[BeachOfEden]

The Hijacking of Jesus (Hardcover)
by Dan Wakefield

Has anyone here read this book yet? This book sounds really good and I am thinking of getting it. If anyone of you have read this please share your review of it with me! Thanks!

[Ted Michael Morgan]

BeachOfEden, on Jul 26 2006, 10:00 PM, said:

The Hijacking of Jesus (Hardcover)
by Dan Wakefield

Has anyone here read this book yet? This book sounds really good and I am thinking of getting it. If anyone of you have read this please share your review of it with me! Thanks!

The Barnes & Noble cover on it makes it sound good. I recently read The Left Hand of God, which I do very much recommend.

This post has been edited by Ted Michael Morgan: 27 July 2006 - 09:16 PM

[BeachOfEden]

I am presently reading The Left Hand of God..cause The Hijacking of Jesus book was not in the store..never the less here's the scopp on the Hijacking book...


Hijacking of Jesus

Dan Wakefield




Product Details:
ISBN: 1560257458
Format: Hardcover, 256pp
Pub. Date: March 2006
Publisher: Avalon Publishing Group
Barnes & Noble Sales Rank: 77,955
NEW FROM B&N

B&N Price: $23.95

Member Price: $21.55
ABOUT THE BOOK

Hijacking of Jesus

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Christianity in America has become almost synonymous with right-wing fanaticism, conservative politics and— thanks to Mel Gibson— a brutally sadistic version of the religious experience. Millions of devout Christians, like Dan Wakefield, are appalled by this distortion of their faith that stands for peace, equality, healing, and compassion for society's outcasts.

In The Hijacking of Jesus, Dan Wakefield asks how and why the Christian faith has been so effectively appropriated by the Bush administration. Why is it that Republicans have become the party of "moral values?" How is it that mainline Christian denominations and leadership, both Catholic and Protestant, have remained remarkably silent on the war in Iraq, the civil rights erosion of the Patriot Act, the growth of poverty, the Terry Schiavo debacle, and the fact that over 40 million people now live without health insurance? And how can Christians recapture and reclaim their faith from the cynical manipulations of Bill Frist, Tom DeLay, and George W. Bush?

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekl

By his own admission, Wakefield, a journalist, novelist, screenwriter and Protestant who comes from several generations of Baptist ministers, was "one of the great slumber party of mainline American Protestant `liberals'... whose response to the outrages of those who stole our identity as Christians was the cheap and comfortable scorn and smugger-than-thou ridicule of the disengaged." This patchwork of interviews on topics ranging from megachurches to the "wedge issues" of abortion and homosexuality, stitched together with rather snide commentary, does little to convince us that his thinking has evolved. Despite decrying the religious right's use of military terminology to establish its position, Wakefield posits that in crafting a meaningful response to the "Christian jihad," liberal Christians must similarly procure "ammunition, troops and a battle plan, a strategy." Disappointingly absent of journalistic distance, this diatribe fails to provide constructive suggestions for change. Any hopes for a refreshing ecumenical Christian defense of the true ideals of Jesus-the Jesus of the Gospel who "had no possessions, ministered to the poor and the sick, befriended societies outcasts, [and] blessed `the peacemakers'..."-have been bitterly suppressed by a derisive, condescending tone.

[October's Autumn]

Quote

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekl

By his own admission, Wakefield, a journalist, novelist, screenwriter and Protestant who comes from several generations of Baptist ministers, was "one of the great slumber party of mainline American Protestant `liberals'... whose response to the outrages of those who stole our identity as Christians was the cheap and comfortable scorn and smugger-than-thou ridicule of the disengaged." This patchwork of interviews on topics ranging from megachurches to the "wedge issues" of abortion and homosexuality, stitched together with rather snide commentary, does little to convince us that his thinking has evolved. Despite decrying the religious right's use of military terminology to establish its position, Wakefield posits that in crafting a meaningful response to the "Christian jihad," liberal Christians must similarly procure "ammunition, troops and a battle plan, a strategy." Disappointingly absent of journalistic distance, this diatribe fails to provide constructive suggestions for change. Any hopes for a refreshing ecumenical Christian defense of the true ideals of Jesus-the Jesus of the Gospel who "had no possessions, ministered to the poor and the sick, befriended societies outcasts, [and] blessed `the peacemakers'..."-have been bitterly suppressed by a derisive, condescending tone.

It must be AWESOME if this critic finds it such a threat

[BeachOfEden]

Good point!

[des]

Stealing Jesus, by Baum (??), I think, makes some similar points. I really enjoyed this book.

--des

[the17pointscale]

hi, everyone.

this is my first visit to the invision power board. i googled "jesus hijacking" and this forum page popped up as the third hit! anyway, i've been skimming through wakefield's book, preparing to write a mini-book review for image update, an artsy faith journal that publishes bi-monthly book recommendations.

unfortunately, i won't be writing a recommendation--i tend to agree with the chap from publisher's weekly. as someone who sways back and forth between conservative and liberal tendencies, i was disappointed by his way left perspective, preachy didacticism, and even the overall writing quality. still, if you're interested in the topic and if you're already edging toward his camp, this book has a ton of interesting quotes from ecumenical leaders.

andrew
the17pointscale