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| By Kevin Roose The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University (1st Edition) (check at Amazon) | 0.0 |
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I had read this years ago. It is informative however times have changed so do not know how things have changed at the University since this was written.
This was an incredible book written by a 19 year old college student who took a semester off from Brown University to immerse himself in the experience of Liberty University, a conservative Christian evangelical college. Roose keeps his writer identity a secret and builds personal relationships with his new fellow classmates and roommates. And although he doesn’t necessarily agree with the "Liberty" way, I believe he is very real and objective in analyzing and expressing his opinions. His experiences reveal a college atmosphere that is very different from secular schools; where curfews, drinking, dancing, and sexual contact are prohibited and every word of the holy bible is fact. Although there are certain things that are certainly disturbing in the eyes of the author, he does an amazing job humanizing the students, staff, faculty, and most importantly, the Pastor and founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell. I highly recommend this book. It’s an easy, entertaining, and informative book. The premise of Kevin Roose’s observations in my opinion is captured in the second paragraph of page
248:
"It’s not that there aren’t smart people here. In fact, with very few exceptions, I’ve been impressed by how bright and intellectually engaged my Liberty friends are. The problem is in the system. Liberty is a place where professors aren’t allowed to take chances with their course material. It’s a place where academic rigor is sacrificed on the altar of uninterrupted piety, where the skills of exploration, deconstruction, and doubt-all of which should be present at an institution that bills itself as a liberal arts college-are systematically silenced in favor of presenting a clear, unambiguous political and spiritual agenda"
A sometimes funny, but always thought-provoking book. A great read. Perfect for Book Club discussions.
I really enjoyed this book. It is a fair recounting of how an outsider experienced the very conservative Christian world at Liberty University. It is funny (in a fairly respectful way), insightful, and at times even sweet.
Paging through Kevin Roose’s experiences in Evangelicalville was like a trip down memory lane. While I did not attend Liberty University, I was reared in an identical culture, where fundamentalist attitudes reigned supreme. Where preservation of dogma was paramount. Where absolutist certainty was all but demanded and gray areas of belief decried as a warning sign of pending spiritual failure. Where words like evolution, Darwin, the Big Bang and even science itself were considered evil and subversive. Where being a Christian also meant voting conservative.
Yes, this is an environment with which I’m all too familiar. Thankfully, I did not end up spending my college years at what Roose dubs in his subtitle "America’s Holiest University". I know several who did, however, and I can say unreservedly that Roose’s portrait in The Unlikely Disciple is not in the least a misrepresentation or caricature. If anything, it’s too balanced, and that’s quite an accomplishment for someone emigrating from Brown University.
How does someone raised in a secular family and enrolled in an Ivy League institution end up transplanting himself to its antithesis in nearly every major respect? The early outlines of the idea formed while interning for A. J. Jacobs on Jacobs’ book The Year of Living Biblically. Roose realized that there is a subculture in America with whom he had never really interfaced: the religious right. You hear about them all the time on the news and in satirical send-ups by liberal media, but there’s a difference between drawing your verdict from secondhand voices on the one hand and first-person experience on the other. He decided that going incognito to live among them, immersing himself in their inner society, would be an effective way to bridge the gap. And who knows–maybe his story could change how each side views the other and help moderate the bickering to an acceptable volume.
Much to his family’s chagrin, Roose’s application was accepted and he took his academic pursuits south of the Mason-Dixon line to Liberty University–the bastion of evangelicalism itself. At the time, the school belonged to Jerry Falwell, the same incendiary televangelist-cum-segregationist who campaigned against MLK, Jr. in the 1950s and 60s, who blamed 9/11 on feminists, abortionists, gays, pagans and the ACLU, and who frequently referred to AIDS as "God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." With the Falwell era in full bloom, Roose found himself in what could properly be labeled the epicenter of Christian fundamentalism, a mini-kingdom dedicated to churning out warriors for God who could defend the values of the Christian right against an encroaching secular-liberal hegemony. This was no Brown. Putting up a credible facade around his new ultra-religious classmates would not be easy.
If culture shock was on the agenda, he certainly came to the right place. Draconian injunctions against R-rated films and all physical contact with the opposite sex (outside of hand-holding); weekly Bible studies, daily prayer sessions and omnipresent invocations of Jesus fever; courses that felt less like education than Christian apologetics, more sermonic and indoctrinational than didactic; surplus doses of Adam-and-Eve-based "science", homophobia-ridden expletives and rhetoric laden with allusions to hell. It’s all here, and having been an insider for so long I can only imagine how alien Liberty must have felt to an observer outside the fold.
