Goldberg, a secular Jew, provides a hard-nosed look at the agendas and power of ultra-conservative Christian organizations in the United States. Goldberg calls this trend “Christian Nationalism,” after the openly-stated goal of many fundamentalist leaders to “take back America.” From, of course, the gays, the morally decadent (such as distributors of birth control), the Darwin-lovers, and the unpatriotic atheists who believe in separation of church and state.

Goldberg comes on strong and occasionally a bit sarcastic—for example, she bemoans the way Intelligent Design proponents have flaunted academic degrees to present their theories as “something more respectable than creationism in drag”—but her anti-fundamentalist rhetoric may not be overstated at all. Her research exposes the very real underground motives of the religious right, who feel bound by their beliefs to combat a spiritually bankrupt nation. There’s no greater motivation than the conviction that one is following God’s explicit orders.

“Dominion theologians” nationwide take Genesis 1:26-28 (where God tells Adam to assume dominion of the world) as scriptural direction for Christians to assume control by divine right. The Christian duty is to seize it. Evangelists with crazed followings preach that the separation between religion and politics is “what Satan likes most,” and call for a regime that will clean up the “dung-eating dogs” (gays). Jews better repent, too, since the holocaust God planned didn’t seem to get through to them. But more dangerous than these extremists are the everyday right-wingers who are raised to carefully infiltrate government and the Judicial bench for the good of Christ, so that that our nation can be set right … so that we can quit handing out condoms, quit treating gays like they’re equals, quit pretending evolution is more scientific than creationism. Under President Bush’s lead, government grant money by the millions poured into these agendas. The back cover promises a “witty, funny” read, but I couldn’t laugh. Religion-gone-bad is jaw-droppingly frightening, and this is a hard book to put down.

Goldberg calls for action. She explains that “the anxieties that underlay Christian nationalism’s appeal—fears about social breakdown, marital instability, and cultural decline—are real. They should be acknowledged and, whenever possible, addressed. But as long as the movement aims at the destruction of secular society and the political enforcement of its theology, it has to be battled, not comforted and appeased.” ( )

The author spent a great deal of time researching the growing, but secretive, Christian reconstructionist movement that seeks to implement God's Law, as defined in Leviticus, in the United States. A frightening narrative, particulrly when she describes the levels of power to which some of the members of this movement have risen. A must read for anyone who is complacent about the First Amendment and our right to freedom of (and from) religion. ( )

Michelle Goldberg does a good job documenting the major outlines of the Christian Nationalist (Reconstructist/Dominion Theology) movement in late 20th Century USA - our own "Texas Taliban" of fundamentalists. Touches on everything from Rushdoony to the Dover Area School District Intelligent Design case.

She's pretty professionally dispassionate in the face of a scary totalitarian worldview that

a) Is clear in its desire to destroy American pluralism and democracy

b) Doesn't let facts, science or reason get in the way of its ideology - in fact is deliberately anti-intellectual and insular

c) Has a pathological, paranoid persecution complex

d) Is naked in its ravenous desire for political power.

I got the sense that the people Goldberg interviewed would be eager to toss homosexuals and other "adulterers" into concentration camps and worse.

Definitely recommended; one of the first books in what has become a series to touch this subject, such as Kevin Phillips' American Theocracy and Max Blumenthal's Republican Gomorrah. ( )

You may have noticed this is you live in the United States, but what is arguably the most mythomaniac country on Earth has been enduring a seismic shift in the way it understands itself for the last decade or so. One of the great new ideas is that the wall of separation between church and state is just too high. "Kingdom Coming" is a fascinating exploration of the folks who want to lower or eliminate that wall, and how their carefully couched, reasonable words mask some fairly alarming beliefs. ( )

Scary stuff, and almost unbelievable, but it's all documented in black and white. Goldberg does an excellent job showing how this tiny radical minority has already wielded enormous influence in the Republican Party and the Bush administration. It's like a paranoid fascist nation within the nation, impervious to facts and reason. Yikes. Goldberg ends by arguing that there is no compromise or negotiating with these folks. They need to be defeated, plain and simple. Amen to that. ( )