I selected Raised Right: How I Untangled My Faith from Politics because it
seemed a bit off the beaten path in light of what I’ve read most recently. In reading the back of the book’s jacket and
the praise for the work printed on the first two pages, I feared I’d made a
mistake in choosing a book that would make my blood boil because the author denounced
(with alleged Biblical support) all that those fighting to protect the sanctity
of human life from conception to natural death stand for.
I’m relieved I was wrong that Alisa Harris would rant and rave about how she was brainwashed in her youth to believe that conservative Republicans were good and moral, but then when she reached adulthood came to the realization that Democrats are the only ones who really fight injustice.
Some passages did make me horrified: by man’s inhumanity to man and the narrow-minded thinking that makes people believe they have all of the answers and none of the corruption other parties, organizations, and groups have.
I’m impressed by how Alisa Harris critically considers many of the justices and injustices of our society in a thought-provoking way that shows holes in the there’s one perfect, God-sanctioned political party that all Christians must support.
Though most of her arguments and research have come through reasoning, experience, and intellectual debate, the Biblical truths that we are all made in God’s image and loved by Him are what have remained in her heart, mind, and soul throughout her life. Our world will be a radically different, significantly better place when we accept those two Truths and live our lives accordingly.
Jesus brought division by calling for equality and unity that many others refused to accept because it meant treating gentiles, women, tax collectors, the sick, sinners, and the poor as human beings with dignity.
Harris reminds us in Raised Right that God and His love are greater, more powerful, and more merciful than any political party, organization, or group. Sometimes, it’s necessary to get back to the basics where love prevails, all human life at every stage is sacred and protected as such.
I’d certainly recommend this book for those willing to pick apart politics and get to the heart of the Christian message in order to find the Truth, especially if it means questioning what they were spoon-fed in their youth.