A lesser individual might have treated this as a faultfinding mission to be spun into an acerbic exposé on the backwardness of conservative Christianity. Roose chooses the higher road. Far from the minimally participative bystander, he invests his time in all of the extracurricular activities his schedule can accommodate. He befriends members of his Bible study and carries on late-night discussions with his hallmates. He goeson dates with chaste Christian girls. He joins the choir at Thomas Road Baptist Church and proselytizes spring-breakers on Floridian beaches. He even meets with a spiritual mentor once a week in which his masturbation habits tend to come up with irregular frequency. You know, normal college stuff, minus the Jesus-stuffed diet.
While Roose came mentally equipped for the fervorous religiosity, his semester away wasn’t without its surprises. Like any school, one can find a diversity of views strolling the halls, and Liberty is no exception. Roose encounters several students during his time there who don’t fit the mold Liberty has prepared for them: feminists, a small but closeted gay community, students who find creationism incoherent at best, who stubbornly refuse to toe the ‘climate change is a global hoax’ party line, who aren’t militantly homophobic and don’t believe same-sex attraction is morally suspect, and who sincerely question the values and political dispositions of the university’s leadership. His exchanges with these nonconformists were enlightening and will be appreciated by those exploring a more progressive faith.
THE STRUCTURE OF FUNDAMENTALISM
Offensive, comical and rebarbative all at the same time, many may wonder how such a community can survive under the duress of modernity. As a former evangelical with a foot in both sides of the pond, I know the mentality well. More than anything else, institutions like Liberty are interested in the doctrinaire attachment to an ideology. Their dogma is a thinly veiled version of Christian dominionism. Any information deemed in conflict with said dogma is viscerally suppressed; inconvenient facts are pushed aside and only addressed once they become too difficult to ignore. Fundamentalist communities are so arranged as to propagate internal views at the expense of external ones. Within the propagandistic bubble, only views consistent with the dogma are given any weight. Its members are fastened, often without a weighing of alternatives, to a system that valorizes ignorance and trammels free thought. They are not aware that they are ‘suckers’ bred on intellectual deprivation, any more than fish are aware of the oxygen outside the fishbowl.
This basic schematic maps well to several pockets of Christian fundamentalism and churches dotting the American landscape, even if its application to today’s Liberty loses some precision. Towards the end of the book, Roose learns through his continued communications with Liberty students that the school has grown a bit more lax in the ideology department following Falwell’s departure. Given the extreme contrast between the late reverend’s views and those of mainstream America, we can only hope this was inevitable.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Possibly the defining introspective work of our generation, Roose’s sojourn turned memoir is an honest, transparent, balanced look into a cultural divide that seems more unbridgeable by the year. His stay at Liberty was attended by no shortage of disheartening revelations, including run-ins with narrow views on sexual ethics, gender and race, rampant (faculty-encouraged) homophobia, and distortions of inconvenient science, sentiments deeply rooted in American culture and for which Liberty is but an emblem. But contrary to what might be expected from its gimmicky-sounding premise, Roose doesn’t spend the length of the book razzing de-intellectualized Bible-belters who max out on the Christian Richter scale. Roose stepped into the shoes of an evangelical to learn about their beliefs, values and traditions, and came away with so much more. He found that on the surface there is much that separates the evangelical community from the rest of American society, but scratch below that surface and you find a lot more commonality than polarizing media profiles would suggest.
This is easily one of the best books I’ve ever read, perhaps because it hits so close to home. Roose’s closing words in the epilogue continue to resonate with me.
"At the end of the day, the two sides of this culture war still have glaring differences, and those differences are likely to continue to define the relationship between the evangelical community and America at large for decades to come. Humans have always quarreled over religious beliefs, and I suppose they always will. But judging from my post-Liberty experience, this particular conflict isn’t built around a hundred-foot brick wall. If anything, it’s built around a flimsy piece of cardboard, held in place on both sides by paranoia and lack of exposure. It’s there, no doubt, but it’s hardly forbidding. And more important, it’s hardly soundproof. Religious conflict might be a basic human instinct, but I have faith, now more than ever before, that we can subvert that instinct for long enough to listen to each other." (p. 315)gnorance and trammels free thought. They are not aware that they are ‘suckers’ bred on intellectual deprivation, any more than fish are aware of the oxygen outside the fishbowl. This basic schematic maps well to several pockets of Christian fundamentalism and churches dotting the American landscape, even if its application to today’s Liberty loses some precision. Towards the end of the book, Roose learns through his continued communications with Liberty students that the school has grown a bit more lax in the ideology department following Falwell’s departure. Given the extreme contrast between the late reverend’s views and those of mainstream America, we can only hope this was inevitable. CLOSING THOUGHTS Possibly the defining introspective work of our generation, Roose’s sojourn turned memoir is an honest, transparent, balanced look into a cultural divide that seems more unbridgeable by the year. His stay at Liberty was attended by no shortage of disheartening revelations, including run-ins with narrow views on sexual ethics, gender and race, rampant (faculty-encouraged) homophobia, and distortions of inconvenient science, sentiments deeply rooted in American culture and for which Liberty is but an emblem. But contrary to what might be expected from its gimmicky-sounding premise, Roose doesn’t spend the length of the book razzing de-intellectualized Bible-belters who max out on the Christian Richter scale. Roose stepped into the shoes of an evangelical to learn about their beliefs, values and traditions, and came away with so much more. He found that on the surface there is much that separates the evangelical community from the rest of American society, but scratch below that surface and you find a lot more commonality than polarizing media profiles would suggest. This is easily one of the best books I’ve ever read, perhaps because it hits so close to home. Roose’s closing words in the epilogue continue to resonate with me. "At the end of the day, the twosides of this culture war still have glaring differences, and those differences are likely to continue to define the relationship between the evangelical community and America at large for decades to come. Humans have always quarreled over religious beliefs, and I suppose they always will. But judging from my post-Liberty experience, this particular conflict isn’t built around a hundred-foot brick wall. If anything, it’s built around a flimsy piece of cardboard, held in place on both sides by paranoia and lack of exposure. It’s there, no doubt, but it’s hardly forbidding. And more important, it’s hardly soundproof. Religious conflict might be a basic human instinct, but I have faith, now more than ever before, that we can subvert that instinct for long enough to listen to each other." (p. 315)
Really decent writing from a young man! Kevin had a great idea and rolled with it. He also had some very good luck that added a lot to his story.
