Maurice Martin

I wish I could make this book required reading for all high school students. It was nice to read a book based on real life experiences. This book is made for academic reading.
Are you an “American Christian” or a “Christian American”? The writer, Maurice Martin, posits that Christian ethics have been damaged by American evangelicals.
American Christian followers hear the evangelicals say, “American first” instead of “Jesus First” (for those Evangelicals who support Trump’s agenda). American Christians combine the American dream with the gospel. Maurice Martin reasons this loyalty is a blending of a faith in God with the allegiance to a vision of America expressed through conservative American politics and principles. Maurice claims Donald Trump became president of the United States with the support from evangelicals and that these evangelicals continue to promote and defend him. Evangelicals’ support Trump’s untruthfulness by becoming silent or supports Trump’s untruthfulness as “alternative facts”. On the other hand, Evangelicals claim that they never intended for Trump to be the face of Christianity.
For a Christian American, the values of the Kingdom of God take priority over the values of the American dream.
According to Maurice, Christian ethics must address the Sermon on the Mount. Beliefs are about what is right or wrong, or about one’s character that is shaped by beliefs.
The demise of Christian ethics involves what Christians “hold to be true” and “how” Christians hold what they believe to be true.
Maurice claims that undamaged personal ethics consists of Evangelicals who honor Jesus’ The Sermon on the Mount, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Golden Rule.
To paraphrase Maurice, he asks how do we know what is true? How should we be governed? Is it that truth must correspond with facts (scientific approach)? Should we be pragmatic, use the common sense or experience approach? Or something is true if it is already deemed true? What if facts don’t fit into what the Bible says? Then can it still be true? An example given is Galileo stating the sun is at the center of the universe.
Maurice further discusses Evangelicals claim to believe Jesus is the personification of the truth yet insist that their followers can trust a leader who is consistently untruthful. These evangelicals are absent when people speak out against Trump’s untruthfulness.

Evangelicals are responsible for the Christian face presented to the world. Billy Graham was the face of American evangelicalism. Many see Trump’s face now that there is a blending of Christianity with politics and principles.

In conclusion he discusses empathy and reiterates rereading the Sermon on the Mount.

Many are troubled by the role the evangelical church is playing in American public life today. Maurice Martin, ethics professor, evangelical pastor, Air Force and commercial pilot and international relief and development executive, addresses reasons and remedies in a sweeping treatment of one of the most important challenges facing both the church and America in today’s world.

I found this book to be very insightful in how Evangelicals influence politics, and how politics influence Evangelicals. Maurice Martin was very thoughtful in how he broke down the definitions to understandable language. His writing style was easy for me to follow. I highly recommend this book.… (mehr)