A review by elentikvah
The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American by Andrew L. Seidel
3.0
After first hearing of this book on Seth Andrews' The Thinking Atheist podcast, I have been looking forward to reading it for some time.
Taught Christian revisionist history throughout the 1980's via Abeka, BJU Press, Marshall's The Light & the Glory series, and Wallbuilders from my earliest years - now having deconstructed this indoctrination and working to see the history of America (including the Founders) through a more accurate lens - little in this book's description of the arguments of Christian nationalism are new or surprising. In fact, most of it breaks my heart, because I am the product of this fallacious teaching.
Unfortunately, this is the book that my family and childhood friends would never read. Despite the excellent points that support the historical position, in this upside-down world Mr. Seidel is "preaching to the choir."
This books does a wonderful job of elucidating the tenets of Christian nationalism and debunking them. So for the reader for whom this material is less familiar, The Founding Myth may give you at peek into the mental gymnastics that is so common within this subculture. One could have wished to see it taken a step further into specifics of how to counter the diatribe of post-2016. On a personal note, I was thrilled to see the intentional deceit, false inclusion, and anti-Semitic aspect of the term "judeo-Christian" called out.
Rating 3/5 "liked it"
12 hrs and 58 mins / ~350 pages
Audiobook / Kindle
Taught Christian revisionist history throughout the 1980's via Abeka, BJU Press, Marshall's The Light & the Glory series, and Wallbuilders from my earliest years - now having deconstructed this indoctrination and working to see the history of America (including the Founders) through a more accurate lens - little in this book's description of the arguments of Christian nationalism are new or surprising. In fact, most of it breaks my heart, because I am the product of this fallacious teaching.
Unfortunately, this is the book that my family and childhood friends would never read. Despite the excellent points that support the historical position, in this upside-down world Mr. Seidel is "preaching to the choir."
This books does a wonderful job of elucidating the tenets of Christian nationalism and debunking them. So for the reader for whom this material is less familiar, The Founding Myth may give you at peek into the mental gymnastics that is so common within this subculture. One could have wished to see it taken a step further into specifics of how to counter the diatribe of post-2016. On a personal note, I was thrilled to see the intentional deceit, false inclusion, and anti-Semitic aspect of the term "judeo-Christian" called out.
Rating 3/5 "liked it"
12 hrs and 58 mins / ~350 pages
Audiobook / Kindle