Kevin Roose is a typical Brown University student: he parties, hooks up, drinks, hangs out in coffeeshops, has plenty of gay friends, and is a lifelong liberal from a family of liberals, which is why his family gets very, very worried about him when he decides that rather than go on a study abroad semester, he’ll spend a semester undercover at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University instead. While enrolled at "Bible Boot Camp" he’ll join a choir, go to nightly prayer meetings, attempt to save spring breakers, take classes that contradict everything he’s been taught, and try to follow Liberty’s strict 46 page code of conduct. Along the way, he finds both the expected and the unexpected, and does his best to bridge the "God Gap" between himself and the Christian classmates who surround him. "The Unlikely Disciple" was a really good read, at times touching, funny, thought provoking, and even infuriating.
The book is redundant and I have not learned much from reading it
I was originally hesitant in picking up this book. After all, the premise is based in a sort of deception research; representing oneself as something one is not. That said, it’s one of the best amateur ethnographic works I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Kevin Roose is helping a professor on a project when he goes to Thomas Road Baptist Church, run by the late Jerry Falwell, and while there he speaks with three young people…or rather, he attempts to. He realizes just how big the "God Divide" can be, when it seems they’re speaking separate languages. The idea begins to fester within him, and soon, this Ivy League student is on his way to one of America’s strictest Evangelical universities.
Had I read this book while I was still a Baptist, I probably would have been downright offended at points, but that’s because it’s easy to be defensive when someone points out a negative thing. However, Roose’s outside view of Evangelical life and subculture provide an interesting look that people within the movement most likely don’t think of. A friend gets him ready by putting him through basic Bible boot camp and by loaning him her Veggietales DVDs. Anyone who has grown up in this generation in the Evangelical subculture automatically gets that reference and can understand how it was useful to him in preparing.
From singing in a choir, to the dilemma of what to do when you fall in love while living a lie, to having to reveal your secret after returning to Brown, this book never lets up a nonstop pace of the challenges of living within a subculture outside of one’s own. It also gives those of us who are Christians an idea of how those outside the faith might see us. Tellingly, it takes Roose a while to find people who are arguing about the ACLU and when a gay friend from his secular school visits, he fits right in with the Evangelical students.
If this book were to be summed up in a single word, it would be "complexity". The students at Liberty are a diverse and complex bunch of people, no two exactly alike, and very few conforming to the stereotypes the author expected. The professors were a wide ranging group from a sarcastic Creationist who kept insisting he was a real scientist to the pastor who tried to "cure" gay students (not out of hate, Roose reflects, but out of a genuine if misplaced love and pity) with counseling. Even Jerry Falwell, Roose notes, upon the famous televangelist’s death, was a complicated man; a prankster to those around him, a grandfather and father that doted, a demigod to some of the students, and a man who believed every volatile thing he was saying.
Roose finds himself sometimes longing for what his fellow students have spiritually, but in the end, he stays himself. In fact, this is one of the most poignant parts of the book, as his admission of the truth to his Liberty friends elicits heartbreak from many that he isn’t Saved. But otherwise, they treat him no differently, because he’s still "Rooster" and their friend. If you want a good look at what it’s like to live within America’s Evangelical Subculture, then this book is well worth the price.
As a church kid who’s lived in a Liberty-esque environment my whole life, this book was priceless to me. I desperately needed to "borrow" Kevin’s eyes to find out exactly what my world looks like to those I say I’m trying to reach. Roose’s honesty and judiciousness are humbling. I couldn’t put it down. I’d recommend this book to anyone and everyone – it’s the ultimate tool for understanding how "the other guy" thinks.
