Why the Christian Right Is Wrong: A Minister's Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future [Hardcover]

Robin Meyers (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787984469 | ISBN-13: 978-0787984465 | Publication Date: May 19, 2006 | Edition: 1

"I join the ranks of those who are angry, because I have watched as the faith I love has been taken over by fundamentalists who claim to speak for Jesus but whose actions are anything but Christian."
—Robin Meyers, from his "Speech Heard Round the World"

Millions of Americans are outraged at the Bush administration's domestic and foreign policies and even angrier that the nation's religious conservatives have touted these policies as representative of moral values. Why the Christian Right Is Wrong is a rousing manifesto that will ignite the collective conscience of all whose faith and values have been misrepresented by the Christian Right.

Praise for Why the Christian Right Is Wrong:

"In the pulpit, Robin Meyers is the new generation's Harry Emerson Fosdick, George Buttrick, and Martin Luther King. In these pages, you will find a stirring message for our times, from a man who believes that God's love is universal, that the great Jewish prophets are as relevant now as in ancient times, and that the Jesus who drove the money changers from the Temple may yet inspire us to embrace justice and compassion as the soul of democracy. This is not a book for narrow sectarian minds; read it, and you will want to change the world."
—Bill Moyers

"In this book, a powerful and authentic religious voice from America's heartland holds up a mirror to the Bush administration and its religious allies. The result is a vision of Orwellian proportions in which values are inverted and violence, hatred, and bigotry are blessed by one known as 'The Prince of Peace,' who called us to love our enemies. If you treasure this country and tremble over its present direction, this book is a must-read!"
—John Shelby Spong author, The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love

"This is a timely warning and a clarion call to the church to recover the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to a great nation to resist the encroachment of the Christian Right and of Christian fascism. Many of us in other parts of the world are praying fervently that these calls will be heeded."
—Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having "spent [his] whole life trying to persuade people that 'liberal' is not a dirty word, and that Christianity is a way of life, not a set of creeds and doctrine demanding total agreement," Meyers, a United Church of Christ minister and Oklahoma City University professor of rhetoric, became an Internet celebrity when his November 2004 antiwar remarks bounced from continent to continent. In response, Meyers expanded 10 of his most salient points into a self-titled manifesto which not only highlights the dichotomy between the right's talk of Christian values and its walk—which he believes is characterized by shameful, immoral behavior—but provides a call to action. Patiently, he gives a series of impassioned reminders of the essence of what Jesus taught, believed and lived, perhaps best summarized by the stinging assertion that "most of all, the Christian Right seems to have forgotten that Jesus saved his white-hot anger for the sin of religious hypocrisy." Meyers maintains that prolife views, for example, should extend beyond the womb to death row, health care and the environment. For readers who are "indignant over the direction of this country" and feel thatthe time has come for "dignified, but tangible resistance," Meyers delivers an unambiguous, palpable blueprint. (May 26)
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Review

Having "spent [his] whole life trying to persuade people that 'liberal' is not a dirty word, and that Christianity is a way of life, not a set of creeds and doctrine demanding total agreement," Meyers, a United Church of Christ minister and Oklahoma City University professor of rhetoric, became an Internet celebrity when his November 2004 antiwar remarks bounced from continent to continent. In response, Meyers expanded 10 of his most salient points into a self-titled manifesto which not only highlights the dichotomy between the right's talk of Christian values and its walk—which he believes is characterized by shameful, immoral behavior—but provides a call to action. Patiently, he gives a series of impassioned reminders of the essence of what Jesus taught, believed and lived, perhaps best summarized by the stinging assertion that "most of all, the Christian Right seems to have forgotten that Jesus saved his white-hot anger for the sin of religious hypocrisy." Meyers maintains that prolife views, for example, should extend beyond the womb to death row, health care and the environment. For readers who are "indignant over the direction of this country" and feel thatthe time has come for "dignified, but tangible resistance," Meyers delivers an unambiguous, palpable blueprint. (May 26) (Publishers Weekly, February 27, 2006)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (May 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787984469
• ISBN-13: 978-0787984465
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #865,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Finally Needed to be Said!!, May 22, 2006

By 

Erick Worrell "Erick Worrell" (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why the Christian Right Is Wrong: A Minister's Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future (Hardcover)

Dr. Meyers' new book is a citizen's outrage with a minister's passion, a mentor's intervention against power and hypocrisy. The book is scathing but not lecturing; it's more like a parent reminding a child that there are two sides to everything and it's not safe or smart to take up action without realizing the whole picture. Dr. Meyers has a gift for eloquence, directness, and wordcraft that all allow him to communicate a message both beautifully and bluntly.

As a liberal and a Christian, it speaks words to my feelings about the hypocrisy of our government, and the books presents a compelling and full spectrum of information that should tug at the conscience of the true Christians in this country - conservative, liberal, or other. It serves as a reminder that "Republican" and "Christian" aren't necessarily the same thing, and that proclaimed "Christian" policies certainly don't reflect the message of a prophet who gave to the poor and pardoned the sinful. In fact, as Dr. Meyers points out, Jesus saved his white-hot anger for the sins of religious hypocrisy.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Awakening in America, July 6, 2006

By 

Patricia Carlson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why the Christian Right Is Wrong: A Minister's Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future (Hardcover)

After a couple of decades of hijacking of the Christian faith by people with a right-wing political agenda, it is refreshing to see Christian authors with a different perspective being published. I think we may be on the cusp of a new "Awakening" in America, when Christianity can again stand for love, compassion and social justice. Read Dr. Meyers' book and any others like it that you can get your hands on. And for another book on liberal Christianity with a less political perspective, look for "Think Again: A Response to Fundamentalism's Claim on Christianity."

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Insights from an Authoritative Source!, July 4, 2006

By 

Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why the Christian Right Is Wrong: A Minister's Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future (Hardcover)

"Why the Christian Right is Wrong" is based on thoughts contained in an 11/04 presentation to an anti-war group. The essence of that presentation (and the book) is that most of those (eg. Christian fundamentalists) claiming moral values are on their side support a morally bankrupt administration and President that:

1)started a war on false pretenses and then acts as if they're doing God's will, while critics are either unpatriotic or lacking in faith,

2)arrogantly breaks the international rules for waging a just war that our nation helped establish,

3)claims Jesus is the Lord of his life, yet fails to acknowledge that his policies ignore Jesus' essential teachings,

4)found a way to avoid combat in Vietnam and then questions the patriotism of thos who did,

5)talk constantly about Jesus, healer of the sick, but do nothing to ensure that anyone who is sick can see a doctor,
and

6)dismantles countless environmental laws designed to protect the earth, God's gift to us.

Meyers goes on to expound on these points, with chapters titled "Christians Don't Start Wars - They Try to Stop Them," "Rich Chicken Hawks for Jesus," and "'Pro-life' Should Include Mother Nature."

The most startling chapter, however, has has more of a political than religious focus. Titled "Christian Fascism and the War on Reason" it includes 14 characteristics of fascism: 1)Powerful nationalism (we have knee-jerk patriotism), 2)disdain for recognition of human rights (eg. torture, long imprisonments), 3)identifying enemies and scapegoats as a unifying cause (eg. liberals, terrorists), 4)supremacy of the military (see our budget), 5)rampant sexism, 6)control of the mass media, 7)obsession with national security, 8)religion and government intertwined (use religion to manipulate public opinion), 10)suppression of labor power, 11)disdain for intellectuals and the arts, 12)obsession with crime and punishment, 13)rampant cronyism and corruption, and 14)fraudulent elections (eg. smear campaigns, manipulation of boundaries).

A lot to think about!