The Sword of the Lord: The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family

by Andrew Himes, Parker Palmer (Introduction)

Overview

Christian fundamentalism in America emerged a century ago, the faith of generations of immigrants who had experienced war and revolution, removal and upheaval. The Scots-Irish who had settled the South inherited both an evangelical legacy of abolitionism and social reform on the one hand, and complicity in human slavery and racial oppression on the other. This book brings the story of fundamentalism to life through the generations of the Rice family--immigrants, soldiers, farmers, slaveowners, refugees, and preachers. This is a work of history, memoir, and personal testimony about the changing shape of a faith that seeks to transform the world.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940012887412
Publisher:	Chiara Press
Publication date:	05/15/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Andrew Himes, author of The Sword of the Lord: The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family (Chiara Press, May 2011), was born into one of the leading fundamentalist families of the 20th century. His grandfather was John R. Rice, dean of American fundamentalists for decades until his death in 1980, and mentor to many younger Baptist preachers including Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell, as well as founding editor of The Sword of the Lord newspaper. His great-grandfather, Will Rice, was a preacher, a Texas State senator, and a member of the Ku Klux Klan. By the time he was four, Himes had been saved; by the time he was 20, he’d turned his back on the career expected of the oldest son, grandson and great-grandson of Baptist preachers, becoming instead an activist in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 60s. Only later in life did he begin a spiritual journey to reconnect with and redefine his family’s spiritual heritage. Himes was co-founder of the international movement, “Poets Against the War,” in 2003 and producer of the acclaimed 2005 documentary, Voices in Wartime, an exploration of the trauma of war through the lens of poetry (www.voicesinwartime.org). He is also the founder and president of Voices (www.voiceseducation.org) a web site dedicated to amplifying the voices of veterans and civilian witnesses to war, in order to heal the wounds of war and lay the basis for a more peaceful world In April of 2011, he was selected as an Ambassador for the Charter for Compassion (www.charterforcompassion.org)

Editorial Reviews

What I take from this book is a compassion for the development of my family’s faith, a story that I’m still telling. Aren’t we all shedding the broken patterns that were passed to us and struggling to put on a sort of hope and faith that is not only free of hatred and injustice, but is also teeming with a longing to restore what those before us had a hand in breaking? What this book gave me was more than the story of where I come from, but a reminder of the calling we share.

Micha Boyette Hohorst

Andrew Himes’ book isn't just another social history of faith in America - it's vastly more than that. It's a personal story. It's a family history. It's cultural anthropology. It's the story of a movement and all the people associated therewith. It's the story of how external conditions shape belief, practice, love, intolerance and unspeakable violence. This superbly written book occupies a unique space in literary contributions to the history of faith and culture in America.

Bill Dahl

I love this book! It is beautifully written, thoroughly researched, and completely void of judgment or cynicism. I especially appreciate the way in which Himes shines a bright light on the history of the relationship between slavery, segregation and racism and the evolution of various stages and versions of Christian fundamentalism. His profound love and appreciation of his fundamentalist family, in the face of beliefs very different from his own, moved me to tears.

Susan Hutchinson

What Andrew Himes has done in the microcosm of his family is what we must do in the macrocosm of the world—if democracy is to thrive and the deepest religious impulse is to be honored: he has told the truth in love. He has told it in a way that maintains his own integrity while honoring the integrity of his family. “Here,” he says, “is what I have learned from my post-fundamentalist family: Honor truth. Love well. Live your faith.”

Parker J. Palmer