When roughly 1/3rd of the U.S. population identifies itself as evangelical Christian, it’s important to grasp what their beliefs are because as Mr. Roose put it succinctly, “Alumni of evangelical colleges run blue-chip corporations, work in big media, and sit in the elected office.” And Mr. Roose set out to do just that for a semester at Liberty University as an undercover author, studying these young champions of Christ’s curriculum, dating and social media habits, and their beliefs. What ensued was a humanizing of a fundamentalist university sans its long time leader and founder, Jerry Falwell.
Mr. Roose’s secular beliefs and background at a liberal University in Brown was in stark contrast to his new classmates’ at Liberty, yet he handled everything and everyone with pizazz in “The Unlikely Disciple”, even the controversial Mr. Falwell in one of his final interviews before his passing.
Mr. Roose writes with astonishing depth and humor for his age. A very engaging and well written account of his immersion into a culture that is, as he put it, more foreign than “any European capital”. Outstanding work.
As a current student studying at a (different) Christian/evangelical university, this book was particularly intriguing as Roose provides a distinct perspective on a unique culture. While I definitely didn’t relate to everything he said (as he himself concluded, the evangelical community is far from homogenous) it was an interesting read that gave me much to consider. Well worth the easy, narrative-based read.
I found this book on my bookshelf, with little recollection of how it got there, but, boy, am I glad I read it! Book opened my eyes on the styles of US Colleges, and opened a vast opportunity for discussion with my friends.
Agreed the writer is very young, and there is scope for improvement in his writing style, but nevertheless, I think he did a great job. Book was funny, interesting and kept me absorbed till the end.
Well done, Mr.Roose!
When I was told about this book, I went down to the local bookstore to check it out, and literally sat in the place for hours reading it. It is exceptional in its writing style, in its insights, and in its representations of all the people and circumstances the author encounters. No person or institution is elevated above criticism by merit of religion, nor are the religious ever attacked. Anyone interested in ethnography, religion, or philosophy should enjoy this book thoroughly, regardless of the reader’s religious views. For non-Christians, it is a window into Christian behavior when not trying to convert, and for Christians it is an opportunity to examine our own culture from the lens of an honest outside source. Or, for Christians who are not much involved in fellowship with other Christians, it is a portrait of what that kind of fellowship can look like. I was sad to see the book finish, and I will be keeping an eye out for further publications by this author. -Kru
When I first found out that A J Jacobs’s \\”slave\\” was writing a book of his own, I was intrigued, and decided there and then that I had to get my hands on it. I’m happy to say that it was a fantastic book, a truly inspiration look at crossing the culture divide between religious and secular, showing how the line between left and right are not always as clear as many people want them to be.
Kevin Roose was inspired to take a semester away from Brown and transfer to Liberty University, a strict Christian university known for, is essence, being run by Jerry Falwell. It was a daunting prospect. Having to pretend to fit in while still maintaining journalistic distance, running the risk of making friends who have no idea about a very large part of his personality, spending time in close quarters with people whose ideology he didn’t exactly share. Immersion journalism is always tricky, especially in a time of such contention between the religious and secular worlds.
I was quite impressed with the way Roose handled everything – that is, with humour and an open mind. He didn’t try to instantly condemn everything from Liberty just because of its associations, neither did he attempt to fake blind acceptance. He struggled, he took chances, and he came away from the experience a changed man, but its a chance that he eventually felt somewhat comfortable with going through. He took something away from Liberty that he didn’t enter with, more than just the notes he took.
What he discovered, in essence, is that the people on both sides of the divide are remarkable similar in their good and bad points. Both sides have their misconceptions of the other, both sides have their jerks whom nobody likes, both sides have their sweet caring people who make your life better for having known them, and both sides have their secret dissidents and malcontents. It’s a prime example of not judging a book by its cover, of basing your opinions on experience rather than knee-jerk assumptions and self-imposed blindness.
You can’t help but close this book with a feeling of deep respect for what Kevin did. You can’t help but feel somewhat changed, yourself, after following along with his journey. There are things to laugh at (Jersey Joey’s constant ribbing), things to raise a wondering eyebrow at (Every Man’s Battle meetings to help stop masturbation), and things to give serious thought to (the way the university deems education as a dangerous thing that can lead students away from God), things to make readers pause and wonder just what all the fuss is about, on both sides of the debate.
