An American Gospel: On Family, History, and the Kingdom of God

Erik Reece's Devil is the dark Fundamentalist sin and guilt mania that drove his father to suicide. Reece's argument draws on the enlightening tradition the implies the divinity of each person, thereby repudiating the Puritan tradition that claims both biblical inerrancy and the fall from grace. His heroes are Thomas Jefferson, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, William James, and many other compatible figures in our poetic and intellectual tradition.

The author's grandfather was a fundamentalist Baptist preacher and a pillar of his rural Virginia community - and his life was all about denying himself pleasures in preparation for the next life. His father was also a Baptist minister - but he took his own life and Erik spent much of his childhood with his grandparents. His personal odyssey in spiritual contemplation began with his own studies that led to a journey to identify an "American gospel" in the literary world and within himself. Spirituality collection will find it a moving blend of religious observation and introspection.

An very insightful book on history, family, and religion. I very highly recommend it.

Erik Reece has a history of religion in his family; from his grandfather to father, living in Virginia, raised as a Baptist. Because of his upbringing, his view of religion was one of punishment, sin, and eternal damnation for those who don't repent. The book serves as a catalyst for a different view of his faith. Part memoir, part reflection on religion in America, part history, "An American Gospel: On Family, History, and the Kingdom of God" is a must read for Christians seeking new. Reece starts his book with the tragic suicide of his father, who ended his life due to a battle with bipolar disorder. The event is recounted is brief, but echoes through his life and through the pages of the book. Reece's main thesis presented is a desire to find the true essence of Christianity; he claims that religion has co-opted Jesus' story and transformed it into something that even he wouldn't recognize. Quoting Tolstoy, Whitman, and others, he journeys through an ulterior story of religion in America, one not often taught or mentioned. As an antidote to the fierce Puritanism that pervaded our early history, he writes about William Byrd's embracing of nature in America as a religious experience, as well as her native people whom he learned from and didn't fear. He writes beautiful about Whitman, and how he came to discover the poet (and specifically "Song of Myself" while summering at a Buddhist monastery. Another standout chapter is his romp through the much examined Alexander Hamilton/Thomas Jefferson feud and their competing visions for America, with an intriguing focus on "Jefferson's Bible", a tome that emphasizes Jesus' philosophy and morals over his miracles. Each chapter dwells and explains his ideas without directly attacking "the other side". His writing is light, personal, insightful and reflective; I simply fell in love with the book by page 20. I highly recommend this little book. Reece's background may have been tragic, but should he continue to write, and reflect like this, his future seems very bright, indeed.

This excellent book provides a needed antidote to the sometimes toxic elements of the religous right and other fundamentalist Christians who focus primarily on salvation in the next world rather than this one. The author, who became disenchanted with Christianity following the suicide of his Baptist preacher father (his grandfather was a preacher as well), provides a fascinating view into what he refers to as an "American Gospel". Using Thomas Jefferson's "modification" of the Bible, the writings of Walt Whitman (particularly his poem "Song of Myself" published in "Leaves of Grass"), and the newly-discovered (in 1945) Gospel of Thomas to illustrate his points, author Eric Reece provides a rationale for a more nuanced, complex view of Christianity. I first read this author in an essay that summarized some of this material in Harpers magazine, and was very much looking forward to this book, which I found to be interesting, well-written, and thoughtful. I recommend it highly.