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Preparing for War

The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next

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Preparing for War

By: Bradley Onishi
Narrated by: Bradley Onishi
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About this listen

The insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, was not a blip or an aberration. It was the logical outcome of years of a White evangelical subculture's preparation for war. Religion scholar and former insider Bradley Onishi maps the origins of White Christian nationalism and traces its offshoots in Preparing for War.

Combining his own experiences in the youth groups and prayer meetings of the 1990s with an immersive look at the steady blending of White grievance politics with evangelicalism, Onishi crafts an engrossing account of the years-long campaign of White Christian nationalism that led to January 6. How did the rise of what Onishi calls the New Religious Right, between 1960 and 2015, give birth to violent White Christian nationalism during the Trump presidency and beyond? What propelled some of the most conservative religious communities in the country—communities of which Onishi was once a part—to ignite a cold civil war?

Through chapters on White supremacy and segregationist theologies, conspiracy theories, the Christian-school movement, purity culture, and the right-wing media ecosystem, Onishi pulls back the curtain on a subculture that birthed a movement and has taken a dangerous turn.

©2023 Bradley Onishi (P)2023 eChristian Americas Politics & Government Religious Studies United States War Social justice Socialism
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This book should be a wake up call to what has been happening in the US. The issues discussed here show a deliberate and methodical process of taking power and control by the few, They have developed an apparatus of justification by warping the tenets of Christianity to suit their aims. Many of these people have no idea how far astray they have been led in their drive for power by their ‘leaders’, or just don’t seem to care! Scary that it’s gotten this far. Thank you Brad for exposing this so fiercely.

Required Reading!!!

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The author does an excellent job in explaining the origins of contemporary white nationalism in the US, including explaining the ‘ecumenical’ link between ‘radical’ traditional Catholics and white evangelicals. An extraordinary indictment of how the Gospel has been interpreted by white nationalists committed to coercion and power.

An accurate assessment from a former adherent

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Unfortunately, this book is extremely short sighted, however I believe that was its intent.
The book seems to be written for the group of people who believe they have everything figured out and can confidently blame racism and colonialism for all the woes of the world.

There is some good research, and some of it is insightful, but goodness me...
Please, I implore you, if you are going to read about Christian Nationalism and want to truly understand it, this book is but a tiny drop in a much bigger, and far more complex ocean.
This must not be the totality of your reading on the issue.

A left leaning, long time atheist who does NOT want a second term of MAGA.

Frustrating pandering

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