In Jesus and John Wayne, a seventy-five-year history of American evangelicalism, Kristin Kobes Du Mez demolishes the myth that white evangelicals "held their noses" in voting for Donald Trump. Revealing the role of popular culture in evangelicalism, Du Mez shows how evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism in the mould of Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson and above all, John Wayne. As Du Mez observes, the beliefs at the heart of white evangelicalism today preceded Trump and will outlast him.

Updated and expanded-with a new foreword by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne-Malestrom provides a redemptive vision of biblical manhood and a way through the treacherous seas of patriarchy. Like the danger of a maelstrom in the open seas, a relentless force threatens our culture, swirling with hidden currents that distorts God's image of personhood. This book reveals how the malestrom is one of the Enemy's single most successful strategies. Its victories are flashed before us every day in the headlines as men lose sight of who God created them to be. It has consumed the evangelical church that stoops to offering toxic "manly" solutions to the wrongs it perceives in society and distracts from the rich potential God has entrusted to his sons. Digging deeply into the stories of men in the Bible who subverted cultural hierarchies, Carolyn Custis James shows us how countercultural God's design for men really is. Through personal story, biblical commentary, and cultural analysis, Custis James: Makes a strong case for the unbiblical nature of patriarchy. Illuminates the sociology of marginalization and cultural gender roles. Takes a close biblical look at Jesus and what his character and humanity means to the men of the church today. Malestrom offers what we so desperately need-a biblical, global, timeless vision of godly personhood that is big enough to encompass the diversity of men's lives and strong enough to withstand the crises they face. "It is one thing to critique the abuses of a domineering masculinity and lament the religious and societal consequences, but Carolyn Custis James takes the next crucial step and offers us a better path forward. For those asking, "What now?" Malestrom serves as a sure-footed guide." -Kristin Kobes Du Mez

A New Gospel for Women tells the story of Katharine Bushnell (1855-1946), author of God's Word to Women, one of the most innovative and comprehensive feminist theologies ever written. An internationally-known social reformer and women's rights activist, Bushnell rose to prominence through her highly publicized campaigns against prostitution and the trafficking of women in America, in colonial India, and throughout East Asia. In each of these cases, the intrepid reformer struggled to come to terms with the fact that it was Christian men who were guilty of committing acts of appalling cruelty against women. Ultimately, Bushnell concluded that Christianity itself - or rather, the patriarchal distortion of true Christianity - must be to blame. A work of history, biography, and historical theology, Kristin Kolbes DuMez's book provides a vivid account of Bushnell's life. It maps a concise introduction to her fascinating theology, revealing, for example, Bushnell's belief that gender bias tainted both the King James and the Revised Versions of the English Bible. As DuMez demonstrates, Bushnell insisted that God created women to be strong and independent, that Adam, not Eve, bore responsibility for the Fall, and that it was through Christ, "the great emancipator of women," that women would achieve spiritual and social redemption. The book restores Bushnell to her rightful place in history. It also illuminates the dynamic and often thorny relationship between faith and feminism in modern America by mapping Bushnell's story and her subsequent disappearance from the historical record. Most pointedly, A New Gospel for Women reveals the challenges confronting Christian feminists today who wish to construct a sexual ethic that is both Christian and feminist, one rooted not in the Victorian era, but rather one suited to the modern world.