Description
Book SynopsisThrough a thoughtful interrogation of the effects of faith and religion on our lives, our relationships, and our country, God Land investigates whether our divides can ever be bridged and if America can ever come together.
Trade ReviewGod Land is a courageous narrative account of the religious and political divides that threaten to rip America down its middle.
* Foreword Reviews *
Lenz holds light to the hypocrisy she finds. And her overall conclusions — that so much of this boils down to white supremacy and white privilege — is not what I was expecting from this book, but so helpful to me. By no means is Lenz, a middle class white woman, the first to point out white supremacy in American Christianity. But I found the structure of her arguments incredibly compelling and straightforward, for me, also an upper middle class white woman.
* She Can't Stop Reading *
God Land is a gritty, insightful tour guide into some of the realities of the American Midwest. In this highly readable book, journalist Lyz Lenz provides her reader with a window into her own lived experiences as an Iowa transplant, a victim of sexist evangelical church cultures, a divorcee and a mother—a woman entangled with broader cultural histories of white Protestant America, nostalgia, and loss in the heartland. . . . Highly recommended.
-- Kristy Nabhan-Warren * Indiana Magazine of History *
This work will resonate with any readers interested in understanding American landscapes where white, evangelical Christianity dominates both politics and culture.
* Publishers Weekly *
[Lenz's] sharp, insightful prose and deep compassion help illuminate many facets of a complicated region and its ties to Christianity. And like the people she meets, Lenz can't quite give up her stubborn longing for a big-hearted faith and an even bigger God. The result is an incisive, sober-eyed yet hopeful look at a vital aspect of American culture.
* Shelf Awareness *
Table of Contents
- Dangerous Speculation
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- The Heart of the Heartland
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- Yearning for Better Days
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- The Pew and the Pulpit
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- The Church of the Air
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- Room at the Table
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- A Muscular Jesus
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- The Asian American Reformed Church of Bigelow, Minnesota
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- Bridging the Divide
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- A Den of Thieves
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- Satanists Potluck
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- Reclaiming Our Faith
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- The Fire Outside
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