The Violent Take It by Force
The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy
by Matthew D. Taylor
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Pub Date Oct 01 2024 | Archive Date Oct 31 2024
1517 Media | Broadleaf Books
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Description
"Required reading for anyone seeking to understand Christian nationalism." —Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne
A propulsive account of the network of charismatic Christians that consolidated support for Donald Trump and is reshaping religion and politics in the US.
Over the last decade, the Religious Right has evolved. Some of the more extreme beliefs of American evangelicalism have begun to take hold in the mainstream. Scholar Matthew D. Taylor pulls back the curtain on a little-known movement of evangelical Christians who see themselves waging spiritual battles on a massive scale. Known as the New Apostolic Reformation, this network of leaders and believers emerged only three decades ago but now yields colossal influence, galvanizing support for Trump and far-right leaders around the world. In this groundbreaking account, Taylor explores the New Apostolic Reformation from its inception in the work of a Fuller Seminary professor, to its immense networks of apostles and prophets, to its role in the January 6 riot. Charismatic faith provided righteous fuel to the fire that day, where symbols of spiritual warfare blazed: rioters blew shofars, worship music blared, and people knelt in prayer. This vision of charismatic Christianity now animates millions, lured by Spirit-filled revival and visions of Christian supremacy.
Taylor's unprecedented access to the movement's leaders, archives, internal conference calls, and correspondence gives us an insider account of the connection between charismatic evangelicalism and hard-right rhetoric. Taylor delves into prophetic memes like the Seven Mountains Mandate, the Appeal to Heaven flag, and the Cyrus Anointing; Trump's spiritual advisor Paula White's call for "angelic reinforcements"; and Sean Feucht and Bethel Music's titanic command of worship styles across America. Throughout, Taylor maps a movement of magnetic leaders and their uncompromising beliefs--and where it might be headed next. When people long to conquer a nation for God, democracy can be brought to the brink.
A Note From the Publisher
- Explores the crucial role the New Apostolic Reformation played in galvanizing support for Donald Trump, and its participation in the January 6 riot
- Provides an insider's account with author's unprecedented access to leaders, archives, and transcripts from the movement itself
- Written by a scholar of religion and expert in the field of charismatic Christianity and evangelicalism
- Offers prescient analysis of how religion is influencing politics during a contentious election season
Advance Praise
“With its meticulous research, lively writing, and exceptionally nuanced analysis, The Violent Take It by Force pulls back the curtain on the radical religious movement once occupying the fringes of American Christianity but now situated within reach of the centers of American power. This book should be required reading for anyone seeking to understand Christian nationalism and the threat it poses to American democracy.”
—Kristin Kobes Du Mez, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus and John Wayne
“A meticulously researched, cogently explained translation of the often-unintelligible language of the far-right Christian nationalist movement, including the shadowy networks of apostles and prophets that use strategic spiritual warfare, ancient symbols, and unique theologies to support an agenda of authoritarianism and global Christian supremacy. Whether you are a policy maker, a student of religion, or a citizen who simply values separation of church and state, you will find The Violent Take It by Force illuminating, authoritative, and compelling.”
—Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA), co-chair, Congressional Freethought Caucus
“Fascinating and revelatory . . . Taylor’s sensitively reported exploration is a vital contribution to our understanding of the crisis facing democracy.”
—Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers
“A harrowing tour of the once-fringe charismatic forces that have coopted and upended the contemporary Christian Right political movement, infusing it with an anti-democratic theology of spiritual warfare that is increasingly spilling over into political violence.”
—Robert P. Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: And the Path to a Shared American Future
“An essential guide to the radical charismatic Christian movement that catapulted from the fringes of evangelicalism to the center of Republican politics in the Trump era.”
—Sarah Posner, author of Unholy
“Every once in a while a book comes along that changes not only its field, but how many of us understand the past and future of the United States. This is one of those books.”
—Bradley Onishi, author of Preparing for War and host of the Straight White American Jesus podcast
“If you think you’ve already read everything you need to understand American Christian nationalism, think again. The movement is more diverse than many realize. And nobody knows its charismatic and violent elements better than Matthew D. Taylor.”
