{"id":917,"date":"2010-07-22T02:20:31","date_gmt":"2010-07-22T09:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharefaithblog.wpengine.com\/?p=917"},"modified":"2017-10-05T11:20:04","modified_gmt":"2017-10-05T18:20:04","slug":"book-review-forged-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sharefaith.com\/blog\/2010\/07\/book-review-forged-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Forged In Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Occasionally, we’d like to highlight a significant book that we’ve recently read. For our American users, here’s a book worth picking up, and here’s the review to go with it: For about a week, I had been working through Barack Obama\u2019s book, The Audacity of Hope <\/em>on audiobook. Six hours of Barack Obama. Imagine the difference between reading a book written by Barack Obama and then reading one written by an author from a staunchly conservative, faith-based perspective and worldview. For illustration, consider the difference in taste between a cherry popsicle and a pickle. Both are usually cold, smooth, and crunchy. The difference in taste, however, is significant.<\/p>\n

For the illustration, it doesn\u2019t matter whose book is the pickle and whose is the popsicle. The point is, reading Obama\u2019s book only served to highlight the distinctive nature of Rod Gragg\u2019s book, Forged in Faith: How Faith Shaped the Birth of a Nation<\/a>.<\/em> The distinctive feature of Founded in Faith <\/em>is its thesis. Rod Gragg\u2019s thesis is that America was built upon on the Christian faith, the essential elements of which were nearly unanimously espoused and defended by its founders. The author asserts and defends that behind each founding father and behind each political pen was the influence a faith-filled home or the affect of some notable religious figure.<\/p>\n

The measure of a book\u2019s success is found in how well the book proves its thesis. How does Gragg do? Not too bad. That is, as long as you understand what he means by \u201cforged in faith.\u201d Lest you think that each founding father was an ardent evangel, a bold proclaimer of biblical truth, and a staunch defender of orthodoxy, think again. After all, the Continental Congress had its fair share of skeptics, scoffers, and dissenters. It wasn\u2019t a Sunday School class at a Baptist Church. It was a political machine, plotting the nascency of the United States of America.<\/p>\n

Gragg\u2019s point is not to defend Ben Franklin\u2019s deism, or Thomas Jefferson\u2019s dubious higher criticism of the Bible. Rather, Gragg observes that the intellectual milieu of American history pre-1776, and therefore the presuppositional stance of the founders was predominately Judeo-Christian. To put it simpler, America was forged in faith\u2014pretty much. Gragg\u2019s story is a tapestry of epic battles, personal journeys, individual relationships, and poignant journal entries from early Americans. Along the way, even the skeptical reader can assent to Gragg\u2019s thesis, proven through quotation, narration, circumstantial evidence, and the occasional bit of authorial conjecture.<\/p>\n

Points of Commendation:<\/p>\n