STAR-SPANGLED JESUS: LEAVING CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM and FINDING a TRUE FAITH (audiobook) by April Ajoy








Published in October of 2024 by Worthy Books.
Read by the author, April Ajoy.
Duration: 8 hours, 4 minutes.
Unabridged.

Star-Spangled Jesus is the story of April Ajoy and her spiritual evolution since the political appearance of Donald Trump in 2015-2016. 

Is it weird that a politician caused a spiritual evolution? 

No, not in a world of Christian Nationalism. For the most basic definition, I am going to say that it is a belief that a person can't truly be an American if they aren't Christian and their rights as an American should reflect that.

Also, this is precisely what happened to me, so I get it. Trump shocked me out of the Republican = Good Christian mindset because of the simple reason that he is so overtly antithetical to so many Christian ideals and is proud of it.

If the previous paragraph offends or confuses you, you will hate this book. 

Ajoy's pre-2015 Christian experience was much more conservative than mine and more intense. Her father was a conservative pastor. She went on more than one extended mission trip, including one in the United States to promote a book he wrote. She even wrote and sang a song to promote her father's book on the 700 Club!

Like me, her spiritual evolution did not lead her out of the faith, but it did lead her to a new, much more inclusive understanding of her faith.

The book is told in an informal manner, full of personal stories - as it should be because faith is personal. Some of these stories are funny, some are tragic. But, I look at this as the story of a successful maturing of faith. This doesn't mean she is a serene monk now. What it means is she's a clever, bright follower of Christ with no tolerance for hypocrisy and a wicked sense of humor that she uses to expose that hypocrisy for what it is.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a True Faith.


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