Thank you to NetGalley and Brazos Press for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

When I mentioned to a friend I was reading this book she replied, "America's original sin is Christianity" and that rang so true I almost quit reading the book. Because she's right. In the name of God, people who call themselves Christians have done horrific things in America. Jim Wallis, without making that bold statement might agree. He wrote in a 1987 article for Sojourners, "The United States of America was established as a white society, founded upon the near genocide of another race and then the enslavement of yet another." He's not wrong and neither is my friend. Where they have diverged is Wallis still believes, even with evidence to the contrary, that the Church is the answer to this original sin. He believes the Church will heal the sin. I believe he is wrong. The Church is committed to keeping the sin of racism alive and well and oddly enough, his examples of what he believes the Church needs to do support my belief that they will keep it going rather than his that it will heal the nation.

This book was written and published pre-Trump presidency and I would be curious to know if the 4 years of Trump disaster and the following he gained through the evangelical church in America has changed any of Wallis' ideas or thoughts on the Church being the healers of this nation. Because, if anything, the Church has driven the wounds of this nation deeper since Trump gave them permission to be complete jerks. (I want to use another word but I'll keep it clean out of respect for Wallis and his book.)

Wallis provides a lot of background and research and such for this book. Some of the chapters are very...Christianese...others hardly mention evangelicals, protestants, and faith. The chapters that didn't focus on faith were the easiest to read. As a former evangelical I found the chapters in which Wallis utilized a lot of scripture and quoted various faith leaders hard to read. Very tedious and frankly, white noise. In all the chapters Wallis would include large portions of quotes from other people that pertained to the topic at hand. The editing could have been a little tighter as that became a bit tedious to read as well. The point was being made, no need to provide *15* examples to back it up. (Random number I pulled out of the air, I think you get my point.)

All in all, it was a fine book but I can't help but think about what my friend said, "America's original sin is Christianity."

This book delves into the core of America's most egregious sin: the foundation and maintenance of a civilization that stays "on top" through various degradations of all peoples who do not appear to be European American. It tackles so many issues, some I've read about before and a few I had never heard anything about. Reading through this pricked my heart time and again--in truth, it overwhelmed me with the huge mountain of work still undone--but as the text wrapped up I felt I could hear a swelling orchestra that was proclaiming that yes, the bridge to healthy racial relations in the United States will take an immense effort, but crossing that bridge will demonstrate the heart of God. A racially just world is one I must hold onto a willingness to work and hope for. There is a blurb on the cover of this book that says "A BOOK THAT EVERY WHITE PERSON--ESPECIALLY EVERY WHITE CHRISTIAN--MUST READ" and I couldn't agree more. I'm blown away.

This was surprisingly upbeat and hopeful.

I think this book is well-written, passionate, and provides arguments that we are better together and must address this issue now, with a sense of urgency. He takes a sincere faith-based approach to his thesis and offers many proposed solutions to tackle this very systemic and terrible issue. Sadly, I agree with one of the comments written below that people who need to read this book won't.

I also found this study guide that's filled with video, articles, and more: http://americasoriginalsin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Repenting-of-Americas-Original-Sin.pdf

For those who found this book interesting may want to check out "The White Racial Frame" by Joe Feagin.

We are indeed better together. Let's fix this now.

V

While there’s more of a religious bent than I had anticipated or maybe would have preferred, I appreciated the stories told and lessons imparted.

This is a must read for churches in America and the general public. Jim Wallis states "I wrote this book because I believe truth-telling about America's original sin of racism must not be left to people of color alone."

Wallis then outlines several great arguments for what the church should and must do to address systemic and individual racism. He describes what white privilege means and how this impacts one's understanding and view of racism. Part of the book examines Ferguson and Baltimore, where he seeks to show readers how people from the community feel (or any community where people of color live with systemic racism for decades).

As a woman of color raised in a crime-ridden, low-income area and now a Christian, the book interested me. After I read it, much of the book resonated and I believe it's important for Christians and others interested in social justice to read.

The call for Christian churches, or any doctrine that encompasses social justice and love of our neighbor, to examine racism is appropriate and much needed. To that end, he has succeeded in presenting a well thought out and well-written argument.

The book is a little dated in terms of progress being made after four years of Trump. It would be interesting to hear his take on the recent changes in addition to the other history of racism he describes. (Thus four stars instead of five. And really, there isn’t much way to prevent that with any book of this nature without many new editions.) He does offer solid advice on ways to move forward that make up for the omission of recent events.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job, except when he attempted to change his voice when quoting women and BIPOC. He shouldn’t have attempted it. His interpretations came off a bit like caricatures.

This should be required reading for all white Christians. It is such an important read.

This book was heavily based on how racism fit into religion, specifically Christian religions. As I am not a religious person, a lot of my family is. I did enjoy it because it gave me resources to use in order to talk to my religious family. To see why religion is so heavily based in race, and how the Bible does not teach that. I highly recommend it for anyone of a religious stand point trying to learn more about racism in our society and in our religious structure.