Jesus and John Wayne Book Discussion Guide
Questions developed by Rev. Dr. Christie Love to lead a book club using Kristin Kobes Du Mez bestselling book Jesus and John Wayne.
This book is an excellent selection to help guide the explorations of historical religious/political harms, the history of Christian Nationalism, and Patriarchy throughout the history of the United States.
Preface/Introduction Questions
Discuss this quote from page xiv:
“In the fall of 2016, white evangelicals handed Donald Trump the presidency. When exit polls revealed that 81 percent of white evangelicals voted for Trump, observers struggled to understand how "family values" evangelicals could have voted for a man who seemed the very antithesis of those values. But it was clear to me that evangelicals hadn't betrayed their values. Trump embodied an aggressive, testosterone-driven masculinity that many conservative evangelicals had already come to equate with a God-given authority to lead.”
Do you agree or disagree with the statement made at the end of the preface?
“If this healing and restoration is to take place, the militancy at the heart of conservative white evangelicalism must be confronted. Understanding the history that has brought us to this point is critical to this process, and to charting a new course forward. The future of the faith and the nation depend on it.” (xix)
Discuss this passage from page 3:
“ FOR THEIR PART, evangelicals prefer to define themselves not by their political beliefs but according to their theological convictions or, more precisely, according to four "evangelical distinctives." To be an evangelical, according to the National Association of Evangelicals, is to uphold the Bible as one's ultimate authority, to confess the centrality of Christ's atonement, to believe in a born-again conversion experience, and to actively work to spread this good news and reform society accordingly. When defined in this way, "evangelicalism" manifests as a racially diverse and global movement. Yet when it comes to delineating the contours of modern American evangelicalism, the primacy of these four distinctives is arguable.?”
Talk about the use of John Wayne as the image of “rugged American manhood for generations of conservatives….” that is introduced in pages 10-11.
Have each participant share a historical fact/statement that is made on pages 11-14 that they struggled with the most when reading this section.
Chapter 1
Discuss the “masculinity problem” that Kobes Du Mez writes about on pages 15- 17 (top paragraph).
Talk about this statement, “For American Christians, The challenge was to reconcile this aggressive new masculinity with traditional Christian virtue.” (17).
How did you feel reading this paragraph?
“The path forward was clear, and it would not be through denominational structures. To evangelize the nation, evangelicals needed magazines that could reach millions, and access to the airwaves for national radio broadcasts. They needed organizations for missions, and for evangelical colleges and Bible schools. They already possessed the resources and the brain power. What was missing was a network that would support and amplify these individual efforts.” (22).
Talk about what everyone’s awareness/opinions were of Billy Graham before reading this book. Then have each person share a takeaway from the bottom of pg. 22-30 that may have surprised them or made them pause as they read it.
Chapter 2
Did it surprise you to learn that “Billy Graham was a lifelong registered Democrat” or that many Southern Baptists/Evangelicals were affiliated with the Democratic party before what Kobes Du Mez calls “a broader realignment that transformed partisan politics from the 1950s to the 1980s…” (33) Talk about this transformation as it was written about in pages 33- top of 37.
Consider having participants watch this PBS documentary about Billy Graham before coming to the discussion group https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/billy-graham/#part01
Kobes Du Mez writes on pg 38, “Understanding this ambivalence toward civil rights within white evangelicalism is key to understanding the role that race would play within evangelical politics more generally.” Talk about the information presented on pages 37- top of 48 by having each person share a statement/historical fact that impacted them as they read it.
Talk about the continued development of Evangelicalism during the Vietnam War era as discussed on pages 48-59.
Chapter 3
Have participants share the sentence/historical fact/passage that impacted them the most when reading pages 60-66 of the book. Discuss each person’s section as a group.
Did it surprise anyone in the group to read, “As late as 1971, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution urging states to expand access to abortion….” (68).
Talk about Phyllis Schlafly opposition to the ERA as discussed in pages 66-73.
Chapter 4
Discuss the familiarity that participants had with Bill Gothard and his influence and teachings in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
Consider watching and discussing episode 2 of the Amazon Prime Docuseries Shiny Happy People about the Duggar Family. This episode is called Growing Up Gothard.
How many participants in the group have read books by Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family? What were their experiences with the books?
Discuss the impact of Dr. Dobson as Kobes Du Mez writes about on pages 78 (bottom) - 87.
Chapter 5
Talk about your reactions to the work of Tim and Beverly LaHaye as described on pages 89-95 (top)
Discuss the impact and influence of Jerry Falwell as described on pages 95-100 (top).
Talk about the lack of support for Jimmy Carter’s presidency as described on pages 100-102.
