Why I am writing Two Christianities
A short note on the reason for the next book, what it is not, and the voice I am trying to keep steady while I write it.
People keep asking what the next book is about, so here is the honest answer. Two Christianities is my attempt to describe, plainly, what I see when I read the Bible and then look at a large part of American Christian public life. Not to score points. Not to name a villain. To describe a pattern.
What the book is not
It is not a political book, at least not in the way that phrase usually gets used. I am not endorsing a party, a candidate, or a movement. I am not naming specific politicians. I am writing as an onlooker, someone who reads what the Bible says and then describes what he sees a movement doing. If the description fits a person you had in mind, that is a conversation between you and the text, not between you and me.
It is also not a book that assumes the reader already agrees. I am writing for the person who is uneasy but has not been given words for the unease. For the person who loves their church and loves their Bible and cannot square either with the tone coming from a certain kind of pulpit or podcast.
What it is
It is a book about two versions of the faith standing in the same sanctuary and calling themselves by the same name. One of them centers on the sermon on the mount, the least of these, the enemy loved, the second cheek. The other centers on power, victory, dominance, and the fear of losing them. I want to hold those two side by side and let the reader see the distance.
The voice I am keeping
Steady. Not shrill. No em-dashes. No sarcasm sniper fire. When I quote scripture I want it to do the heavy lifting, not my adjectives. When I describe behavior I want the specifics to be undeniable, and I want the reader to be the one who reaches the conclusion. That is the assignment I have given myself, and it is harder than it sounds.
I will post occasional chapter notes here as the manuscript takes shape. Thanks for reading along.