Excerpt:
In an absolutely devastating closing chapter (titled “Evangelical Mulligans”) Du Mez traces many accounts of the all-too-frequent public failings of prominent evangelical leaders, and the knee-jerk efforts of those in similar positions of power to defend them while invalidating the abused. After reading Du Mez’s account of the previous century, the connections become abundantly clear. “Those lamenting evangelicals’ apparent betrayal of ‘family values’ fail to recognize that evangelical family values have always entailed assumptions about sex and power.” (277) For those interested in exposing and dismantling those assumptions, or even those who simply want to understand how they gained prominence in the white evangelical landscape, Jesus and John Wayne is an absolute must-read, a stunning work, and one that deserves serious attention and further conversation.
– from our review by ERB contributor Joel Wentz
Published “December 9 – Kristin Kobes Du Mez – Jesus and John Wayne [Advent Calendar].” Englewood Review of Books. December 9, 2020. https://englewoodreview.org/dec-9-kristin-kobes-du-mez-jesus-and-john-wayne-advent-calendar/
