Review-The Faith of Barack Obama (Stephen Mansfield) Pt. 1
Disclosure: I received this book as a promotional gift from Thomas Nelson publishers to one of many bloggers in return for a review. Although this blog is my personal space, I do work for a non-profit association that is governed by a Board of Directors. Michael Hyatt, president of Thomas Nelson is the chairman of that board.
The Book
At just over 150 pages (inclusive of the introduction and a modest black & white photo section), this book was a quick read. For that, I give it a huge thumbs up! In fact, I am all in favor of more publishers following this format, we all know that there is simply too much filler in most books.
I went into this read, probably like many others, with some ideas about the presumptive Democratic nominee – about his politics, his character, his story – however, I hadn’t spent a great deal of time thinking about his faith. That may sound odd coming from someone who works in Christian publishing and has more than a passing interest in theology and biblical doctrine. I have my reasons for that which I will touch on in a subsequent post.
Since this was the case, I was unsure what to think about the title/topic of this work. I made an assumption that it was going to be agenda-driven, given the conservative nature of both the author and the publisher, with a position that would try to steer readers toward an understanding that Barack Obama is what the right-leaning media (Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, et al) have portrayed him as: a Hamas-loving, baby-killing, big-government, Liberal pretty-boy, who is all talk and no substance.
What I found instead was an objective look at the forces (relational, religious, educational and political) that have played the biggest parts in shaping Barack Obama’s personal belief system. I also enjoyed the look at the religious pedigrees and perspectives of the other key players in this year’s election cycle, Hillary, W. and McCain.
Overall, this was an informative and well-balanced read that helped me to understand that Barack Obama’s faith and theology play an important role in his politics.
What I did not expect, which I will post on later this week, is the amount of thinking this book has me doing about the idea that many Evangelicals have, that our President must be “one of us” in order to be an effective leader.
I am trying my hardest to determine to what extent I agree with this, and exactly what “one of us” means. Throughout this week, I will make some further observations that have come after reading this book, I hope you will check back in.
Tomorrow’s post: Barack and Me
