Born Again and Again, by Megan Westra

Megan Westra was raised in a strong Christian tradition.  Her family and church immersed her in the Christian faith, and she first committed to following Jesus at age four.  Given the young age and her lack of memory, she spent a good deal of her childhood doubting her salvation and seeking to be "born again . . . and again."  In college, she began having revelations that expanded her view of faith, leading to several moments of feeling like she was truly being born again into new understanding.  In her book Born Again and Again: Jesus' Call to Radical Transformation she chronicles her journey and digs into areas of faith and practice in which she has learned and grown.

The strongest theme throughout the book is that we, a church, should be about "connection over consumption."  The modern church, especially in the evangelical tradition in which Westra (and I) grew up has placed a strong emphasis on personal salvation and a personal, individualized faith in Jesus.  That emphasis misses the greater calling of community and communal life.  All Christians can benefit from a reminder that faith is not just about connecting with God, but also about connecting with our neighbor.  She uses this filter throughout the book as she discusses politics, race, economics, and gender.

Westra's book is reactive to the white evangelical faith of her upbringing.  She finds it wholly inadequate in light of her new-found wokeness.  In the areas mentioned above, she provides some historical background in an attempt to discredit American evangelicalism.  Like every human expression of faith in every period of history, culture and sin have played a role in shaping the institutions and expressions of the Christian faith, so correctives and reforms are always necessary.  But she has little good to say about, specifically, American evangelicalism.  Despite its whiteness, American evangelicals led the charge in eradicating slavery, in establishing institutions such as hospitals and schools that continue to serve humanity, planting churches and leading revival movements that brought faith to many across the US, and creating a foreign missions movement for spreading the gospel around the world.  To the extent that these positive contributions are mentioned, she is dismissive of them due to racist elements of the movements. 

Like many of her ilk, she is critical of capitalism and American democracy.  This shouldn't be hard for her to see, but if she truly is interested in addressing poverty, history and experience have shown that this is best done through capitalism and free markets.  And it should go without saying that socialism and communism have inevitably led to repression of religious expression everywhere they have been tried.  Her recommendations for community action are fully on board with socialistic and anti-capitalistic tendencies which, in the long run, create more poverty and less religious freedom.

As much as I appreciate Westra's commitment to being the presence of Christ in her community, which, as she tells it, is quite diverse racially and economically, and has plenty of needs, her solutions are feel-good but ineffective.  I would love to see more people who have her commitment to know the poor not as subjects but as friends and neighbors, but who will offer solutions that lead away from dependency and toward increased participation in the free market system and the free society, toward connection with their communities by providing goods and services in mutual exchange.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!