Ultimately, this was a well-done experiment and a fantastic memoir that comes highly recommended for anyone on either side of the fence. Give it a chance; I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.d self-imposed blindness. You can’t help but close this book with a feeling of deep respect for what Kevin did. You can’t help but feel somewhat changed, yourself, after following along with his journey. There are things to laugh at (Jersey Joey’s constant ribbing), things to raise a wondering eyebrow at (Every Man’s Battle meetings to help stop masturbation), and things to give serious thought to (the way the university deems education as a dangerous thing that can lead students away from God), things to make readers pause and wonder just what all the fuss is about, on both sides of the debate. Ultimately, this was a well-done experiment and a fantastic memoir that comes highly recommended for anyone on either side of the fence. Give it a chance; I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
The book was well written and a great read. I think it’s a shame, though, that the author didn’t dig just a little deeper to realize that the whole point of Christianity is not to follow rules and regulations, but to seek and develop a real and passionate relationship with God. That, in turn, should alter their own lives and the ultimately the world. I just moved to Lynchburg and while I find much of the legalism at LU out of date, it is a city where people are kind, gracious and giving.
I wanted to know more about the library collection and if it was balanced, if credits transferred to other schools, more about the curriculum, were all tatts allowed or just those with a religious theme, if students could qualify for government loans, graduation rates, placement services, etc. This seemed less like investigative journalism and more like marketing. Although the author was young, that is usually the time when boldness peaks and he seemed eager to please everyone. I thought it was mildly interesting but repetitive.
I bought this book on a whim because I grew up in Roanoke, VA and lived for a while in Charlottesville, VA, both of which are not that far from Liberty University. I was also intrigued about a non-Christian experiencing a semester at what is arguably one of the most religious of institutions that was run by one of the most polarizing of men, Jerry Falwell.
Let me start by saying I’m a Christian with a strong faith, but I would never consider going to Liberty University. I don’t go to church but maintain my faith in how I act and silent conversations in my head with God. I have Buddhist tendencies. I love learning about new religions, which is why I’ve let Jehovah’s Witnesses in my door. I’ve read and researched. I believe that a person has the right to choose what they wish to believe, and I’m not a proselytizer. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t have blinders on and am not a my-way-or-the-highway sort of person.
Kevin Roose came from liberal Brown University to tightly controlled Liberty University and then wrote about his experience. The book as a book was VERY well-written, especially considering the author started at age 19. Roose’s background set him up for a miserable time at Liberty — his friends thought he’d lost his mind, a Christian friend of his was considerably worried and tried to give him a crash course in how not to screw up, and his aunt is gay. However, he’s actually surprised and this confuses him a bit. He finds himself liking certain aspects of the school (he makes a wise-ass friend, he actually enjoys one of his religious classes, he admires the sense of community)while at the same time detesting others (the open homophobia, the fines for swearing, hugging for more than 3 seconds, or watching an R-rated movie, and staunch refusal of the existence of evolution).
When Roose gets permission to interview Jerry Falwell, he decides to just ask personal questions, not political or religious ones. He finds himself having a hard time looking at the man in front of him, pounding a Snapple and talking about \\”24\\” being his favorite TV show, being the same man who blamed 9/11 on gays and liberals.
Eerily, Roose was the last person Falwell gave a for-print interview to before his death. Roose was on campus when Falwell died, (the next-to-last day of the semester), and Roose’s interview was reprinted in a special memorial edition of the Liberty newspaper — and added to the Liberty Museum’s permanent collection.
Roose leaves Liberty still not a Christian, but feeling like his semester wasn’t wasted. How he feels now, after time has passed, I don’t know.
I truly enjoyed the book, although I didn’t think I would. I also didn’t expect to find Jerry Falwell personable, at least for the short period of time Roose interviewed him. In the book, at least for a few pages, he was an ordinary, if charismatic man who truly loved his family, his God, and his university. Unfortunately, Falwell has said too many words of hate for me to ever think of him in any other way.
How do I feel about Liberty University? While I shook my head in amazement at the \\”Liberty Way\\”, a long list of \\”thou shalt nots\\” with coinciding fines, I realize after reading the book that it works for many, many people. I know two women my age who have children who attend the school, and both of those women are normal, wonderful, fantastic women who in no way are the stereotypical evangelical. They’re just moms who love their kids. And the kids who go to Liberty – at least, most of the ones Roose met and befriended — truly liked the structure, needed the structure, and believed in what they were doing.
I’d recommend reading this book for many reasons — seeing what goes on in Liberty University; seeing what it means to be an Evangelical Christian; learning about another religion; just for a new, different read.
I’d be interested in your thoughts onthis book.this book.
When a friend told me about this book, I truly wasn’t sure how I would feel about it. Having lived in Lynchburg but *not* gone to Liberty, I don’t have much fondness for the school or Jerry Falwell…but I suppose I’m what is considered an \\”evangelical Christian\\”. Still, I’m a bit tired of being lumped with nutcases who bash homosexuals and feminism (because I do neither). Wary as I was, I devoured this book and from beginning to end I was, well, pleasantly surprised.
Roose certainly doesn’t gloss over the fact that he disagrees with much of the doctrine that is pressed on him during his semester at Liberty, but he writes about the people he meets and befriends with a kind loyalty that is nothing short of admirable. I literally could not put this book down and I recommend it to \\”evangelical Christians\\” and, well, everyone else alike. Personally, I think it would do all fire and brimstone believers a lot of good to see how they look through the eyes of an \\”outsider\\”.
