parables of a prodigal world

For ease of navigation, I'm providing the links to the entire review series of The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield in one post. Happy navigating. Grace and Peace, Raffi The Faith of Barack Obama: An Introduction to a Book Review Series The Faith of Barack Obama: A Review Series (Day 1) -- A Double Prologue The Faith of Barack Obama: A Review Series (Day 2) -- A Balanced Look at Trinity United? The Faith of Barack Obama: A Review Series (Day 3) -- A Public, Postmodern God? The Faith of Barack Obama: A Review Series (Day 4) -- Faces of Faith, Hope for Healing, and Lessons Learned

In this final installment of my review series, I wanted to briefly examine the final two chapters, "Four Faces of Faith" and "A Time to Heal," and then try to sum up what I learned from the book, about Barack Obama and about the difficulties of discussing topics like "faith." The penultimate chapter delves beyond the book's title and offers a brief caricature of the faiths of three of the other key players in the current political arena: John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and George W. Bush. McCain is portrayed as the poster child of the faith of a bygone era, a faith uncomfortable speaking of itself, a faith, molded by its unique locus in American history, that "came to understand religion as the power behind character, as the fuel of right behavior." Hillary's faith, according to Mansfield, is the product of a number of intersecting factors: Her Methodist upbringing, the influence of an ultra-liberal youth minister, and her infamous marital ...

Today we look at Chapters 3 ("Faith Fit for the Age") and 4 "The Altars of State") of The Faith of Barack Obama . This is also where I start to look back on some of my pre-reading opinions on some of the issues raised, which now appear, if I may be so bold as to say, prophetic. In Chapter 3, with another conscious effort to remain fair and objective, a la Chapter 2 , Mansfield answers the question, "What kind of Christian is Obama?" The answer is straightforward and indellibly etched: Obama is a "Postmodern Christian" and an adherent of the so-called "Social Gospel," with all the standard connotations those terms instills. The first is developed by examination of the man's own words and sentiments, from various sources. The second is implied by his 20-year affiliation with Trinity United Church in Chicago, although Mansfield leaves the reader with some wiggle-room by concluding with these words: "To be a member of a church is n...

I was going to discuss Chapters 2 and 3 of the book, respectively entitled "My House, Too" and "Faith Fit for the Age." It turns out, though, that I had way too much to say about Chapter 2. Chapter 3 will have to wait. Much has been made of Mansfield's even-handed, neutral, objective examination of Obama's faith in the book. Much has been made to emphasize that Mansfield is a Republican, holds a far more right-leaning theology than does Obama, but that he has nevertheless written a "balanced and neutral" examination of the candidate's faith. Mansfield himself touts this aspect of the book . I did not get that sense in Chapter 2, which is essentially an overview of Obama's home church, Trinity United Church of Christ , and its most famous (infamous?) clergyman, Rev. Jeremiah Wright . Not to say that it was overtly biased. It was just the opposite. Mansfield goes out of his way to balance and complement his lengthy discussion of Wright's ...

Today, I'll be discussing the Introduction and Chapter 1 of The Faith of Barack Obama . I titled this post "A Double Prologue" because the Introduction sets the stage for the book as a whole, and Chapter 1, entitled "To Walk Between Two World," serves as a preamble to the book's main theme. It is essentially a brief summary of Obama's life culminating in his decision, kneeling at the foot of the Cross, to submit himself to God's will and dedicate himself to discovering His truth. In the Introduction, Mansfield suggests that Obama's rise to prominence can best be explained by a convergence of three cultural/political phenomena over the last 1/2 decade or so: (1) the loss of the Religious Right's national leadership ( a la the death of Jerry Falwell, the Ted Haggard scandal, etc.), (2) the drift of "born again" voters to the Democratic Party, and (3) and the religiously-liberal tilt of young voters. That convergence set the stage for...

I was honored to be one of 100 200 bloggers to be sent a review copy of the newly-released The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield , and asked by the good folks over at Thomas Nelson Publishers to post a review here at Parables. A few scattered preliminaries before I get underway in earnest in what I anticipate to be a series, going a few chapters at a time over the next few posts. These are some initial thoughts before I dive into the book, and they may change after I read it, but I doubt it. First, this will not be a series on the faith of Barack Obama. I know very little about the faith of Barack Obama. This is a review of a book entitled "The Faith of Barack Obama." Let those who have ears hear. [More on that issue in a terrific post by Cathleen Falsani here ]. Second, although the folks at Nelson have expressly indicated that they don't expect a positive review, just a review, there are a couple of things I think I need to disclose, given this age of overc...