Land - The Divided States of America

Endorsements for The Divided States of America

Dr. Land sheds light where othersfrom left and rightsow confusion. One can disagree on specific policies and still laud the authors dedication to Americas founding values and his grasp of the proper role of religion in public life. The Divided States of America is essential reading for fair-minded people.

Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State

Baptists in America have a vibrant tradition of defending freedom, and religious freedom in particular. This thoughtful book demonstrates how that tradition helps us to think in fresh ways about the foundations of freedom.

Dr. Richard John Neuhaus, Editor-in-Chief, First Things

Looking for a book to help a liberal understand and respect a conservative Christian perspective on current issues? The Divided States of America is it. Richard Land patiently counters the lefts assumption that Christians are would-be dictators. He also upends some evangelical tendencies to see America as the new Israel. With so many books and orators, left and right, screeching to their respective choirs, its great to see a thoughtful and faithful work.

Marvin Olasky, Editor-in-Chief, World

Richard Land is a brilliant, conscientious, and good-hearted advocate for religious conservatives in America. This book helps re-establish Baptist political theology at the center of the church/state debate.

Steven Waldman, Editor-in-Chief and CEO, Beliefnet

Richard Land has always been too much of a thinker and much too committed to biblical standards to simply go along with anything and everything proposed by conservative activists. On the crucial questions, The Divided States of America is a candid and enormously helpful look at the mistakes of both the left and the right from the perspective of one of the greatest advocates of religious liberty in our country today.

Dr. Paige Patterson, President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Richard Land has strong views on God and America and has long been well-placed to influence the opinions of many who care for both. In this new book, he speaks a welcome and necessary word of passionate caution, content neither to preach to the choir nor yell at ideological opponents in the destructive culture wars. Both liberals and conservatives will profit from the analysis and tone of this book, an altogether constructive contribution to an important debate too frequently marred by ranting and posturing.

Peter J. Gomes, Harvard University

This book could not be more timely. Richard Land has made a decisive contribution to the contentious debate about how religious believers ought to relate their faith to politics. In a reasonable and measured fashion, he offers constructive advice to both conservatives and liberals. My hope is that it will be read widely by those on the political Right and Left, because the necessary correctives offered here will improve everyones understanding on a topic that is woefully misunderstood by religious believers and nonbelievers alike.

Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center

This is a lucid statement of a reasonable position on the place of religion in public life. While the author writes from a committed Evangelical standpoint, his views on church/state relations will be plausible to many who do not7 share his religious commitment. The book will also be useful in dispelling negative stereotypes about Evangelicals due to its mellow, nonconfrontational tone.

Peter L. Berger, Director of the Institute on Culture,
Religion and World Affairs, Boston University

Finallya book that sets the record straight on some of the most contentious issues of the day. Richard Land has written a brave and important book that has much to say to liberals, conservatives, and persons of all positions in between. The Divided States of America has surprises for everyone, and it shows a keen and dedicated mind at work.... Richard Land combines brilliant analysis with his personal charm and deep convictions. You had better read this book sooneveryone is going to be talking about it.

Albert Mohler, Jr., President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

One of the clearest, most tightly argued, and informative accounts of religion in the public square today by an especially intelligent and well-informed evangelical leader. From a man who has been active behind-the-scenes, even when not caught sight of in public, Lands book is an eye-opener. Anybody who claims to know American political life without having read it is missing a lot of the story.

Michael Novak, American Enterprise Institute

What is the proper place of religion in American public life? In The Divided States of America, Richard Land ably defends the original vision of our nations founders: the institution of the church and the institution of the state must be strictly separated; yet Christians and other people of faith can and should bring their religiously-informed judgments of morality and justice into public debate on the great questions of the daywhether slavery in Abraham Lincolns time, segregation in Martin Luther Kings, or abortion and human embryo-destructive research in our own. Dr. Land shreds the arguments of militant secularists, on one extreme, and theocrats, on the other.

Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University

THE
DIVIDED
STATES
OF AMERICA

What
Liberals AND
Conservatives
Get Wrong
About Faith
and Politics

RICHARD LAND

THE DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA

2007, 2011 Richard Land

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan.

Other Scripture references are from the following sources:

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers.
Used by permission.

The King James Version of the Bible (KJV).

New American Standard Bible (NASB). 1960, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission.

Cover Design: Matt Lehman
Page Design: Mandi Cofer

ISBN 978-1-59555-352-2 (repack)
ISBN 978-1-59555-982-1 (trade paper)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Land, Richard D.
The divided states of America? : what liberals and conservatives are missing in the God-and-country shouting match / Richard Land.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.