The Politics of Heaven: America in Fearful Times

Very rarely do I come across a book that I'm genuinely interested in. Most books I read are stuff that I'm vaguely familiar with. Or interested in. Or have some experience with. I picked up this book on the synopsis on the back cover alone (and it was also a librarian's feature shelf pick). I thought the book was going to be about evangelicals and their politics shaped by an afterlife. And while it was a bit about that . . . it had more to do with a "theology of fear". I honestly found the book incredibly interesting. I learned stuff about people and history that I didn't know before. It was genuinely informative. The author, Earl Shorris, spends time banging on Wolfowitz, Cheney, and Bush. But he shows his true moderate, un-biased voice when he spends equal time critiquing the foundations that both Clintons have built their politics off of. As well as Jim Wallis and other evangelicals like Falwell and Dobson. His basic premise is that both Democrats and Republicans rely way too heavily on "fear", i.e. nuclear, after-life, hell, heaven, etc, as a political tool. And that ultimately, the majority of our politics lean way to heavily on "politics of the moment" as opposed to sound, intellectual discourse rooted in philosophy, spirituality, and economics. The argument being that we have far more to learn from Aristotle than we do from political advisors seeking to capitalize on the politics of the moment. It's a bit long. And the writing jumps around a bit. But for interesting history lessons and informative insights alone, it's worth a read.

The role of religion in politics is a subject whose time has come. Of the several books treating it that have come out this year, Earl Shorris' "The Politics of Heaven: America in Fearful Times" is the most comprehensive and rewarding. Even those who are most conscientious about doing their political homework will gain new insights from the meticulous research and trustworthy analysis of this beautifully written treatise. Mary Etta Moose