—Samuel L. Perry, author of Taking America Back for God and The Flag and the Cross
“This astounding book is the inside story of the theology that both undergirded and inspired the January 6 insurrection and has continued to grow into the greatest religious threat to democracy this election year. Matthew Taylor’s brilliant work here is a great place to start in our understanding of how bad religion must be replaced by true faith.”
—Jim Wallis, director of the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University and author of The False White Gospel
“Thoroughly researched and highly accessible, The Violent Take It by Force is essential reading for anyone who wants to learn about the religious ideology and key figures that helped foment January 6, and how Christian supremacy is set to continue to shape the United States.”
—Elle Hardy, author of Beyond Belief
“An essential book for understanding the role of religion in twenty-first-century American politics. A thorough study and a thoroughly unnerving warning, The Violent Take It by Force should be required reading for anyone concerned about the future of our democracy.”
—Peter Manseau, author of One Nation, Under Gods
“Matthew Taylor shines a bright light on a dark corner of American Christianity, depicting its role in the ascendency of Donald Trump, the January 6 insurrection, and the ‘holy violence’ it is bringing to our political life. In brisk, engaging prose, he portrays the leaders and the followers of a movement that threatens to replace rational public discourse with strident demonology, endangering the future of our democracy.”
—Anne Nelson, author of Shadow Network
“The New Apostolic Reformation is filled with characters, and in The Violent Take It by Force, Matthew D. Taylor brings major figures of the movement—their spirituality, their political ambition, and their proximity to the January 6 insurrection—to life. Taylor’s work illuminates the NAR’s aim to shape religion and politics in the 2024 election cycle and beyond.”
—Leah Payne, author of God Gave Rock and Roll to You
“Matthew D. Taylor’s work is a gift. He has given us an empathetic, fair-minded, highly intelligent, and eminently readable story that explains one of the most important religious movements in modern America. Most people don’t even know what the New Apostolic Reformation is, much less that it has been a driving force of Christian Trumpism. The Violent Take It by Force will change that.”
—Jon Ward, author of Testimony and Camelot’s End
Marketing Plan
- National and online publicity campaign targeting mainstream and news media, political media, and Christian media
- Trade advertising
- Social media and digital campaign targeting nonfiction readers interested in religion and politics, social science/history, and those concerned about Christian nationalism
- Podcast tour
- Events and panels based on author connections
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9781506497785 |
PRICE | $32.99 (USD) |
PAGES | 292 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
During my middle school and high school years in the 1990s I went to an independent charismatic church that had reformed theology. I never attended a Sovereign Grace church but they have always sounded very similar, just for context. The gifts of the Spirit such as speaking in tongues, being “slain in the spirit,” holy laughter, and prophecy were on display. I remember when a prophet came to our youth group to prophesy over us. I also remember when people from the church visited the Toronto Blessing and “brought it back” to us. I remember when the pastor was praying for me and pushing on my forehead so I would fall down in the Spirit but I remained standing until he lost interest.
The pastor there claimed an “apostolic spirit” which means, essentially, that he had the same gifts as the Apostle Paul. (And you wonder why I have such beef with Paul.) I was told many years later that one of my guy friends in youth group was told a lot that he might also have that apostolic spirit, that it was kind of dangled in front of him as the pastors mentored him. This was obviously not something the girls were told.
There was a lot of language about spiritual warfare - resisting spirits of adultery and homosexuality. We were tearing down strongholds and enlarging God’s territory.
It is difficult to explain if you haven’t experienced it. And it’s not like I can just pull up evidence from the church website to prove my experiences - besides the fact that there was no internet, the church has definitely shinied up its image and all the leadership from those days now call themselves “mentors, authors, and church planters.” But I remember when they called themselves apostles.
In this book, Matthew Taylor talks about what happened in that movement after I found my way out of it in the late 1990s, who some of the leadership are, and how their spiritual warfare language and alignment with the GOP led to both the support of Donald Trump and DIRECTLY (while working with Trump) led to the events of January 6th. He calls them not Christian nationalists but Christian supremacists and that feels right to me. They want Christianity to rule everything. And they believe they are right to do so.
It isn’t an easy read because explaining a religious movement like this takes a lot of backstory but Taylor does a good job highlighting the main characters (most of whom you have never heard of and yet their videos get millions of views) and then showing how their actions fueled the rage we saw that day. It takes a lot of work to explain the coded language of a spiritual movement like this and Taylor does that work for us in this book.
