Blinded by might : can the religious right save America?

This is one of the books that influenced my political worldview as it formed in my late teens and early twenties, especially regarding the proper relation of my Christianity to my politics.

ORIGINAL REVIEW
In Blinded by Might, authors Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson--both of whom worked in Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority organization in the eighties--argue very convincingly that organized Christian political action, with the goal of electing godly politicians and getting Christian or Christian-friendly legislation passed, didn't work very well and was doomed to failure. They believe Christians need to concentrate more on living godly lives themselves and giving good witness. If you believed the now-defunct Moral Majority and its also-defunct show more successor, the Christian Coalition, must have been great things, please read this book. Really, read it anyway. Cal Thomas is my favorite conservative, because he is calm, rational and polite; and if Ed Dobson pastored a church in my area, I'd want to attend. (I was sorry to hear that he now has Lou Gehrig's Disease.) Their book has greatly influenced me.

This book doesn't say much about Pat Robertson, one of the leaders of the "Christian right," until he appears in the interviews section; so I get the impression that Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson just haven't dealt as much with Robertson as with some other Christian political figures. The Christian leader whom this book depicts in a bad light is Dr. James Dobson (no relation to Ed Dobson) of Focus on the Family: Dobson's behavior in disagreeing with Thomas makes him look stupid and churlish.
According to Thomas, what happened vis-a-vis Dr. Dobson is this: sometime before the writing of this book, Thomas wrote a column saying that Dobson "was putting too much faith in the Republican Party to bring revival to America," and Dr. Dobson claimed Thomas misinterpreted his views. Later, Thomas invited Dobson to clear the air by being interviewed for this book. Dobson sent a response which, besides being crudely scribbled on Thomas's typewritten letter, had some embarrassing grammatical errors. "Dear Cal, this kind note took me back [he meant "aback"] a bit. After attacking me nationally, misrepresenting my views, and trying to make it look like I think revival can come from the Republican party--it seems wierd [sic] for you to ask me to help write your book... It's a strange request." Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, and the liberal icon Norman Lear, all agreed to be interviewed. show less

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