I do have to say that Roose’s hard line logic did him a bit of harm, both in his experience as a Liberty student and while writing this book. He did seem to spend quite a lot of time convincing himself that he shouldn’t (and in the end, didn’t) believe and I got the impression that he did so because of outside influences (family, and friends from Brown) and also because he focused a bit too much on Liberty’s belief system of being anti-homosexual and the like. While he was open-minded and as I said before, kind–his constant diatribe of \\”I’m not going to believe because I can’t believe/shouldn’t believe/can’t get past the gay-bashing\\” seems a lot like excuses and ones that didn’t need to be made. I just feel the book would have been stronger without them.
I recently read and reviewed [[ASIN:B00375LKBS Churched: One Kid’s Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess]], the memoirs of growing up in an Independent Fundamental Baptist church, by Matthew Paul Turner. That book gave a humorous and curious look at Fundamentalist Baptist culture as told through someone that desperately wanted out. It was an enjoyable and eye-opening read, but lacked in the getting out phase. I was left with a lot of questions.
The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose stands opposite the looking glass from Turner’s Churched. It gives an account of a liberal, non-religious college student spending a semester at a Fundamental Baptist college.
Several aspects of The Unlikely Disciple are reminiscent of Turner’s memoirs. Both are detailing the same culture, though Turner gives the childhood account and Roose gives the college account. Both expose the same problem: a faith that is difficult on the surface with little answers beneath. Both Roose and Turner struggle with the outward demands of the culture while never fully learning why such outward demands are made.
I’ll give credit to both. I think they searched for it. I’m not sure anyone around them was prepared with answers, but I’m sure both writers have searched. I also want to give credit to Roose in that he really tries to understand those around him. I am impressed with the compassion and understanding he shows toward people he opposed ideologically. I think Roose does everything he can to try to understand the faith that moves the students of Liberty University. He engages the culture at every level attempts to learn all he can. His account is thorough and enjoyable.
As an evangelical Christian, I found The Unlikely Disciple to be both challenging and frustrating. It was frustrating because I am an evangelical but I would probably have as much difficulty understanding the culture as Roose does. There are many pockets of evangelical Christianity that are less focused on legalism, more interested in spiritual matters, and more open to questions. Yet, in all fairness, evangelical Christian culture tends to have a louder voice and that culture is what speaks to Roose. I cannot be frustrated for what a writer reports, but rather, evangelicals would be wise to note what the culture portrays and begin to question it a bit.
As for challenging, I am moved by the level of understanding Roose displays. I have never been as respectful toward Jerry Fallwell as Roose even though ideologically, I am much closer. That is to my shame. I think there is a lesson in compassion and understanding in this book. I am appreciative for it.
I can easily recommend this book. Its an easy, fun read, that in the end will challenge everyone toward a greater degree of understanding. For my fellow evangelicals, I would recommend that after reading this book, an evaluation of evangelical culture is in order. A message is getting out, but is it the message we intend?legalism, more interested in spiritual matters, and more open to questions. Yet, in all fairness, evangelical Christian culture tends to have a louder voice and that culture is what speaks to Roose. I cannot be frustrated for what a writer reports, but rather, evangelicals would be wise to note what the culture portrays and begin to question it a bit. As for challenging, I am moved by the level of understanding Roose displays. I have never been as respectful toward Jerry Fallwell as Roose even though ideologically, I am much closer. That is to my shame. I think there is a lesson in compassion and understanding in this book. I am appreciative for it. I can easily recommend this book. Its an easy, fun read, that in the end will challenge everyone toward a greater degree of understanding. For my fellow evangelicals, I would recommend that after reading this book, an evaluation of evangelical culture is in order. A message is getting out, but is it the message we intend?
Kevin Roose was an average freshman at Brown University–easygoing, into parties, politically liberal, and certainly not worried about religion. So his friends and family were understandably surprised when he told them he wanted to transfer to Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University for a semester and then write a book about it. He saw the experience as a sort of \\”study abroad\\” to the most intellectually foreign part of his own country.
At Liberty University, Roose takes classes like History of Life (which teaches students how to defend creationism against the attacks of evolutionists) and Evangelism 101, and is subject to The Liberty Way, a 46-page code of conduct that forbids long hair for men, R-rated movies, and limits physical contact between boys and girls to hand-holding and hugs (three seconds max). He has to attend chapel three times a week and–most dangerously for an unchurched Quaker boy–has to play the part of a Bible-loving, Jesus-accepting Liberty student to a tee.
In the midst of all this, though, Roose discovers something: he likes some of these people. In fact, he likes a lot of them. Over the course of his semester at Liberty, Roose finds his views of the school’s population metamorphosing from dry stereotypes to an understanding of his fellow students as people.
