The following book review by Dr Jon DePriest (Chair of History at San Diego Christian College, California, USA) was originally published in the Evangelical Review of Society and Politics 1.2 (2007), 66-8.

Being Christian in an Almost Christian Nation: Thinking About Faith and Politics, by H. Stephen Shoemaker. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2006. 172pp. pb. $16.00. ISBN 978 0-687-33423-3
Reviewed by Jon DePriest

Since the tragedy of 9/11, there has been a heightened interest in the role “faith” plays in the course of human events. To answer these cries for understanding, voices from political scientists, historians, and preachers have straddled the blurry line of where faith intersects in the events of life. It is in this quandary of voices that H. Stephen Shoemaker, pastor of Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, lends his perspective. His view combines a neo-orthodox, Southern Baptist training with a fervent desire to bring healing to the politicized debate in America. Although Shoemaker’s book, Being Christian in an Almost Christian Nation, tends to be fractured as an individual work, the dialog presented in the various essays and sermons carve out usable space in the ignored center—a place of moderated wisdom.

The goal of this book is to generate a middle ground where both liberals and conservatives of faith can live in peace amid disagreement. The book is organized into two parts—essays and sermons, where the one unifying feature is that the chapters all deal with the place of faith in the post-9/11 public square. Because of the disjointed structure of the book, some chapters work better than others in advancing the purpose. Part One: Thinking About Faith and Politics, addresses the idea of American exceptionalism (called “chosenness” or messianism) and America’s role in the midst of the current crisis of violence, while incorporating adjacent chapters on the posture of Jesus toward violence and how a Christian should use His words to pray for healing. The best chapter in this section, “America’s Place in the World,” reaches deep into an academic analysis of the National Security Strategy written by the Bush administration in 2002. Here Shoemaker demonstrates the shift from the Cold War’s mutually assured destruction to a unilateral ability of the remaining superpower to dictate the level of destruction on other nations. Shoemaker argues for a peaceful application of this unique position as a “redeemer nation” to replace the current practice of determining the fate of nations around the world.

Part Two: Preaching about Faith and Politics presents a better chronological arrangement of sermons that Shoemaker preached between the news of going to war in Iraq in 2002 through the elections in 2004. Because these sermons follow the course of events of those years, each builds consistently on the previous. Here, the reader is rewarded by the inquisitive searching of a concerned cleric. Shoemaker exemplifies the kind of longing for truth in the midst of the unexplainable terror that the current crisis has borne. His search takes him to the Scriptures and to Jesus—his role model for pacifism. In “The Death of Jesus, which is Life to the World,” Shoemaker brings a stronger than usual conviction, which enhances the power of this vital argument. Noting the irony of how human “violence toward expendable victims in the hope that their banishment or death may be the saving of the whole,” (98) Shoemaker argues that God cares for “the one excluded, the outcast, the ‘other,’ the one who is different.” (99) Unfortunately, several sermons pose simple systematic answers to more than complex issues, including “How to Be Christian in an Election Year.” Overall, however, his aim to place a moderate stance in open dialog holds throughout the section.

For Shoemaker, like many theologians, the crux of the argument comes down to the role God plays in the affairs of man. In this book, God stands as the Supreme Judge who rewards the obedient and withholds His blessing on those who fail to give themselves to others. Shoemaker’s view of God’s role extends to the collective action of nations. Hence, Shoemaker is particularly grieved as the news became public of the abuses of Abu Ghraib prison. His personal account includes his admission that as an American, he was complicit in those grotesque actions. In this book’s philosophy, however, God’s perfect Providence checks the extent of human evil or even presumptive righteousness, both of which extend a religious fanaticism (maximalists) which divides humanity and therefore obscures God’s good intentions.

As with any person writing in today’s spectrum of politics, Shoemaker’s book is not free of bias. He stumbles into a short tirade against the Religious Right in chapter one concerning the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention, then amplifies his invective on this group in the chapter called “The Politics of Doomsday.” It is not that he is wrong in his overall criticism of those in the Religious Right, who confuse God’s plan with their own understanding, but that his model for building bridges for majoritarian dialog demands a willingness to withhold that sort of group criticism.

Shoemaker’s occasional simplicity emerges in solutions over semantics. His efforts to breach the discussion with changes in language generally fail to satisfy. For example, to call the United States a “servant nation” instead of “elect nation” or “chosen nation,” or his idea to push the categories back to the early twentieth century designations of traditional and progressive rather than the more inflammatory fundamentalist or liberal, will not bridge the current polarization that fractures America. In the postscript, Shoemaker advocates a reinterpreted form of a “city on a hill” that brings “healing” to the nations. Nevertheless, once one chooses that longtime designation for America, it inevitably leads to an interpretation of what kind of light should be spread. For many in the past, that light has been the red glare of missiles sending a message to the targets of evil. I would think it better to move on from such a heritage.

Overall, it is in Shoemaker’s tone that the strength of this book is found. His approach to these harrowing problems is one of searching for solutions (truth). He is soft-spoken and humble, finding key role models from the past in Lincoln, Reinhold Neibuhr, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Thomas Jefferson—all of whom advocated an informed religion in public discussion, but not the sort that becomes an ordained stance on how God would determine as the role of government. So while this book should not be considered an extensive research effort in history or political science, its inquisitive nature has much to offer to the Christ-follower as guidelines for scriptural and philosophical questions. When viewed in that light, the longer extended discussions that emerge around authors like Allan Guelzo, John Howard Yoder, and Reinhold Neibuhr do not need to be viewed as lacking integration, but as launching points for further discovery.

In the end, Christians can work toward a more sympathetic middle ground. In fact, this sort of healing is essential in our combative religious culture. As Shoemaker notes, “If our land is to be healed of its deep divisions, faith communities must lead the way, but not in the way that smooths over the differences that now divide. Instead, we must lead the way that listens deeply to our differences and calls us to a vision that transcends them.” (139) As a point of departure for this kind of healing, Being Christian in an Almost Christian Nation has its place.

Jon DePriest is Chair of History and Social Sciences at San Diego Christian College, California.