Category: david barton

Two Years Ago David Barton’s The Jefferson Lies Was Pulled From The Shelves

Two years ago today, Tommy Kidd was on the case, reporting for World Magazine that Thomas Nelson ceased publication and distribution of David Barton’s book The Jefferson Lies.

Eventually Barton claimed that the book would be republished by Glenn Beck’s Simon & Schuster imprint. However, currently there is no second edition.

World featured an online debate of sorts involving my Getting Jefferson Right co-author Michael Coulter, The Masters College historian Gregg Frazer and me on one side and Barton on the other.

I’ll present some of this work in Pepperdine University next month at the Conference on Faith and History.

David Swartz on Responding to the Claims of Christian Nationalists

Yesterday, Asbury College history prof David Swartz briefly opined on the Christian nationalist appropriation of the Bible as foundation for their view of American history. Swartz extends an article by Seth Perry in a recent Religion and Culture Web Forum.

Swartz discusses the reaction against linking the Bible with Christian nationalism and notes that evangelicals have blurred distinctions at least since the 1970s. He writes:

Piling on have been evangelical historians represented at hundreds of state universities and Christian liberal arts colleges. In the 1970s and 1980s they were led by a scholarly triumvirate made up of Robert Linder (Kansas State), Richard Pierard (Indiana State), and Robert Clouse (Indiana State). In the 1980s Mark Noll and George Marsden conducted a sometimes-combative dispute with Francis Schaeffer over the notion of Christian America. And more recently, Warren Throckmorton of Grove City College and John Fea of Messiah College have taken on David Barton and enlisted dozens of colleagues in opposition to his flood of books, speeches, and videos. Largely due to their activism, publisher Thomas Nelson in 2012 pulled Barton’s book The Jefferson Lies.

Well, that is appreciated.

Swartz ends by saying, “a formidable evangelical brain trust stands united in support of the kind of nuance and context practiced by the broader historical guild.”

He is correct that a consensus has developed among Christian scholars to support good history and oppose simplistic Christian nationalist accounts of the nation’s founding (my paraphrase). More importantly, many are speaking to Christian organizations, albeit with mixed success.

For instance in 2013, the Family Research Council removed a error filled video of David Barton talking at the Capitol after numerous historians complained and requested action.  However, this year, the FRC had Barton back to repeat the Capitol Tour.  FRC’s fall back to pragmatism was disappointing and demonstrates the great gulf between Christian parachurch organizations and Christian scholars.

In Georgia's 10th District, David Barton is Again an Issue

This week, GOP voters in Georgia’s 10th District will decide which candidate, Jody Hice or Mike Collins, will face the Democrat nominee in the Fall. Richard Zimdars, a columnist for the Athens Banner-Herald, watched the two candidates debate and for at least two reasons decided that Collins might be the better choice. First Collins seemed more likely to work with opponents in Congress to achieve legislation. Second, Hice touts an endorsement from David Barton which is a problem for Zimdars. He writes:

Hice’s acceptance of Barton’s endorsement leads me to believe Hice lacks the capacity for close critical examination of his endorsements, not a good sign for the 10th District’s future if Hice becomes our national representative.

This is what Bob Barr should have said about Barry Loudermilk.

Bob Barr's Strange David Barton Claim

This is old news but an article on right wing opinion site American Thinking got me to writing.
Bob Barr and Barry Loudermilk are seeking the GOP nomination next week to run for Georgia’s 11th District Congressional seat. Last week, they debated and in the debate Bob Barr made a strange charge against Barry Loudermilk. Watch, courtesy of Right Wing Watch:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l35geIQXnJg#t[/youtube]
Barr accuses David Barton of being anti-Semitic and challenges Loudermilk to deny Barton’s endorsement. The article that caught my eye on this was penned by David Brog and titled “Bob Barr Crosses the Line.” And indeed, Barr crossed the line. Some Jewish observers I know are uncomfortable with Barton’s Christian nation zeal but more to the point of Barr’s accusation, Barton is a big supporter of Israel. In fact, at times, he gets a little silly with it (e.g., predicting weather problems for nations that mess with Israel). Barr’s claim was just wrong and I hope Barr will apologize for it.
Sadly, Barr blew a chance to highlight Barton and Loudermilk’s vision of a Christian nation, based solely on Christian principles, giving advantage to Christian people. The Barton endorsement of Loudermilk is problematic on so many levels, and Barr chose to mention two things that aren’t even issues. Neither man appears to have sufficient discernment to serve in Congress. One thinks Barton is a Constitutional expert and the other thinks Barton opposes Israel. Heaven help the GOP voters of the 11th District.