Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity [Hardcover]

Bruce Bawer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1997

From the author of the widely acclaimed A Place at the Table, this is a major work, passionately outspoken and cogently reasoned, that exposes the great danger posed to Christianity today by fundamentalism.

The time is past, says Bruce Bawer, when denominational names and other traditional labels provided an accurate reflection of Christian America's religious beliefs and practices. The meaningful distinction today is not between Protestant and Catholic, or Baptist and Episcopalian, but rather between "legalistic" and "nonlegalistic" religion, between the Church of Law and the Church of Love. On one side is the fundamentalist right, which draws a sharp distinction between "saved" and "unsaved" and worships a God of wrath and judgment; on the other are more mainstream Christians who view all humankind as children of a loving God who calls them to break down barriers of hate, prejudice, and distrust.

Pointing out that the supposedly "traditional" beliefs of American fundamentalism--about which most mainstream Christians, clergy included, know shockingly little--are in fact of relatively recent origin, are distinctively American in many ways, and are dramatically at odds with the values that Jesus actually spread, Bawer fascinatingly demonstrates the way in which these beliefs have increasingly come to supplant genuinely fundamental Christian tenets in the American church and to become synonymous with Christianity in the minds of many people.

Stealing Jesus is the ringing testament of a man who is equally disturbed by the notion of an America without Christianity and the notion of an American Christianity without love and compassion.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 300-odd pages, Bruce Bawer has opened a floodgate of incisive religious criticism that will reverberate across the American political scene. He has put into eloquent and decisive language what many mainline Christians and non-Christians have quietly suspected but been unable to verbalize--namely that Fundamentalist Christianity is barely Christian at all. A Baptist theologian says he is "not interested in who Jesus was." Pat Robertson argues the Golden Rule as Jesus's justification that "individual self-interest is being a very real part of the human makeup, and something not necessarily bad or sinful." In page after page, Bawer reveals a so-called Fundamentalist movement that readily displays a blatant disregard for the most salient message of the Gospels: selfless love and service to all. As for the significance of this revelation in the face of the ballooning presence of Fundamentalist Christians in American politics, readers will have to decide for themselves.

From Library Journal

Author of A Place at the Table, a groundbreaking book on homosexuality, and of articles on religion, Bawer argues that fundamentalism is a recent development that defies the values of Christianity.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (October 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517706822
• ISBN-13: 978-0517706824
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (139 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A strong start, but ultimately disappointing., February 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity (Hardcover)

Bawer's book starts out brilliantly and had me tentatively recommending it to people by the end of the first chapter. He makes some very insightful points, and he has the enviable ability to create a sound bite that actually has deep meaning; there were several points in the book where he sums up complex spiritual issues in one terrific sentence. Unfortunately, the book does not live up to the promise shown at the beginning.

The points Bawer brings up about Fundamentalist Christianity are all valid, but his support for many of them is rather weak. He does not use footnotes, his references are incomplete, and the bibliography adheres to no style I've ever seen. This wouldn't matter if I wanted to accept his work as truth in and of itself, but I prefer to check sources.

Bawer also tends to express opinion as fact. He twice makes the claim that legalist Christians (his term for Fundamentalist Christians) know their doctrines are untrue, although they will never admit it to themselves. To make such a claim is arrogant and uninformed-Bawer does not know the true feelings of individual legalist Christians. I know several people who fit Bawer's definition of legalists, and they hold their beliefs more dear than anything else, including things most people cherish such as family and career. If scientific or empirical evidence refutes these beliefs, the evidence is wrong, and the people who bring this evidence against Christianity are deceived. One could easily and truthfully say legalists are just putting their heads in the sand, but that doesn't mean they do not believe their doctrine.

Bawer also rails against Pat Robertson, his editors, and his readers for not checking facts or having any knowledge about the subjects of his writing. The one incident Bawer uses as an example is a reference to Marie-Henri Beyle in Robertson's book "The New Millennium." Robertson states that Beyle is the birth name of Voltaire, but Bawer points out that it's actually the birth name of Stendhal. Robertson is therefore a distorter of history, and since no one caught the mistake four years later when the book was reprinted, his readers are unlearned and manipulable. I showed this Beyle error to three of my friends. Between us we have five graduate degrees, including three Ph.D.s. None of us knew Voltaire's birth name. It seems unlikely that this one sentence in Robertson's book (which is very badly written and full of bizarre claims) implies malleability or a lack of education. If it does, Bawer should check page 112 of "Stealing Jesus" where he confuses Lao-Tse, the founder of Taoism, with Confucius.

Overall this is a disappointing book, perhaps because I expected more actual research and less opinion, especially when discussing leaders of the Religious Right. The sketchy, sometimes incomplete supporting evidence for Bawer's statements coupled with the lack of references make me question the overall accuracy of the book. A far better look at the evil aspects of Fundamentalist Christianity is Tom Sine's "Cease Fire," though he tends to get preachy near the end.

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Winning Jesus Back, October 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity (Paperback)

I was oohing and ah-ing in understanding and agreement through many parts of this book. Bruce Bawer describes the fundamental or legalistic Christianity that many Americans think we have to follow or we're not Christians at all. It is the Christianity that has stolen Jesus from the rest of us who, because we think that the only true requirement of God is to love God and humankind in thought as well as action, must give up on Jesus who is represented today as narrow and condemning. Bruce Bawyer makes us realize we can still call ourselves a Christian even if we don't go along with the harsh doctrines of the media-acknowledged Christian Coalition style of Christianity. There are times when Bawyer's bitterness towards legalistic Christianity is evident, yet his message is extremely important for making us think about what it really means to be a Christian, and for encouraging those of us who believe in a church of love to speak up and not be intimidated by aggressive and judgmental button-holers.

79 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you're a fundamentalist Christian you won't like it, May 27, 2001

By 

J. Buxton "cantabile" (Waltham, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book very much. I happen to agree with the basic premises Bawer introduces, although at times his frustration is a little too evident. It is not as much of a scholarly work as "A Place at the Table", but Bawer does include many quotes and anecdotes which add considerable weight to his assertions. I found Bawer's splitting Christians into two camps, "Legalistic" and "Non-Legalistic" a bit too simplistic (he admits this), but it is useful to make his point. His point is, in my opinion, that in pursuing a legalistic or fundamentalist approach to the Bible, legalistic Christians are missing the biggest Christian teaching of all: love. If you are sympathetic to Bawer's views, you will probably agree with much of the book. If you are a fundamentalist/legalistic Christian, this book will probably be added to your list of "banned" books, and you won't enjoy reading it.