Roose’s insight in this direction is the book’s greatest strength. While he never supports some of the more conservative or intolerant views he encounters at Liberty, Roose manages to convince us that even people who hold such views are people worthy of our attempts at understanding, even sympathy. Roose previously worked for A.J. Jacobs while Jacobs was writing [[ASIN:0743291484 The Year of Living Biblically]], and he has his former boss’s talent for taking the seemingly absurd and making it relatable.
In a debate too often characterized by fiery rhetoric and broad brushes, Roose gives us a restrained and thoughtful account of the meeting of cultures. His honesty and humility should encourage those on both sides of the evangelical divide to take stock of their positions and approach their opponents as fellow human beings.
~lity should encourage those on both sides of the evangelical divide to take stock of their positions and approach their opponents as fellow human beings. ~
I found some of the experiences described in the book to be invaluable. I hope to teach at a religious college in the near future, so was very intrigued by this book. However, I sometimes wonder what the faculty at Brown who helped him were doing. Roose describes the kind of ‘research’ he wishes to conduct – qualitative – but there isn’t much of it. Of course, I would love all kinds of in-depth analysis, because that would help me. But putting that aside, Roose describes, describes, and describes, without seeking coherent meaning behind the experiences. This is great reporting, but it is not a study. As a long, investigative reporting piece, like _God’s Harvard_, it’s a fine book. If you are looking for a research piece, you may be disappointed (also like _God’s Harvard_). There just seems to be little qualitative research on Christian colleges, which is not Roose’s fault.
The author deserves five stars for his courage, if for no other reason. Few people are willing to open their hearts to others, especially those on the other side of the religious or political spectrum. Delightfully funny and compassionate at the same time. I can’t wait to hear more from this author.
I received this book from my sister and initally, had tossed it aside; I primarily read fiction and just didn’t feel up to dealing with a book about real-life religion. I picked it up one evening and found it engaging; suprisingly, I read the book in just one day. I was raised Catholic, but wouldn’t describe myself as religious. I live in the South and am familiar with exposure to Evangelicals in real-life. I don’t consider myself to be a biased person, but would say that prior to reading this book, I harbored many of the same ideas about an Evangelical college as the author prior to his \\”experiment\\”. The author does an excellent job of portraying not only his own views, but also captures the views of his classmates without judgement or prejudice. It is enlightening to learn about the rules at the University as well as day-to-day class life. You find yourself caring about the author, his conflicts, and his classmates. Rouse is a young writer and writes in an easy-going style; it is both easy to read and captures his day to day experiences. Even with the religious subject matter, I never felt the book was preachy, even when discussing church services and Rev. Falwell himself. It was engaging and enlightening, a welcome divergence from my norm. Give it a try; you won’t be sorry.
After reading this book, I almost felt as though I’d taken a semester at Liberty myself. I like that the author engaged in a wide variety of activities during his semester, including singing in the choir, joining a masturbation support group, evangelizing at Daytona Beach during Spring Break, and last, but not least, interviewing Jerry Falwell for the student newspaper. There are even pastors at Liberty that mentor students experiencing homosexual feelings. I also like that the author keeps an open mind during the entire semester, and isn’t too quick to judge those around him. For example, several times in the book, the author takes pains to mention that the students at Liberty, when you strip away all the Christian doctrine, are generally nice and caring people; this is also demonstrated by his interactions with them, especially his dorm mates. On the other hand, he also makes known his distaste for the anti-gay comments he frequently hears on campus. Another thing I like about the book is that I always felt that the author was being honest, and not holding anything back, whether the fact was \\”for\\” or \\”against\\” Liberty; hell, during the course of the book he even discusses his own masturbation habits. Finally, I was appalled at the complete dismissal of evolution as a scientific fact in favor of young Earth Creationism (i.e., which says the Earth is 6,000 years old!). The whole premise for the book was a great idea, and I recommend it to anyone interested in what a Christian University is like. I learned a lot about what a Christian University is like, some good, some bad.
I am a huge fan of this book. The author takes a subject (i.e. right wing Christians) and, rather than lambast them as divinely misguided inbreds as the media tends to do, he sets out to understand them. We could all use more of this author’s perspective. Modern society is more about yelling at one another try to prove the WE are RIGHT and YOU are so, so WRONG (neener, neener, neener!!!). But with all things in life the truth lies somewhere in the middle not in one extreme or the other. Huge recommendation for this book and I hope we get to read more from author in the future.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a book so good that I couldn’t put it down. There are great many reasons that make \\”The Unlikely Disciple\\” a page-turner. Kevin Roose is a excellent writer, and he injects just the right amount of humor and irony (often directed at himself) into otherwise serious narration of his semester at a fundamentalist Christian university. The resulting portraits of Liberty students are real and instantly recognizable to someone like me, who is familiar with evangelical Christianity. This is probably why I could not put the book down – its characters are not caricatures, they are not exaggerations or stereotypical \\”Bible thumping hypocrites\\”, as they are so often portrayed by secular left. The greatest positive thing about this book is the open-mindedness with which Roose writes about his experience with evangelical Christianity. There is not a hint of mockery or condescension in his tone. Even when he strongly disagrees with certain beliefs, he manages to express his disagreement in a way that does not offend or patronize. It’s a refreshing change of perspective, especially coming from a student of a secular ultra-liberal university. All in all, this is a great piece of nonfiction that I will wholeheartedly recommend to my friends, both Christian and not.
