In popular evangelical literature; God is loving and friendly; described in heartfelt; often saccharine language that evokes nostalgia; comfortable domesticity; and familial love. This emotional style has been widely adopted by the writers most popular among American evangelicals; including such celebrity pastors as Max Lucado; Rick Warren; and Joel Osteen. Todd M. Brenneman provides groundbreaking insight into the phenomenon of evangelical sentimentality: an emotional appeal to readers' feelings about familial relationships; which can in turn be used as the basis for a relationship with God. Brenneman shows how evangelicals use tropes of God as father; human beings as children; and nostalgia for an imagined idyllic home life to provide alternate sources of social authority; intended to help evangelicals survive a culture that is philosophically at odds with conservative Christianity. Yet Brenneman also demonstrates that the sentimental focus on individual emotion and experience can undermine the evangelical agenda. Sentimentality is an effective means of achieving individual conversions; but it also promotes a narcissism that blinds evangelicals to larger social forces and impedes their ability to bring about the change they seek.Homespun Gospel offers a compelling perspective on an unexplored but vital aspect of American evangelical identity.
#558883 in Books imusti 2015-01-20Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 4.40 x .50 x 6.70l; .0 #File Name: 0199946957152 pagesOxford University Press USA
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy DTWell written; quick delivery.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A short book; a quick read and one that may get you thinking about just what it means to "explore."By lyndonbrechtThis short book is one of a quite extensive series (I've read several; they really are well-done; sometimes rather advanced for what is supposed to be a general introduction). It's a fairly quick read; but still manages to be rather meaty. The core of the book is Weaver discussing exploration of various kinds; including voyages seeking new lands (such as the amazing Pacific islander voyages); for potential advantage (as English seafarers seeking a Northwest passage); to conduct experiments (as in the famous Transit of Venus programs); and more.Weaver attempts to differentiate between exploration and discovery. I don't think he does so particularly well; it seems to me that discovery is what the explorer may wind up with. Weaver looks at another aspect of exploration: in recent decades many historians have indicted explorers and scientific ventures such as Cook's Pacific voyages (to map; explore and such) as part and parcel of European colonialism; some historians seeing the Reformation and the scientific revolution as so much imperialist claptrap (really!!). Weaver considers these charges and partly agrees with them. and partly sees curiosity as a human trait. There's also the point that the European discoverers discovered places that had long since been discovered--Hawai'i had been discovered by Polynesians a thousand years or so before Cook. Weaver's take on this is that yes that's true; but the era of exploration had important long-term consequences (some explorations did not; such as the Vikings in Greenland). The European discovery of America did in fact bring previously separated worlds together; with immense consequences.Among other things the book discusses are voyages by Vikings and Polynesians (he should really have used Pacific Islander; given the fact that the Polynesians were not the only group); Alexander von Humboldt; the Chinese admiral Zheng He (not really an explorer; Weaver says); and the Muslim travelers al-Masudi (10th century) and most remarkable; ibn Batuta.
