God in the Blue States
The title of this review, “God in the Blue States” is taken from the introduction to the book, The Faith of Barack Obama, by Stephen Mansfield and published by Thomas Nelson. Mansfield quotes Obama in his speech to the 2004 Democratic Convention when Obama said. “We worship an awesome God in the Blue States.” Those words are important because they help us to understand how Obama is changing the face of U. S. politics. What follows is, in the words of the author, “an attempt to understand the religious life of Barack Obama and the changes in American religious history that he has come to represent.” This is a formidable task, made even more so by the fact Mansfield limited his work to 164 pages.
The book gives insights into the early life of Barack Obama such as the influence of his atheistic mother, the effect of growing up fatherless in the decades of the sixties and seventies, his early life in Indonesia and Hawaii, the ambivalence fostered by his being a person of mixed race and his search to find a racial identity. Obama’s college years, the time working for social improvement on Chicago’s South Side and his successful run for the Senate are also covered. All these forces are nicely laid out by the author and help us toward understanding Obama’s religious roots.
Chapters about Obama’s motivations for seeking faith at Trinity United Church of Christ, his relationship with Jeremiah Wright and Mansfield’s treatment of the implications of that relationship are quite informative. I was appreciative of the author’s examination of Black Liberation Theology, the theology that is preached so vehemently at the church where Obama was a member for 20 years. Readers should read well the chapter entitled “The Alters of State.” In it the author presents the reactions to and the implications of Obama’s 2006 speech at a Sojourners conference. This speech has been characterized as Obama’s “declaration of values for the rising Religious Left.”
Helpful in comprehending Obama’s spiritual grounding is a chapter on the public context of that faith. Mansfield accomplishes this in a unique way. The book was written during the primaries when Obama was one of many candidates with a story of faith. Mansfield provides us with a balanced presentation of the spiritual forces influencing Senator John McCain, Senator Hillary Clinton and President George Bush.
My criticism of The Faith of Barack Obama centers on two areas. It is a shortcoming of the book that Mansfield does not have a personal interview with Obama. While I understand the limitations that a candidate actively campaigning for the presidency would impose on the likelihood of such an interview ever taking place, it would have helped immensely in the goal of “understanding the religious life of Barack Obama.” For now we will have to settle for the interview at the Saddleback Civic Forum.
Secondly, I am very curious about the ideas making up Black Liberation Theology and found Mansfield’s presentation too brief and needing more detail. Yet, these deficiencies do not detract from the overall value of this book. Mr. Mansfield accomplished well his stated objective. Now, more than ever, people must be more informed about the crucial issues and the candidates. We must know what the Bible says regarding the crucial issues and how the candidates use their faith and use or misuse the Bible to promote their position on these issues. Stephen Mansfield has made a solid contribution with The Faith of Barack Obama and it is highly recommended for anyone seeking to better understand the faith of a man who may become our president.
Increasing in Him,
John
Topics: Culture War, Faith | 1 Comment »
February 11th, 2009 at 4:38 am
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