An exploration of the associations between American capitalism and Christianity.

The author develops the thesis of what he calls the "money cult," a symbiotic and mutually reinforcing relationship between certain tenets of American Protestantism and its developing capitalistic economy. He looks fondly upon the Puritans as having a more communitarian practice; he explores what he deems the degeneration of this culture as it moves toward the more rugged individualism of the later colonial era and the first and second Great Awakenings, the latter of which especially promoted primitivism and emphasized the importance of hard work to get ahead. Mormonism and Pentecostalism are especially emphasized in terms of their religious and capitalist associations; much is made of New Thought in the 19th century. In the 20th century the author sees the continuation of this "money cult" ethos in the work surrounding Bryan and especially Peale; the work ends with a blistering critique of the American capitalist spirit suffusing the Left Behind series.

The book does well at advancing its thesis in its general sentiment: American Protestantism has profoundly shaped the American capitalist economy and itself has been strongly influenced by it as well. What passes for "Christian" economic philosophy among American Christians need not be the only way that the ethos of the NT is understood, and the book explains how the American philosophy developed.

At times, however, the author seems to be stretching the evidence. His use of "Gnostic" is a bit baffling; he uses it for just about everything, from the Cane Ridge revival to Mary Baker Eddy. Granted, the term is so expansive and flexible that it can mean just about anything, but generally maintains the idea of salvation by knowledge at its core, and not necessarily askance at institutions. A more precise use of philosophical terms would do better at not undermining his argument, since there are more discontinuities than continuity between, say, revivalism and Christian science. And in some details there was a bit of confusion, much of which is likely due to the author's lack of experience in the groups in mind (e.g. dispensational premillennialism pre-dates Pentecostalism and significantly influenced all of Evangelicalism, not just Pentecostalism). This is not surprising considering the breadth of the project.

Nevertheless, an eye opening work worthy of consideration. ( )