Young evangelicals still at war? A review of “A Faith of Our Own”

When it comes to evangelicals, no two subjects draw a media crowd more easily than their relationship to politics and voting and the future of the movement.

Both themes collide in the latest offering from young evangelical spokesman Jonathan Merritt, A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars (FaithWords). Merritt self-consciously assumes the position of a representative voice of the new trend among evangelicals, heralding the dawn of a new era of evangelical public engagement. Throughout the book, Merritt manages to be simultaneously observational and prescriptive: “Today’s Christians are … ” is the recurring formula, with the implication that yesterday’s Christians are now yesterday’s news.