The Family – The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power
The Family The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power
They insist they are just a group of friends, yet they funnel millions of dollars through tax-free corporations. They claim to disdain politics, but congressmen of both parties describe them as the most influential religious organization in Washington. They say they are not Christians, but simply believers.
Behind the scenes at every National Prayer Breakfast since 1953 has been the Family, an elite network dedicated to a religion of power for the powerful. Their goal is "Jesus plus nothing." Their method is backroom diplomacy. The Family is the startling story of how their faith—part free-market fundamentalism, part imperial ambition—has come to be interwoven with the affairs of nations around the world.
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars Fodder for Sheep
Sharlett is but another writer who tries to rewrite American history to fit his own proclivities. The author would have the reader believe that Christian groups have conspired to direct the course of America's history. What he refuses to accept is that the character and morality of 16th and 17th century colonists differ greatly from the author's own culture. Our ancestors lived by a different faith than we ascribe to today. Our Founders could no more separate their faith from their vision for our nation than they could breath without the use of their lungs.
What the author does accomplish is that he perceives historical events and interprets historical documents from a different perspective than, say, someone who was taught the unrevised history of the United States. By identifying Christians as 'fundamentalists', the author recognizes that there are Americans who consider themselves Christian but who's behavior is consistent with the majority of non-Christians. Yet, there is a marked difference between Christians who can separate their faith from their roles in society and those Christians who filter the world through the eyes of the Creator. "Fundamentalists" simply means someone who believes what they say they believe. Non-fundies simply don't know what they believe and so they base their actions and decisions on what the majority of their friends and neighbors do.
Where the author views Christianity's involvment in America's history as something akin to cultish interference, the proof of the wisdom of our Founders can be determined by looking at how unique America is to the rest of the world precisely because of that influence. There's a reason why you don't see America's President ordering the ethnic slaughter of our own citizens like you've seen in Iraq. There's a reason why you don't see entire villages wiped out by earthquakes like you do in China. There's a reason that you don't see thousands of starving people lined up at food distribution points fighting one another to get enough to keep them alive. There's a reason you don't see mother's holding dying babies in their arms while other starving kids run around naked and with bloating stomachs like you do in parts of Africa. There's a reason we can hold peaceful elections without fear of reprisals in this country. The reason that America is unique is that the Founders' vision for a free and prosperous nation was based on their faith in a Creator rather than the wiles of man, and in the republican form of government instead of a democratic socialist one. America's prosperity and liberties are envied by every other nation on earth – to the point of jealousy and hatred for what we've accomplished and what they've failed to do in their own nations. Despite our Secretary of State and the clueless who admire her, America does not need to apologize for our success, our position as the world super power, for our liberties or our contributions to the world – which far outweigh the problems we do have.
America is not perfect; it almost was, back when our Founders studied other great civilizations and what made them rise and what caused them to fail. If we have anything to apologize for, it's the willingness of people free to worship the Creator who take what they've been given by Him for granted, and who would surrender our blessings so that we can be like the rest of the world. Those who think that Sharlett has revealed some to evangelize the world are part of the conspiracy to deny the truth. By accepting 'facts' as truth, you've fallen victim to revisionist history at best, and bear responsibility for our decline from being the greatest civilization on earth.
5 Stars Scary Stuff!
This is the scariest book I have ever read. While the "religious right" makes news, this group of fascists has been quietly working behind the scenes influencing the governments of the world, including our own. These people are anti-democratic. They want a theocracy run by the elites of money and power. They want laissez-faire capitalism which has already wrecked the economy of the world with it's "supply-side economics." The utopia envisioned by The Family would be like one of the dictatorships in Latin America where the workers live a subsistance sort of existance with no unions and no security while a minority of super-rich "Christians" pulls the strings from above. These people naturally gravitate towards tyrants and were even friendly with the Nazis and helped many of the defeated "former" Nazis avoid the consequences of their actions. They are the exact opposite of what the country stands for and yet they are respectable and get in where they can do the most harm.
5 Stars Theology of Power.
Sharlet's superbly written and deeply researched book exposes the merging of power and theology at the heart of The Family, the most powerful, secretive lobbying group in Washington. Their faith is not of compassion for the poor and equality for all but of elitism and power that excuses ethical collapse for the sake of influence and political gain. Shockingly, The Family has worked its way into the military and both political parties and weilds its power in ways that only Sharlet has investigated. I highly recommend the book, not only because it brings to light extraordinary truths about how our government works but also because it demands that we examine our culture at large and how religion in the US is used as a tool by the powerful. Its a book that will change the way you interrogate your own faith.
3 Stars The Family
The narrative was a little more complex than I like with sometimes not very clear explanations. I read most of it but the story could have been told in half the time and space.
5 Stars The Family
Jeff Sharlet is somewhat hard reading – however, it is MOST informative and worth the effort. This is a very scary
exposee of the far right determination to rule the country, and deceive the general population. It is sad to include
some of my favorite people, who I never would have thought to fall for this political inclination. We must be aware
of the real threat they pose and take these facts to the voting booth. My wife and I are alumni of Wheaton and of the old fundamentalist theology, but have long since emerged from that dogma to accept a loving, forgiving God who
is father to us all. It is must reading for all who attend evangelical churches and accept what they hear from the
pulpit.
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- Revive Us Again – The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism
- Wild at Heart – Discovering the Secret of a Mans Soul
- Wild at Heart Discovering the Secret of a Mans Soul
- The Religious History of America The Heart of the American Story from Colonial Times to Today
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