The Reagan Book Boom

The presidency of Ronald Reagan had several surprising effects. In the early stages of the 1980s, the media coined the term Reaganomics to describe what they viewed as the disastrous economic program of cutting taxes and encouraging investment that Reagan promoted. Hardly had his economic program been put in place when the liberals started crying, "Foul." Yes, there were some miserable economic factors lurking in the 1980s. Largely, they were the results of the failed policies of President Jimmy Carter and his predecessors. In time, Reaganomics came to represent an economic boom that has continued in this country to this day.

Also surprising was the success of Reagan's Cold War strategy. His vision of dealing with the Soviets and with worldwide Communist expansion was very complex and detailed. It went like this: We win/they lose. It worked.

More than his economic program and even more than his expansion of the military, Reagan's moral and Christian vision of the purposes for the United States and of humanity led to his successes. In many ways, America was on a downward spiral throughout the 1960s and 70s. Reagan has come to symbolize a turn-around that took place. Pres. Carter's vision of America was one of gas shortages, cultural mailaise, and rabbit attacks. His answer was to alert Americans of the need to get over an inordinate fear of Communism. After all, he might have added, the Communist only expanded into 10 additional countries during his flawed 4 year reign of error.

The Reagan boom still continues. And it continues in fresh new books that highlight different aspects of his life and presidency. The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism by Paul Kengor examines what should be an obvious truth: Reagan's life-long obsession with defeating the Communists economically, politically, geographically, and spiritually was a success. Reagan's aggressive approach--criticized and scoffed by Democrats and Republicans alike--resulted in changing the face of the world and in putting Communism in the dustbin of history, just as he predicted.

Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History by John Patrick Diggins is a remarkably interesting book. Prof. Diggins is a political science professor whose tendency is to lean strongly to the left. For a time, profs and leftists were the bitterest enemies of Reagan. For a time, they deigned Reagan to be a misguided, foolish, and empty-headed man. He was, after all, an actor. Diggins represents the views of many scholars who now recognize the depth of Reagan's intellect and vision. I am not sure that I will agree with all of Diggins' assessments of Reagan, but he is one man I can really appreciate for his recognition of Reagan's strength of mind.

That strength of mind can be seen up close in Reagan's Diaries. This 700 plus page book is an abridged version of the daily accounts Reagan kept while in the White House. Douglas Brinkley edited the diaries and wrote an outstanding introduction which highlights Reagan's style and power.

So far, I have only been able to start Kengor's book and to scan the other two. I like to read at least one good account of Reagan each year. Looks like I will be triply blessed this year.

Thank You Reverend Falwell

By now, the death of Reverend Jerry Falwell is all over the news. His friends and admirers are mourning, but rejoicing that God raised him up in our time to be a voice for both the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the abiding Law-Word of God. Of course, his enemies—and he generally made the right people mad—have added their barbed eulogies to the list. We have been reminded of several occasions where Rev. Falwell stuck his foot in his mouth. It happened not because his mouth was always moving, but because his feet were always moving.

I want to take this occasion to offer up one big Calvinistic Presbyterian “Thank You” to Jerry Falwell along with a prayer of praise to God for giving him to our nation and the world for a time.

Growing up Methodist in the 1960s/70s, I was blessed with the remnants of the great church tradition and faith of the Wesley’s. We sang the great hymns of Charles Wesley along with other worthy standards of the English Protestant tradition (Watts, Toplady, Reginald Heber, etc.). We also recited the Apostles’ Creed weekly. To this day, when I lead in the reciting of that Creed, I have to use the text or else I will say, “From there He will come to judge the quick and the dead” rather than the revised phrase “the living and the dead.” We also recited the Lord’s Prayer and sang the Doxology and Gloria Patria. Unfortunately, much of the preaching and teaching did not measure up to the traditions of the Wesley’s and certainly not to that of George Whitefield.

The preaching and teaching may have included a simple presentation of the Gospel, but it was veiled. The preaching was not of the extreme liberal variety—“Jesus did not bodily arise from the dead”—for this was Southern small town Methodism. As Flannery O’Connor noted about us Southerners, we may have not been Christ-centered, but we were Christ-haunted. The preaching was more a mix of social gospel and good works. No clear calls for repentance, no ringing declaration that Christ alone saves, no Luther-like stand taken on the authority of Scripture alone. Methodist preachers, in my limited experience, seemed rather placid and bland in their homilies.

It was at this point around 1973 that I first started watching Jerry Falwell’s “Old Time Gospel Hour.” It came on at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday nights. I should have been in bed by that time, but I was drawn to Falwell’s preaching. From him, I began to better understand the centrality of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting Him and not my good works, believing the Bible to be the Word of God, and living for Christ every day. Was I a believer before I heard Falwell? I don’t know. I was not an atheist (as Falwell was before his conversion) or a doubter. I was stumbling along in the dark.

For an important season or two in my life, Falwell's Old Time Gospel Hour fed me the heart of the Christian Gospel--believing on the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. When I went off to college, I got smacked right between the eyes with Calvinism, and I changed directions even more visibly. In time, the various doctrines and ramifications of Reformed theology drew me further away from Falwell’s premillennial and fundamentalist theology. Many—perhaps a few too many—aspects of Falwell's theology and style fell away from my spiritual orbit, but I have never forgotten the joy that came from hearing his preaching when I was in my late teens.

Thankfully, about twelve years ago when Jerry Falwell came to Texarkana, I had the opportunity to speak to him and personally thank him. He preached a rambling and not very good sermon, but even on that occasion, he made yet another key statement that I never forgot. Falwell said that when he appeared on television or spoke on the radio or at some other public function—and he spoke on many such occasions—he would always find the occasion to speak about the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sure enough, he entered the national dialog on social, cultural, political, and economic issues, but he always referenced Christ’s Lordship and the free offer of the Gospel—a free offer to those who were usually railing against Christ Himself, but who thought they were only attacking Falwell.

Falwell preached the Gospel to a community, nation, and world that plugged its ears to it. Falwell preached; the Holy Spirit unplugged ears. Falwell started a thoroughly Christian university when Christians were barely even cognizant of the need for truly Christian educational institutions. When Falwell began mobilizing Christians into political action, abortion was largely being opposed only by Catholics. Getting Protestant, evangelical, and fundamentalist Christians in politics in the late 1970s was like trying to motivate people to immigrate to Antarctica. But Falwell was persuasive—and right. He promoted the preaching and writings of Francis Schaeffer. Just as significant, he promoted the Presidential campaign of Ronald Reagan after it became clear that Reagan was more than just a military hawk and economic conservative. On the news yesterday, it was said that the Moral Majority was responsible for registering 12 million Christian voters. That voter surge pretty much explains what happened in 1980 and again in 1984.

Falwell was a real, true postmillennialist—meaning, he sought to preach the Gospel to every man. He was a real, true Kuyperian and Reconstructionist: Instead of writing screeds against fellow believers, he really worked to bring God's law to bear upon the Republic. He flaws were great because his zeal was great. While he was not a Calvinist, he was a better Calvinist in many ways than I will ever be.

Take care brothers, more of the workload just fell on the rest of us.