My first exposure to Randall Balmer was several years ago, after I had made some posts on a discussion forum chronicling some attempts to reconcile my past as a fairly straightforward, conservative evangelical Christian with the various religious, political, and cultural views that I had begun subscribing to.  An online acquaintance recommended that I read Balmer’s Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory, a collection of essays written while Balmer was trying to make sense of his own evangelical upbringing after returning to the faith.

Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory is one of the finest “religious” books I own, one that I constantly return to, quote from, and recommend.  One of Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory‘s greatest strengths is its fair, respectful tone.  Even when he’s interviewing folks on the absolute fringes of Christianity, folks whose views are troubling to say the least, Balmer treats all of the subjects of his essays with remarkable respect and compassion.

“Compassionate”, however, is probably not a quality that I would ascribe to Balmer’s latest book, Thy Kingdom Come. Indeed, the book’s rather alarming subtitle—“How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America”—should be enough of an indicator that Balmer is taking off the gloves and striking up a much more defiant, incisive stance this time.

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