Review of Book on Obama's Faith Puts Author in Hot Water
Although his latest book on the faith of political leader has not yet hit the shelves, author Stephen Mansfield has already found himself bombarded by hate mail.
The Faith of Barack Obama, which will be available around August 5, adds to the several books Mansfield has already written on political men of faith, including George Bush and Tom Delay.
However, unlike many of those on the political and religious right, the former evangelical pastor who refers to himself as a "Christian writer" and "patriot" was not very critical of the pro-gay, pro-choice White House contender, according to a recent review.
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The book's "tone ranges from gently critical to gushing, and the author defends Obama – and even his controversial former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright – from conservative critics, and portrays him as a compelling figure for Christian voters," commented Ben Smith, a writer for Politico.com who interviewed Mansfield.
"He (Mansfield) approvingly quotes Obama's old rival Rep. Bobby Rush saying that Obama's Senate win was 'divinely ordained,'" he added in his June 16 article.
Mansfield, however, has defended himself against Smith's comments and pleads with conservative Christians to not draw conclusions from a single article on a single political blog.
He says he wrote The Faith of Barack Obama because "there are certain lives you have to understand in any age in order to understand the times."
"It is a largely objective look at how Obama came to his unique brand of faith, what he believes, what his experience at Trinity United Church of Christ was and how his faith shapes his politics," Mansfield wrote in his June 17 blog, titled "An Internet Mugging."
"Though I'm a political conservative and deeply pro-life, I wanted to tell the story in a straightforward, informative fashion," he continued. "I believe that Obama's story of faith captures the current religious trends in America just as George W. Bush's did five years ago when I wrote The Faith of George W. Bush."
Notably, Smith had stated in his review that Mansfield's book "raises some questions about Obama's own faith, including his willingness to see contradictions in the bible, his belief that religions other than Protestant Christianity provide other 'paths' to a 'higher power,' and his doubts about the afterlife."
"There are also passages in Mansfield's book that may give Obama's secular supporters pause," he added.
Despite whatever praises or criticisms are present in the book, however, Mansfield says "no one could read my book and conclude that it is pro-Obama any more than they can conclude it is anti-Obama."
"I guess in our hyper-partisan world, objectivity is an evil, but that is what I've attempted," he wrote in his blog. "Any evangelical who reads this book is going to be informed about Obama's faith and then be allowed to draw his or her own conclusions." "And, by the way," Mansfield added, "the book wasn't written for evangelicals. It was written for people who read."
Published by Thomas Nelson, the world's largest Christian publisher, The Faith of Barack Obama will be released to retail outlets – including Christian stores, Wal-Mart, and secular bookstores – some time around the first week of August.
Mansfield's first smash hit, "The Faith of George W. Bush," spent 15 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in 2004.
