Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity

Rating:
Summary: I Wish He Could Be Wrong
Review: This book hit me especially hard as it was not only good reading material; but I have lived it. I graduated from high school in 2000. I was one of the few students who would stand up against the liberal and humanist teachings that are now taught as mainstream in public schools as David Limbaugh presents. I was ridiculed and thought to be a student with radical ideas. For a while I was wondering if my thoughts were incorrect as I seemed to usually hold values that the majority did not agree with. Now I realize that they were the ones with incorrect values.

I thank God for giving David Limbaugh the courage to write this book. He is striking back at the liberal forces that are polluting the minds of our children, [...] the noble deeds and intentions of our founding fathers, and degrading the name of God Almighty.

Liberals, BEWARE!!

Romans 1:20

Rating:
Summary: Far Reaching Title, But Still an Interesting Read
Review: Conservative pundit, David Limbaugh - brother of Rush Limbaugh, has written a book about liberal hated for Christianity, at least, conservative or traditional Christianity. First, the title is quite far reaching. While it can be easily argued, and he does, that there is an assault on Christian teachings and people in public schools, including colleges, media, an the work place; one is still lost to say "persecuted" except maybe in the broadest sense of the word. There is a persecuted Christian community where people are imprisoned and often killed. The secular attack on Christians in this country is, I assert, to marginalize it so much by taking it out of the public arena that they hope it fades away.

First, the problems with the book: Often, more than I would want, he tends to align conservative political positions with Christians. But, he does seem to notice this pitfall, and once he does it, tries to get back on track.

The book has a lot of good arguments, mostly anecdotal however. Sure, much of these stories are confirmed, but, one could also tell many anecdotes where places are very friendly towards the Christian community (namely because these places have such an active and strong Christian population).

His chapter on the academy and academic freedom shows where the roots of intolerance takes fold towards Christians, where many students and academics marginalize Christian teachings and students. His stories involving the work place and government go awry programs are also good; His analyses of this countries founding, how public schools came t being, and on the "establishment clause" are accurate and worth the read.

Still, there are other books that deal with the culture war that I assert are much better such as "How Should We Then Live?" by the late Francis Schaeffer, "How Now Should We Live?" by Chuck Colson and Nancy Percy (whom he quotes) and "The New Anti-Catholicism" by Philip Jenkins are more coherently argued and provide a better backdrop on the reason for the culture war.



Rating:
Summary: Argument has fatal flaw.
Review: Right off the bat Limbaugh shows his ignorance. In the introduction he states that the Establishment Clause only prevents the federal government from establishing a religion and does not prevent the state governments from making laws respecting the establishment of a religion. Following that logic we can then say that the Free Excercise Clause only prevents the federal government from prohibiting free excercise and that state governments can prohibit the free excercise of religion, which of course is absurd.

The First Amendment is plain. Individuals are free from government established religion and are free to establish any religion of their choosing, which of course is limited. You cannot practice a religion that sacrifices babies.

Rating:
Summary: You Made Me Read It, I Didn't Want to Do It . . .
Review: I can single out two succinct and persuasive reviews of Limbaugh's book that were filed here in the not-too-distant past (not to imply that the caliber of reviews overall is lacking in serious and rational thought and debate, mostly). Itonically, though, I agree with both Wan Kim and jim_nc's reviews, but -- uh oh -- one man totally loves it and the other totally hates it!

First of all--yes, as yet another reviewer mentioned, the grandiose and over-reaching title looks as though the author or his publisher were straining to make of this work more than the advocacy-journalism it is. Reinhold Neibuhr, in the 1950s, got away with a book titled THE NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN. But it truly was a work of first-rate theology and social criticism, still widely read today. Mr. D. Limbaugh, I've read Reinhold Neibuhr as well as your book, and, all joking aside, I hope you're not trying to become the early 21st Century's answer to Reinhold Neibuhr...).

This is not to imply that PERSECUTION is not useful and relevant. But it must be considered in terms of its genre--it is part and parcel an extended opinion piece. For years the author got away with proclaiming opinion as -- pardon the pun -- "Holy Writ" to audiences. This continues here--PERSECUTION is in no way a work of philosophy or theology. It isn't even a work of serious social criticism because to do so, an author would have to admit more plainly what his biases are and give the reader a more coherent method than High Dudgeon.

