Publishers Weekly

February 25, 2008

Grand Theft Jesus:

The Hijacking of Religion in America

Robert S. McElvaine

Crown, $23.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-307-39578-8

Full of wordplay, puns and parodies, this no-holds-barred satirical polemic eviscerates the religious right. Conservatives, McElvaine argues, “have committed... grand larceny on the grandest scale: they have kidnapped Jesus.” The religious right has adopted a “ChristianityLite,” claiming “salvation in return for nothing” except belief and espousing a message that directly contradicts what Jesus instructed in the Gospels. Using chapter titles like “Amazing Disgrace,” “The Greed Creed” and “Unintelligent Design,” McElvaine targets George W. Bush's presidency, the Iraq War, the prosperity gospel, biblical inerrancy and the politics of fear, division and hate. His section on sex and gender includes theories on the female origin of agriculture and male fear of women very loosely tied to his overall theme. As demonstrated by McElvaine's detailed research itself, many thoughtful critiques have already been written about the impact of the religious right at the beginning of the 21st century. While the author directs his ire primarily toward the movement's leaders, whom he calls “Jesus Thieves”—including Jerry Falwell, Ted Haggard, James Dobson and D. James Kennedy—he leaves unaddressed the tantalizing question of why the religious right's ideas have been so compelling to a significant portion of the American population. (Apr.)