God and Other Famous Liberals: Reclaiming the Politics of America - Hardcover

Church, F. Forrester

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 067176120X ISBN 13: 9780671761202

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1992

Synopsis

Argues that Liberalism is in keeping with Christianity's fundamental virtues of charity and tolerance, and looks at the connection between these values and the founding principles of our country

About this title

Review:

With history and the Holy Scriptures as his guide, the Reverend Forrest Church takes on the religious right and political conservatives on three fronts: religion, patriotism, and family values. Emphasizing the strong connection between liberalism and democracy, he debunks the myth of the moral superiority of the conservative viewpoint. With an excellent forward by Anne Eleanor Roosevelt, God And Other Famous Liberals is divided into three sections: Reclaiming the Bible (The Most Famous Liberal of All; God's Son Jesus; The Holy Spirit); Reclaiming the Flag (With Liberty for All; We Hold These Truths; One Nation Under God); and Reclaiming the Family (Your Mother is a Liberal; E Pluribus Unum). The book concludes with an Epilogue, Appendix; and an Index. God And Other Famous Liberals is recommended reading for everyone, freethinker or religionist, who support the principles of church-state separation, and whose are saddened by the spectacle of the Religious Right claiming moral superiority over not only the "Godless Humanist" but the Religious Left as well. Insightful, very well written in an engaging style, and as Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote: "This thoughtful and and spirited book reminds us all that the Bible and the flag are not the private property of the radical right. " Forrest Church is pastor of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City, and the author of numerous books including: Father and Son, Everyday Miracles, and The Seven Deadly Virtues. -- Midwest Book Review

From Kirkus Reviews:

Cheerleading manual for politico-religious liberalism, by an N.Y.C. Unitarian minister. Church (Father and Son, 1985) loves the ``L word''; what's more, he believes that God loves it too: ``God, the most famous liberal of all, has a bleeding heart that never stops,'' he quips, and then tosses in some apple pie for good measure: ``every good mother and father is a liberal.'' Behind this jaunty sloganeering lies an instructive history exercise, an attempt to trace the roots of American liberalism back to the Bible and the Founding Fathers. Church finds a ``liberal social gospel,'' which he defines as ``love to God and love to neighbor,'' in the teachings of Jesus, in the free-worship statues of the colony of Rhode Island, in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and in the words of both Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King. He does concede some liberal errors--overprotection of criminals, government paternalism--but the battle cry is sounded: faith, flag, family, and federal government--all these belong by right to the liberals. Amazing in its single-mindedness, amusing in its silliness (Church takes the time to argue that Jesus would have opposed prayer in public schools), finally poignant in its quixotism. Liberals will love it, but unless the political climate swerves to the left, conservatives will laugh all the way to next Inauguration Day. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 067176120X
• ISBN 13: 9780671761202
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 167