Consider showing this 11 min. Video about how our modern Christian Nationalism movement began with the presidency/campaign of Jimmy Carter and discuss. https://optv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/jimmy-carter-rise-of-evangelical-voters-video/retro-report/
*** This short video contains comments at the end by Jerry Fallwell, Jr. who is said to be the President of Liberty University. It is important to note that he resigned from this position in 2020 after a widely publicized sexual scandal that is chronicled in the Hulu documentary God Forbid.***
Chapter 6
Discuss this statement made on page 106, “In 1980, the election widely hailed as the moment the Christian Right came into its own, evangelical voters bypassed the candidate who shared their faith tradition in favor of the one whose image and rhetoric more closely aligned with their values and aspirations.”
Watch this 12 min. Video and discuss with your group: https://optv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/jimmy-carter-rise-of-evangelical-voters-video/retro-report/
Talk about the impact that Evangelicals had on the election of President Ronald Regan as written about on pages 103-109. As well as the involvement of Evangelical faith leaders and their involvement in Regan’s presidency on pages 109-117.
Chapter 7
Discuss Oliver North as an American Hero on pages 118-126 (top).
Talk about the development and rise of televangelism in the 1980s and discussed in pages 126-129.
Talk about the role of evangelical faith in the Vietnam War and support of the military as discussed on pages 129-133. How do participants see ways that this intersection of faith and military policy in our modern-day headlines?
Chapter 8
Ask each participant to share something that stood out to them from this chapter and discuss each with the group.
Print off copies of the NAE Statement of Conscience mentioned on page 148 and discuss the language used in this document. https://www.pcahistory.org/pca/studies/3-476.html
Chapter 9
Discuss the Promise Keepers Movement from pages 150-159 (top).
On page 167 Kobes Du Mez writes about the Danvers Statement that was published in 1989 by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Here is a link to the full statement to share with your reading group and discuss. https://cbmw.org/about/danvers-statement/
On page 171 Joshua Harris and the book I Kissed Dating Goodbye is mentioned. Since writing that book Harris has since apologized for the harm his book caused and has publicly stated that he is no longer a Christian. (Here is a short 3 min. Interview clip of Harris talking about this.) Talk about the impact that purity culture had on members of the group who grew up in conservative Christian settings.
Chapter 10
This is a big chapter that covers a lot of topics. I would suggest that you go around the group and have each person share a takeaway from this chapter and allow those topics that are named to shape your discussion for this chapter.
Chapter 11
Discuss the Christian Homeschooling movement and the Quiverfull movement that was written about on pages 188-193 (top).
You can have participants watch the first episode of Shiny Happy People on Amazon or watch the first episode of Welcome to Plathville on Hulu before the group and discuss what they watched as part of the conversation on Christian Homeschool and the Quiverfull movement.
Talk about the impact and influence of Mark Driscoll and his ministry as described on pages 193-204.
Ask members if they have listened to the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast about Driscoll’s church plant in Seattle. If not, suggest that they listen to it.
Chapter 12
Similar to Chapter 10, this is a big chapter with many disturbing revelations. Use the model again of going around the group and having each person share a takeaway from this chapter, to shape your discussion for this chapter.
Chapter 13
Discuss the post-9/11 Islamophobia that grew in the U.S., in large part because of public statements by evangelical faith leaders as written about on pages 219-230.
Watch and discuss this short video clip of an interview with Lt. Gen. William (Jerry) Boykin whom Kobes Du Mez writes about on pages 227-230. This clip is after his retirement from the military talking to Fox News in his role at the Family Research Council addressing concerns about prayer at West Point Academy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x4AM_h05vg
Chapter 14
Watch and discuss this video of Barak Obama’s campaign speech that Kobes Du Mez talks about on page 235. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrp-v2tHaDo
Discuss the way that faith leaders talked about and framed Obama during his campaign for the Presidency as discussed on pages 234-249.
Chapter 15
Discuss the way that Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy was framed by evangelical Christians as talked about on pages 250-251.
Talk about the 2016 candidacy and eventual election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States and the role that evangelicals played in his victory as detailed throughout this chapter.
Chapter 16
Have each participant share the sentence that stood out to them the most as they read and discuss about with the group.
Conclusion
Listen to the song that Kobes Du Mez mentioned on page 295 Jesus and John Wayne by the Gaither Vocal Band https://open.spotify.com/track/2Yhss0id1TUgIogE5BOOIO?si=MAXY7_mkRAiDB1R7jvWD1w and discuss the lyrics in light of finishing this book.
Talk about this statement from Cal Thomas (who helped to found the Moral Majority with Jerry Falwell) that is shared on pages 303-304, “No one can serve two masters.” he challenged Christians to choose their true master, Jesus or Trump: “They can’t serve both.”
How does this statement challenge you in our political climate today?
