Evangelical Christians are perhaps the most polarizing—and least understood—people living in America today. In his new book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, journalist Tim Alberta, himself a practicing Christian and the son of an evangelical pastor, paints an expansive and profoundly troubling portrait of the American evangelical movement. Through the eyes of televangelists and small-town preachers, celebrity revivalists and everyday churchgoers, Alberta tells the story of a faith cheapened by ephemeral fear, a promise corrupted by partisan subterfuge, and a reputation stained by perpetual scandal.
If Alberta is no longer surprised by the jingoism that has become rampant in the evangelical community, he is not in the least reconciled to it. Indeed, he is agonized, and throughout this book he proves himself to be an admirably searching and probing narrator, as well as a valiantly conscientious Christian. He submits even his recently deceased father to moral scrutiny ... Alberta is not just a thorough and responsible reporter but a vibrant writer, capable of rendering a farcical scene in vivid hues.