Late in the book he does a particularly good job explaining the “An Appeal to Heaven” flag that Samuel Alito and his wife flew over their house. Yes, it is a flag flown during the American Revolution but there is a reason it was seen so much on January 6th and those reasons have nothing to do with the American Revolution. It has to do with a vision of the world where these churches are begging God for control of the world. I knew it was dangerous but after reading this book I am truly alarmed by Alito’s continued presence on the Court and his apparent alignment with the people in this book.
I’m very glad I read this - it helped me put some of my own religious history in a broader context. I know I have many friends who are scholars of American religious history who would also appreciate this important addition to a dangerous and broadly overlooked/misunderstood group that continues to believe that they must do whatever they have to do, including violence, to rule America.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy. Out in September.
The Violent Take It By Force is an essential read for those unfamiliar with the cultural changing of the guard that's occured within Evangelical Christianity. Matthew Taylor provides an excellent overview of the key players and events surrounding a growing, extreme sector of Christianity with global influence. I appreciated that this was not a rehash of widely-publicized information or polemic in its presentation. I'm not generally a fan of "calls to action" in books that are written in a journalistic style, as they don't trust the reader to make sense of the content. But it's a small complaint for what will be among the best books you read on the subject of this emergent independent charismatic movement in Evangelicalism.
The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian Movement That is Threatening Our Democracy
by: Matthew D. Taylor
due: 9-24-24
Broadleaf Press
5.0
"Democracy is jeopardized by people so locked into the narratives of their righteousness, their own certainty that they know what God wants, that they march past the deadly conflagration they helped to instigate and never pause to consider the consequences."
Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand Christian Nationalis and how the Capitol 6 riots were propelled by potent theological ideas. This is an eye-opening and revelatory deep dive, and its scarey AF.
Insider account of the connection between chrismatic evangelicalism and denominational faith, and the origins of the Seven Mountain Mandate, the Appeal to Heaven flag and the NAR. Donald Trump watched christian televangelism relentlessly, to copy their chrismatic skills, their ability to sway and hold an audience, and make them believe his words were "truth". We learn about Paula White and Cindy Jacobs and their influence on Trump. The comparison of The Call ( a 1990's religious chrismatic cult)to the Capitol 6 riots, both structured very similarly on how they find members, indoctrinate them and brainwash them, gaining their blind faith is terrifying. There is so much in here, and it really brings to light so much we never knew.
Chilling, necessary read.
Thank you net galley for sending this e-book ARC for review.
#TheViolentTakeItByForce #netgalley
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC!
Matthew D. Taylor’s The Violent Take It by Force is a compelling and meticulously researched exploration of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and its profound impact on American politics and democracy. This book is a crucial read for anyone seeking to understand the intersection of religion and politics in contemporary America.
Taylor delves into the rise of the NAR, a charismatic Christian movement that has gained significant influence over the past few decades. The book traces the movement’s origins from the teachings of a Fuller Seminary professor to its current status as a powerful force within the Religious Right.
While The Violent Take It by Force is a non-fiction work, Taylor’s portrayal of key figures within the NAR is both vivid and insightful. He offers an in-depth look at the movement’s leaders, their beliefs, and their strategies for gaining political power. The book also highlights the experiences of ordinary believers who are drawn to the NAR’s promises of spiritual revival and societal transformation.
Taylor’s writing is accessible and engaging, making complex theological and political concepts understandable to a broad audience. His narrative is well-paced, blending historical analysis with contemporary events to create a cohesive and compelling story. The use of primary sources, including interviews and internal documents, adds authenticity and depth to the account.
The book explores several critical themes, including the dangers of religious extremism, the erosion of democratic norms, and the manipulation of faith for political gain. Taylor examines how the NAR’s vision of spiritual warfare and Christian supremacy poses a threat to democratic values and institutions. The book also raises important questions about the role of religion in public life and the boundaries between church and state.
The Violent Take It by Force is a thought-provoking and timely examination of a movement that is reshaping the landscape of American politics. Taylor’s thorough research and nuanced analysis make this book an essential resource for understanding the challenges posed by the rise of Christian nationalism.
Whether you are a scholar, a political observer, or simply a concerned citizen, this book offers valuable insights into the forces that are driving contemporary political and religious dynamics.
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