Hardcover)

This is a book which needed to be written. I don't agree with everything Ed Dobson and Cal Thomas say, either politically or religiously, but their message is vitally important.

As a minister of the Gospel, as a clergyman, and as an outspoken conservative, I have long been dismayed when my collegues (on both sides of the aisle) attempt to equate the Gospel message with a political agenda. I firmly believe that a clergyman has the responsibility and duty to speak out on issues which affect his beliefs and the beliefs of his church. However, many, many members of the Religious Right (and Left, for that matter) have gone far beyond such issues, insisting that political philosophy is just as important, and just as divinely inspired as the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount. There are issues on which Christians should be completely united. There are other issues, as C. S. Lewis suggested, in which honest men may reasonably disagree.

Dobson and Thomas have eloquently suggested that many of the troubles of the Religious Right have been based in not knowing the difference.

Again, I don't blindly accept many of the things that Dobson and Thomas say -- but I agree with much of the spirit in which they were written.

Every politically active member of the clergy should read this book carefully, and with much prayer.