Author’s Intent
The purpose of this work by Megan Basham is to document the flow of money and documented intent of many contrary to the faith who have undertaken efforts to coopt or at least demotivate Christians from being involved in discussions on certain political hot topics.
On matters ranging from the sexual revolution to climate alarmism, programs have been funded and curriculum created by those who do not hold to the historic faith in the trappings of that historic faith in an attempt to catch the believer unaware. Megan has recorded decades of such activity and names specific high-success instances of such programs.
What to Expect
While this is a decent sized book that gives specifics on things like financial donations, it is written as one might expect a journalist to write. It isn’t a textbook read of spreadsheets and mission statements. She writes to paint a picture.
The picture she paints is one of a church with influence that has become a concern to those who wish to have an agenda that is radically different. In an effort to undermine that Christian resistance, some have spent a great deal of focus and money on ensuring they have some influence of their own within the big names of Christian circles for decades.
You will get the names of specific teachers, denominations, and ministries who have partnered in these efforts as well as specifics on the manner of that relationship (whether financial or time investment based). It can be helpful to have some previous knowledge of the politics involved in the issues she discusses, as she does assume a bit of that in what she chooses to flesh out and what is left unspoken.
Topics Discussed
There are a number of agendas that get their own section of this book (though they are a bit more broken up than one topic per chapter).
She covers the influence of climate alarmism in the church (which she claims goes by the euphemism “creation care” in Christian circles). The influence of this lobby goes way back to around the WWJD movement time and even shares some ties with it.
It would probably be fair to say a majority of the topics could be summarized in the overall concept of the Christian normalization of sexual immorality and confusion. She covers everything from the Side A/Side B takes on homosexuality to the efforts to normalize gender dysphoria in children among their parents.
Objections
While reading the book, I found no serious cause for objection. However, as we are reminded:
The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.
Proverbs 18:17
Therefore, I will use this section to discuss what I discovered looking for the case against the book.
Not being on X, I missed a lot of the criticism against this book. However, Jon Harris dove into a lot of the objects that were presented there. It is troubling that her claim about which university one of her subjects attended was incorrect. Not sure why that mistake was made but things like that (though not a serious flaw in her argument) can still derail such conversations entirely so I wish she’d been more careful.
Having read a number of blog objections, they mostly end up sounding very similar to Gavin Ortlund or Phil Vischer’s objections mentioned in the video above. Namely, that she misrepresents their position on the grounds that they are more “nuanced” than she credits them.
Jon does a good job showing the sources of Megan’s claims and, in my opinion, completely destroying many of the objections. The problem is that most of these guys operate entirely within the world of “nuance”. That nuance is never intended to deepen understanding but always to obfuscate the topic further. Rather than seeking clarity, it is designed to destroy it.
For instance, if I say “abortion is wrong” I’m making a clear stand. If I instead say “abortion is wrong, but we need womb to tomb care not just care for the unborn” what am I really saying? I could be saying that it’s wrong and we should not allow it, but we should also look into more social programs. However, a majority of people making that claim (if you keep listening) are essentially saying that the murders can continue until they are happy with the level of entitlement programs being offered (and we are nowhere close and possibly never can be).
Yet it’s easy for me to point to the second statement as if it were the first! If you listen to the full context (say the whole sermon or video) in which such a statement is made, the point becomes more clear and troubling.
Ultimately, the very objections to the book themselves follow the pattern described in the book! Many of these people want to claim they believe all those things which the church has historically believed, yet they actively undermine taking those things seriously in favor of things found in our culture instead!
The best example is probably on the “creation care” topic. I read many objections which summarize the conversation with “the Bible clearly commands mankind to care for the Earth”. However, anyone familiar with the conversation of environmental care knows environmentalism and conservationism are two very different views of what it means to care for the planet.
Environmentalism is the believe that mankind ought to seek minimal impact on the environment. We should try to exist much the way any other non-invasive animal does at equilibrium with creation. Conservationism, on the other hand, is the belief that mankind is in a unique position as stewards of nature and ought to intervene and practice dominion over nature.
While one proclaims that what is wild ought to be free to be wild, the other says that nature ought to be well-ordered and that it is man’s unique responsibility. One is Biblical, the other is not.
Praise
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has discerned that there’s something strange going on with all the “nuance” and “winsomeness” involved in the church recently (and how it always seems to cut left).
The last chapter (which is more of a personal testimony and motivation for her having written the book) alone is worth the whole read. This work is heartfelt and has a firm finger on the issue of subversion present in the church.
I would especially recommend this book to those who believe that the best action for Christians is to withdraw from the broader society and just weather it out, because she has demonstrated ways in which the world has already (for longer than most of us have been alive) labored to ensure that even our Christian bubble be burst.
Not that I begrudge people who wish to go into preservation mode and try to outlast the attack but we need to recognize the patterns of manipulation being used against us if we are to recognize when the problem is within the wagons being circled.
