Confession time – I’m not a big history buff. As critical as I know it is, it’s never really been my thing, but…when I came across this title by Elesha Coffman, I knew I had to get it in my hands and read it! And I’m so glad I did! Turning Points in American Church History takes around a dozen or so events in American history (earlier if we count the Spanish Armada, where she started) and gives us context and connects the events to the larger story of church in the U.S. This conversation took us to issues of racism, sexism, misogyny, and evolution. We do well to remember wherever we find ourselves, we didn’t get there out of thin air – everything has a context.
Mentioned in this episode:
Turning Points in American Church History: How Pivotal Events Shaped a Nation and a Faith by Elesha J. Coffman
Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion by Edward J. Larson
One Soul at a Time: The Story of Billy Graham by Grant Wacker
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Margaret Mead: A Twentieth-Century Faith by Elesha J. Coffman
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Ep. 204 with Kaitlyn Schiess
Ep. 215 with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
Ep. 221 with Robert P. Jones