The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

“They had all to some extent been seduced by the cult of Trumpism: convinced of the false choices that accompanied his rise, drained of certain convictions in the name of others, infected with a relativism that rendered once-firm standards suddenly quite malleable.”

This quote discusses the decision of many evangelical Christians to vote for Trump, a man they admit is immoral. Alberta reflects on the sudden philosophical changes in his community that led to Trump’s endorsement and victory.

“Here, in our house of worship, people were taunting me about politics as I tried to mourn my father.”

At his father’s funeral, Alberta was accosted by members of his own church. This ultimately led to the genesis of this book, as he was baffled and hurt by their behavior and felt the need to explore it further. This quote shows Alberta’s use of personal anecdote to lend an intimate, emotional element to the journalistic investigation.

“If Trump possessed any of what Paul dubbed ‘the fruit of the spirit’ (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) it wasn’t hanging low enough to be picked.”

This quote shows Alberta’s characteristic sense of humor. Alluding the biblical teachings about idealistic personality traits for Christians, his wordplay disarms the reader and makes his observations more memorable.