Broadleaf Books
In Guns We Trust: The Unholy Trinity of White Evangelicals, Politics, and Firearms
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In this unsettling investigation into white evangelicals' fusion of the gospel and guns, veteran journalist William J. Kole exposes how some Christians are standing in the way of reasonable restrictions on firearms--and how it makes us all less safe.
On the evening that the bass player on his worship team casually showed him his handgun, the author's world shifted. In that moment, Kole--who was the AP's New England bureau chief when a gunman massacred twenty-six people at Sandy Hook Elementary--knew he had to figure out what was going on.
Why were white evangelicals more likely than other Americans to own a weapon? What made them treat the Second Amendment as if it were God-breathed? And how did his own faith, rooted in Jesus's call to turn the other cheek, get hijacked?
In the pages of In Guns We Trust, Kole looks at the unholy alliance between white evangelicals, guns, and politics. Writing in the tradition of Tim Alberta and Kristin Kobes du Mez, he takes us into sanctuaries where worshippers raise hands and pack heat; to a rural church that does outreach through target practice with assault rifles; and into the lucrative gun-making industry, in which evangelicals play an outsized role. He introduces us to global Christians who can't imagine owning firearms and dissidents in the US who are working for change--including activists beating guns into garden tools, and nuns who bought company stock so they could sue a gun manufacturer.
Our nation is awash in more guns than citizens. With meticulous research, humanizing interviews, and immersive narrative, Kole pulls back the curtain on the locked-and-loaded Christianity that got us here. Ignoring gun-toting believers, Kole argues, means the violence will continue. But when intentional conversation and faithful resistance bear fruit, peace may yet prevail.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9798889835639
EAN:
9798889835639
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
288
Authors:
William J Kole
Publisher:
Broadleaf Books
I loved this book. As a mother against gun violence it is a very interesting read
Wake up! And get ready. Firstly, I can't say enough about the beautiful writing and intense research that went into this book. As someone raised Catholic, and subsequently Christian, it's quite disturbing right from the beginning. It's very difficult to admit how twisted some Christians (not saying all) think and act, in the name of the Bible. Very compelling, then so sweetly hopeful. Thank you William Kole, for shedding light on "If we live by the sword, we die by the sword" that is so pervasive in America. May God continue to bless you.
This book should be required reading for anyone trying to understand evangelicalism in America--its politics, its identity, and its obsession with guns. Many of America's problems with violence and crime will not be solved until people understand America the way this brilliant book does. It's a step toward a healed nation, and the faster we read it, and the more of us that read it, the faster we'll heal.
Beautifully written and makes a very strong case for how evangelicals are deliberately blocking progress on gun control. That's really a shame. As Kole, himself a former evangelical, points out: Shouldn't people of faith be working to fix or gun crisis, rather than perpetuating it? 10/10 recommend this eye-opening book.
This book is a must read for anyone concerned about the intolerable toll of gun violence in the U.S. Kole’s book provides an important look at the proliferation of guns among Evangelical Christians and the threat this poses to society. The book is informative and well researched, with many sides represented, leaving the reader both terrified and hopeful.
