First Book #NetGalley Book Review: The Possibility of America by David Dark

I liked the title and the premise but was disappointed.
The Possibility of America
How the Gospel Can Mend Our God-Blessed,
God-Forsaken Land
by David Dark


File Size: 1992 KB
Print Length: 188 pages
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press (April 9, 2019)
ASIN: B07QCW2DD6
Genre: Religious Studies, Social Issues
My Rating: 3.0 of 5.0.

Published in the years following 9/11, David Dark’s book The Gospel according to America warned American Christianity about the false worship that conflates love of country with love of God. It delved deeply into the political divide that had gripped the country and the cultural captivity into which so many American churches had fallen.

In our current political season, the problems Dark identified have blossomed. The assessment he brought to these problems and the creative resources for resisting them are now more important than ever. Into this new political landscape and expanding on the analysis of The Gospel according to America, Dark offers The Possibility of America: How the Gospel Can Mend Our God-Blessed, God-Forsaken Land. Dark expands his vision of a fractured yet redeemable American Christianity, bringing his signature mix of theological, cultural, and political analysis to white supremacy, evangelical surrender, and other problems of the Trump era.

Review:
My understanding of a good essay, or a nonfiction book directed to a stated point, is that you introduce your thesis, your share your arguments and then you wrap up your points with a conclusion. Sadly, in my opinion, this book failed in all three elements. If the subtitle was the point or goal of this book it did not succeed in presenting that premise clearly although it meandered around the topic.

I found this work to be esoteric and full of lengthy, confusing sentences. It reminded me of the saying that someone is “so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.” He challenges “truth” as presented by the news, stating (in a 52-word sentence) that “… it’s as if our ability to see and think clearly is constantly compromised by an endless diversion from the facts on the ground.”  I may well agree with that statement, but I didn’t find where he gives a solution or suggestion to overcome this. (My solution is to watch at least two versions of the news and often read articles on topics trying to pick out the actual facts.) Mr. Dark also states: “Politics is how we govern ourselves. It’s the way we conduct our lives.” I do not agree with this generalization. There is certainly an element of the American public that fall under this statement, but many do not. Particularly I would argue that the lives of true Christ-followers are not governed by politics.

The author quickly (and repeatedly) slips into sharing bias, bitterness and convoluted statements that I found inappropriate for a book purporting to want to foster the Gospel. There are several comments bashing American founders, President Trump, and even evangelicals as “white supremacists”. He states that “evangelical” in America might be “so definitively thought to refer to a sleeper cell of the Republican Party and thereby to be tied to the ideology of white supremacy and climate denial that to say it aloud is to court misunderstanding.” I can’t agree more that such statements “court misunderstanding”. I can sense that not only many Republicans would find this implied generalization offensive, but I think it is even more offensive to American evangelists whom I think would be part of the book’s intended audience. At 62% in the book, Mr. Dark, while discussing one of his author icons, Toni Morrison, states: “True witness knows no division. Labels be damned.” And oh, how I wished Mr. Dark had left labeling out of his ‘effusion’ (a more fitting description than ‘treatise”).

If a reader pushes through the confusion of the first 30% of the work, the reader will find a rather interesting discussion of classic literature, science fiction authors, movies and musicians. There is a detailed discussion of moral and religious issues presented in Moby Dick and The Scarlet Letter. Mr. Dark also discusses like themes from many authors including Shakespeare (Macbeth), John Milton, Ursula K. Le Guin, Kurt Vonnegut, George Orwell, William Faulkner (As I Lay Dying), Octavia E. Butler (Kindred), Thomas Pynchon (Gravity's Rainbow), Phillip K. Dick and more. On the music exploration, Mr. Dark includes comments on Bob Dylan, Sly and the Family Stone, Bambara, Aretha Franklin, Woody Guthrie, Kris Kristofferson, Pixies, Patti Smith, Chance the Rapper and others. Movies that get some discussion include The Body Snatchers, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Patch Adams, Sunset Boulevard and Mulholland Drive. TV series mentioned include Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone and even The Simpsons.

I did find some nuggets (maybe 5) buried in the slog. Mr. Dark laments that “…our capacity for right worship and right listening for functioning democracy is compromised” due to the loss of willingness or ability “to hear, read, or listen to any version of history that can’t be contained in a sound bite or a put down…”. (Another 50-word sentence.) He notes that we need “the skills to understand and locate ourselves…” but he doesn’t give any reason for the loss or a recommendation to change it. I would suggest that we have a crisis in educating our children in history, civics, and morality. I would question why college students are quick to shut down or protest presentations and open dialogue with those of different views.

The book is peppered with references to The Beloved Community which I believe the author intends to be the basis for the “possibility” of America. He doesn't make this clear. About 77% into the book, in Chapter Seven, Mr. Dark discusses the Catholic Worker Movement and finally shares some thoughts on how the underlying Christian directive to “love they neighbor” would change the atmosphere of America.

I chose this as my First Book for 2020. Sadly, I was disappointed. I would recommend the book to those who might enjoy the literature discussions as long as the reader isn’t looking (like I was) for a work to support the subtitle.

SOURCE: 2019 NetGalley. This qualifies for 2020NetGalley, 2020Alphabet and 2020TBR goals.