Review: The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield (TSS)
The Faith of Barack Obama
by Stephen Mansfield
It’s campaign season here in the US and the books about the men vying for the presidency are flooding bookstores. I think everyone who plans to vote come November owes it to their country to learn about the candidates and make an informed decision. But so many of the books on the market are laced with erroneous information that it’s hard to know what to pick!
The way I figure it, books by the candidates are the best way to go. You can get a real feel for their personality and their background: Barack Obama has Dreams From My Father and with the aid of Mark Salter, John McCain penned Faith of My Fathers. If you want books more about their politics there’s The Audacity of Hope and Worth the Fighting For. But there are scores of other books praising their virtues or demonizing them. I can’t hope to review all of them - and frankly, I don’t want to - but I did come across one earlier this month that I think is worth the time to investigate.
The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield appealed to me because as a Christian, my faith is part of my everyday life and influences every decision I make. It became very clear during the current administration just how the President’s faith can influence the office, so I now consider it quite vital to know what the next man’s faith, and how it affects his judgment. At less than two hundred pages, this book remains neutral, examining Obama’s relationship with God without endorsing or condemning him as a presidential candidate.
Mansfield begins by painting a portrait of Obama’s multi-religion childhood, when he lived with a Muslim stepfather and atheist mother and attended a Catholic school. Later, he lived with his grandparents who attended a Unitarian church. As he grew up his constant moving left him without a strong sense of community and his life lacked a driving, central force until he found both at Trinity United Church of Christ. Controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright is introduced and Mansfield explains his version of a “black” church and the mix of social commentary and revisionist Bible-reading that characterizes his ministry. Wright isn’t demonized; many times Mansfield emphasizes the pastor’s kindness and love of his flock. But he also stays true to the facts, and does a fair job of balancing the good and bad in Obama’s record with a minimum of spin. He also touches on how faith and religion have influenced the policies and careers of John McCain, Hilary Clinton, and George W. Bush.
Much of the research for the book is directly taken from Obama’s own books, speeches and interviews so if you’ve read Obama’s works this may, at times, seem repetitive. But regardless of which man you plan to vote for, you can only help your decision by reading this book.
If you’d like to buy this book, add it to your wishlist or read more about it, click here.
PS - Discussion question: Whaddya think of McCain’s Veep? That choice was rather unexpected. Pragmatic or pandering?