Mel White's amazing new book, Religion Gone Bad: The Hidden Dangers of the Christian Right has just been published. Click (here) to order the book from Amazon.com.
Many years ago, Mel and I were faculty colleagues at Fuller Theological Seminary, the largest multi-denominational evangelical seminary in America. In those days, Mel was a noted Christian filmmaker and also a ghostwriter, consultant, and confidant to such fundamentalist Christian leaders as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. He was also struggling against his sexual orientation and trying very hard to repress the notion that he might be gay....
I had no idea about his struggles. Accepting him as a gay man would have been difficult for me at the time.
Since then, a lot has changed. Mel has accepted who he is and been with his partner Gary Nixon for 25 years. He founded Soulforce which works to end spiritual violence against people who are LGBT. And my understanding of both the Biblical texts and homosexuality has been transformed through study and prayer. I am honored to call Mel White my friend and grateful for his dedicated service to the church.
Religion Gone Bad is a remarkable and sobering look at the radical agenda of many of the fundamentalist leaders who influence politics in America today. Through meticulous research, Mel documents what Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, James Kennedy and other fundamentalist leaders believe, in their own words. In his book, Mel makes an important distinction between evangelicals, like Billy Graham, and fundamentalists like Falwell and Robertson. Mel rightly says: "Fundamentalist Christians may share many basic beliefs with evangelicals, but they hold tightly to their beliefs with the grip of the Pharisees, who knew the law by heart but forgot the heart of the law: 'Love God and love your neighbor as yourself'" (p. 25).
In many respects, Mel is working to save evangelical Christianity (and America itself) from the dangers of fundamentalism. Mel argues that idolatry is the religion of fundamentalism and fascism is the politics of fundamentalism. According to Mel, the goal of men like Falwell and Robertson is to install a few "righteous men" to rule the United States according to a legalistic interpretation of the Bible. Like Martin Luther King, Jr., Mel appeals to both the Bible and the U.S. Constitution to expose the hyperbole, the half-truths, and the out- right lies of this movement.
This book is essential reading. It provides critical insights for protecting our democracy. And it provides a vision for how to reclaim the church and the Bible from those who misuse it. Click (here) to order Religion Gone Bad from Amazon.com.
