A Jew among the Evangelicals: A Guide for the Perplexed - Softcover

Pinsky, Mark I.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0664230121 ISBN 13: 9780664230128

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006

Synopsis

In this insightful and accessible book, religion journalist Mark Pinsky takes the curious reader on a tour of the fascinating world of Sun Belt evangelicalism. Pinsky, religion reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, uses his unique position as a Jew covering evangelical Christianity to help nonevangelicals understand the hopes, fears, and motivations of this growing subculture and breaks down some of the stereotypes of evangelicalism.

About this title

About the Author

Mark I. Pinsky is the author of The Gospel according to The Simpsons (with Samuel Parvin), The Gospel according to Disney, and A Jew among the Evangelicals. His writing has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and the Columbia Journalism Review. He appears frequently in national media discussing religion and culture.

Reviews

Starred Review. What's a nice Jewish boy doing at a Baptist church on Sunday? This is not the first line of a joke, but the raison d'être of Pinsky's account of American evangelicalism. Pinsky (The Gospel According to the Simpsons) is a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, and his beat—religion in the Sunbelt—draws him into close contact with evangelical Christians. Here, he examines evangelical pop culture and asks hard questions about evangelicalism's attitudes toward Judaism. But it is Pinsky's treatment of evangelicals in politics that distinguishes his book from countless other journalistic forays into the land of megachurches and Veggie Tales. Pinsky shows that evangelicalism is much more politically diverse than is often acknowledged. To illustrate, Pinsky takes readers to Calvin College, where a furor erupted when President Bush was invited to speak at graduation; many of the faculty and students at this decidedly evangelical school were appalled, and some boycotted commencement rather than give tacit approval of a president they disdained. Pinsky charts a growing evangelical environmental movement and shows that though many people who believe in a literal six-day Creation are evangelicals, many evangelicals do not hold to creationism. Kudos to Pinsky for offering nuanced reporting instead of stereotypes. (Aug.)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0664230121
• ISBN 13: 9780664230128
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 168