Title: Values, Truth, and Spiritual Danger: Progressive Christianity and the Age of Trump
Author: Edward G. Simmons
Publisher: Wipf and Stock
ISBN: 978-1666708868
Pages: 284
Genre: Religion / Politics & State / Non-Fiction
Reviewer: Christina Avina
Pacific Book Review
At the heart of the American political divide, one can generally find a question of religion, specifically Christianity, and its role in government affairs to be on everyone’s minds. Since the rise of Donald Trump and his political movement, a steady rise in Christianity in politics has surged, and it has stirred controversy and disconnect between the left and right greatly. Yet even within the faith itself, there is a steady divide between Trump policies and modern iterations of Christian beliefs.
That divide is what author Edward G. Simmons’s Values, Truth, and Spiritual Danger: Progressive Christianity and the Age of Trump explores in depth. The book is a series of essays and ruminations from the author as they bring both life experience and historical insights into the ethical problems so many Christians face in the age of Trump. From the question of immigration and borders to science, historical accuracy and so much more, the author works to separate the truth in faith from the political machine that has used Christianity as a tool in the modern era.
The author did a magnificent job of reaching out across the great political divide from a progressive perspective in faith to the more conservative crowd. The personal experiences the author shares as a member of the evangelical Southern Baptist church and their strict traditions to a more progressive view of Christianity was not only thoroughly documented but presented in an honest and engaging way. The amount of detail and research the author poured into this book really gave an air of authenticity to the author’s work and helped emphasize the messages brought forward.
Immediately the reader is struck by the balance the author found in connecting Christian theology and beliefs with scientific and historic study. Readers who are both religious and specifically Christian-based, while also appreciating scientific study, political discussion, and non-fiction reads in general will be enthralled by the author’s messaging in this book. Themes of diversity, faith, and the role religion should play in politics as opposed to what their role is now in the Trump era all make strong cases throughout this book, and using examples such as the comparison of Moses and the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt to immigration and asylum seekers coming to America allowed modern readers to gain a better understanding of some of the teachings of this book. This is a book which readers will contemplate over and over after finishing it.
