In the World But Not of It: One Family's Militant Faith and the History of Fundamentalism in America by Brett Grainger

From the Publisher

A memorable new literary voice traces the story of American fundamentalism through the transcendent lens of his own family experience.

Brett Grainger's grandparents, members of the Plymouth Brethren, believed devoutly that Jesus would return and rapture them to Heaven; when he didn't, their lives collapsed. Grainger's father, having fled from his parents' extremism, underwent his own conversion in later life. Grainger himself journeyed away from faith, and yet, two decades later, found a different way back to the church, seeking a balance between extremes.

Using those family pathways as a catalyst, he offers a beautifully written, clear-eyed chronicle of fundamentalism in American history, revealing it to be far richer and more complex than the images the word evokes today. Grainger explores seven major themes, including the devotion to biblical literalism, an idea nourished by the writings of nineteenth-century preacher John Nelson Darby; the experience of sudden, personal transformation known as “getting saved”; and the paradox of creation science. Above all, he illuminates the unrelenting pursuit of purity that divides believers into separatists, who shun the sullied compromises of politics, and activists, who fight to bring society under the yoke of divine law—all in the name of being “in the world but not of it.” Writing with a passion and conviction born of personal experience, Brett Grainger brings new insight into American history, and invaluable understanding for anyone interested in our country's religious tradition.

C. Robert Nixon - Library Journal

This first book by former Sojourners editor and NPR producer Grainger reflects both his personal background and his graduate work at Harvard Divinity School. Throughout, he intersperses vivid and sometimes humorous accounts of growing up in a fundamentalist family with historical data and theological concepts. In the process, he discusses such elements of Christian fundamentalism as biblical literalism, conversion experiences, creationism, and social and moral issues, tracing their origins while examining current trends. Grainger makes clear that Fundamentalism is not static but is actually a highly adaptable movement that reevaluates itself and its approach in the light of each new challenge; he describes it as less a reactionary movement than "an alternate way to be modern." This is a thought-provoking examination of an often maligned part of American Christianity, showing its strengths as well as its weaknesses. Recommended for academic and public libraries.

Kirkus Reviews

A glimpse at fundamentalism in America. Former Sojourners editor and first-time author Grainger was raised in the Plymouth Brethren, a small but historically influential Christian denomination. He uses the backdrop of his experiences to color a useful discussion of Christian fundamentalism in the United States, exploring its social and theological roots. The author begins with an introduction to the movement, which took hold in the 19th century largely as a response to biblical higher criticism, which treats the Bible as a text written by humans in a particular time period and for specific motives. Fundamentalism's emphasis on the Second Coming of Christ is explored in depth, and mirrored in a story of Grainger's grandfather, who wrongly predicted that the end of the world would occur on September 11, 1988. Grainger then moves on to the central role of the Bible in American fundamentalism, and discusses the concept of being "saved," how fundamentalists view morality and the increase in interest among fundamentalists in Judaism and Israel. Unlike such separatists as the Amish, notes the author, most fundamentalists are content to work side by side with others and use the tools of modern culture to spread their message The author concludes that Christian fundamentalists "have built a world within a world, a microcosm of American society." His personal recollections of fundamentalist life give credence to that claim. Brief but insightful exploration of a people who may not see themselves as of this world, but who are certainly in it in increasing numbers.

Product Details

• ISBN: 0802715591
  
• ISBN-13: 9780802715593
• Format: Hardcover, 176pp
• Publisher: Walker & Company
• Pub. Date: March 2008
• Sales Rank: 327,676

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents