"By his own admission, Wakefield, a journalist, novelist, screenwriter and Protestant who comes from several generations of Baptist ministers, was 'one of the great slumber party of mainline American Protestant 'liberals'... whose response to the outrages of those who stole our identity as Christians was the cheap and comfortable scorn and smugger-than-thou ridicule of the disengaged.' This patchwork of interviews on topics ranging from megachurches to the 'wedge issues' of abortion and homosexuality, stitched together with rather snide commentary, does little to convince us that his thinking has evolved. Despite decrying the religious right's use of military terminology to establish its position, Wakefield posits that in crafting a meaningful response to the 'Christian jihad,' liberal Christians must similarly procure 'ammunition, troops and a battle plan, a strategy.' Disappointingly absent of journalistic distance, this diatribe fails to provide constructive suggestions for change. Any hopes for a refreshing ecumenical Christian defense of the true ideals of Jesus — the Jesus of the Gospel who 'had no possessions, ministered to the poor and the sick, befriended societies outcasts, [and] blessed 'the peacemakers'...' — have been bitterly suppressed by a derisive, condescending tone." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Raising the alarm that Christianity in America has become almost synonymous with right-wing fanaticism and conservative politics, Wakefield asks how and why the Christian faith has been so effectively appropriated by the Bush administration.

Christianity in America has become synonymous with right-wing fanaticism, conservative politics, and--thanks to Mel Gibson--a brutally sadistic version of the religious experience. Millions of devout Christians, like Dan Wakefield, are appalled by this distortion of a faith that stands for peace, equality, healing, and compassion for society's outcasts. In