Yet, annoyingly, and despite its meat-axe approach to things that bother Limbaugh--PERSECUTION is just a little too good to dismiss as nothing but an extended op-ed piece. It does cohere.

Trouble is, if we approach this book as marketed -- as a serious overview of a culture war at work religiously -- (analogous to the very real German "Kulturkampf" during Otto von Bismarck's rein in the late 19th Century) -- well, a heck of a lot of preliminary issues are being begged. Issues such as: is there a culture war, or the assumption of one, sufficient to make it a "platform" of debate couched almost entirely in Us-Versus-Them terms, regardless of whether or not the actual term "culture war" is actually used?

What is meant by the word "Christianity" here? Is it what used to be called "Christendom" or or is it more like an ecclesial statement and movement, say, the "Christian Church Universal"? Or is PERSECUTION written with some kind of under-the-table understanding that the "Christians" whom Limbaugh references are really conservative social activists who are frequently aligned with fast-growing Protestant evangelical denominations??

Limbaugh apparently fails to mention one Christian virtue so holy it made the Roman Catholic "Top Seven" list: humility. Knowing what the book is about, yet puffing its title beyond philosophical defensibility WHILE AT THE SAME TIME offering opinion as Gospel shows a singular lack of humility, and I have to admit I'm put out at the editor/publisher, too, if only for the connotations bound up with the book's title that the publishing house either created or condoned.

I do not wish Limbaugh any harm but for heaven's sake! Intellectual Triscuits are a good and necessary roughage, but when marketed as Mental Miracle Manna there's a deception going on in some wise. The issues Limbaugh gets near to are indeed very important. His book, however, is trivial if considered a statement of lasting cultural and spiritual import. With no extra trouble, readers would do just as well reading Hofstadter's ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM in America for its take on U.S. Culture, or even (and I am not trying to be facetious) -- THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PEANUTS for a rational and non-silly discussion of how a (Protestant) Evangelical mind works. Both still in print, still selling like hotcakes, not topical but timely.

I've a sneaking suspicion that Limbaugh's work will be about as well remembered in 50 years' time as are Quemoy and Matsu, the fluoridation debates, or sniping at "eggheads" are today.

Is David Limbaugh a conservative? In his haste to make a big name and his apparent lack of grounding in traditional American thought streams that could have been relevant to this work--NO. I'm more conservative if by that I mean it's a good idea to distance oneself occasionally from us-versus-them thinking, or put more simply to look at the world before leaping into the conclusions found in print in PERSECUTION.

Okay, I don't mind playing the ratings game: Five stars for ambition, two for intellectual integrity, one for the grandiose and deceptive title, four for research within its limited field, one for lack of Christian Charity towards one's putative "enemies." Two-and-a-half stars, approximately, rounded down to two stars because this book is already becoming yesterday's mashed potatoes.

Wan Kim and jim_nc: you were so adept at sharing your respective points-of-view that I was really sorry I couldn't make you an Amazon Friend. You could file your e-mail addresses with Amazon in such a way that only people YOU trust have access to them--is that possible, please?

allen smalling
09-20-04




Rating:
Summary: Hang on to somethng...
Review: This is an excellent read. Mr. Limbaugh deserves much praise for his research and delivery. Bottom line: if the first 100 pages does not have you breaking into a sweat on what is going on in this country's education system (and the fact that some organizations get away with it), check yourself for a pulse.
You will not be able to put this book down.
Thank you, Mr. Limbaugh.

Rating:
Summary: Thorough, accessible and convincing
Review: The author's family name scared me off at first, but he's won me over as a writer. I must admit that I'm his brother's fan, but I had wondered if this book would be bellicose bombast.

What a pleasant surprise and fine contribution to understanding the "culture wars" this volume proved to be!

Especially valuable to me was the final section in which the author demonstrates that the American Constitution could not have been conceived nor born in any but a consensus Christian worldview. If his contention is correct, it will be a matter of time before the current cultural experiement results in the loss of the freedom our forefathers have known.

I recommend this volume to any layperson who wants a crisp overview of the current battles being waged in the education, government, entertainment and the private sectors.