Thy Kingdom Come
An Evangelical’s Lament: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America

This wasn't what I was expecting. I thought the book would deal more with the dangers that come from mixing politics & religion. Also much has changed in the 10 years since this book was published so a lot of the attitudes Balmer is railing against don't seem to be as prevalent today. I learned quit......more

Why are evangelical Christians often so politically conservative? Does Christianity/Scripture require them to be conservative? Or do they have conservative personalities, first, then adapt Christianity to fit their political position? In this book, a liberal evangelical, Randall Balmer, argues for t......more

It is refreshing to see an historically accurate recounting of the evangelical movement, rightly pointing out some of its achievements and shining light on its political hijacking by a few cynical folks who wanted to take it away from its social liberal roots and use it for its own purposes. Balmer i......more

I heard Balmer interviewed on NPR before I read the book. As a former evangelical, I was interested in what he had to say. I also attended Trinity College, an evangelical school the same time Balmer did, in fact he tried to teach me how to rappel. In the book he recounts his experience at Trinity an......more

The author presents a mostly fair assessment of the truly lamentable state of evangelical involvement in US politics. While I don’t fully agree, I share the lament when our brothers and sisters in Christ try to usher in a kingdom that’s not of this world by relying on a power that is.......more