I’ve read Roose’s book twice now and although he doesn’t comment on it much, some of the most ignorant and intolerant people he encounters in the book are his own family and his secular friends at Brown University. All of them, without exception, have preconceived notions of what he’ll encounter at Liberty University and virtually all of them act as if he’s risking being eaten by cannibals or, worse in their view, come to accept Christ as his Savior.
It is his liberal and enlightened friends who gloat over Jerry Falwell’s death. The loathing and suspicion that his family and friends have for Falwell and the people they expect Roose to meet at Liberty are fraught with ignorance and bigotry and truly ironic since if you asked them, each and every one of them would profess to be open-minded and broad-minded. But not when it comes to evangelical Christianity which virtually none of them understand, nor want to understand, beyond simple caricature.
I am personally familiar with the environment simialr to Liberty U. and I find his descriptions accurate, honest and respectful. Although his writing is not to my liking, considering his youth, his writing is good and his insight is sophisticated beyond his age and very beneficial for people to learn about this unique culture. I believe that religious education is good when provided as one of many options to be considered for intellectual growth and opportunities to broaden the mind of young adults. However, it is a scary thought that young people who need to be given all the resources to explore different ideas in order to become own person are being so narrowly molded by this type of religious restrictions. The core nature of self-righteousness and exclusivity of this particular type of christianity rejects the academic openness, and turns everything attached to the judgments that are infallible to their eye. Therefore deprives them of the chances to develope independent mind which should be the main task to master during the years of young adulthood. And yet, most of LU students, as was the experience of the author, are unique, genuine, generous and forgiving and some are conflicted (appropriately).
Essentially the story of a secular, liberal, ivy leaguer (Brown University) deciding to spend a semester at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University just so he could write a book about it. Roose was an intern for A.J. Jacobs, who wrote A Year of Living Biblically, and Jacobs seems to be the inspiration for Roose to transfer from Brown to Liberty for one semester and write a book about living among the evangelicals.
The book is very well written, and somewhat surprisingly, remarkably mature. At no point is Roose demeaning or dismissive of the religious mindset of his classmates. In fact, somewhat like his mentor Jacobs, Roose seems to have come away from the experience as a somewhat more spiritual (if not religious) man. Perhaps God does work in mysterious ways. Anyway, a good book which provides a good deal of insight into the thought processes of evangelical youth, or at least the subset of them that attend Liberty University.
After recently wondering aloud what book I should read next, my sister (we’re both agnostic) recommended, yet again, that I read The Unlikely Disciple. I basically know nothing about the Bible or Christianity (I groan and can’t even begin to guess at the correct answers when \\”The Bible\\” is a category on Jeopardy), so I thought this book might be mildly interesting and entertaining, but worried it would be a long, slow read. Boy, was I wrong. I found this book fascinating and finished it in two days. I had no idea what evangelical Christianity was about, knew the name Jerry Falwell and had heard of Liberty, but beyond that, nothing. The book details how Kevin Roose, a not really practicing Quaker, leaves liberal Brown University in Rhode Island to attend a semester, undercover, at evangelical Liberty University in Virginia in an attempt to bridge, as he puts it, the God Divide (though I’m sure the book deal at 19 didn’t hurt either). Roose gives us an inside look at what goes on at Liberty, from classes and church services to extracurricular activities and dorm life. But it’s more than that. We find out about some of the people that are fundamental Christians (or are on the path to becoming one); people most of us might never meet unless they were trying to witness (aka convert) us. I really liked the fact that Roose threw himself into his semester at Liberty wholeheartedly, despite the fact that he disagreed with many of things he heard and saw, and that he kept an open mind about everything. There was plenty about Liberty that annoyed me and, at times, boggled my mind from the intolerance, the way students weren’t supposed to question anything in the Bible, the almost obsessive compulsive praying over anything and everything and don’t get me started on the classes (yes, Dr. Dekker, I’m talking about yours). However, I really found myself liking and feeling for some of the students there (Though I think a few of them are working on ulcers worrying about howall of us heathens are going to try and corrupt them as soon as they enter the real world). Speaking of intolerance, I found myself kind of ticked off with the reactions of a good deal of Roose’s secular, liberal friends and family. **Minor spoiler** When he finally fessed up to his friends and former mentors and classmates at Liberty, they still liked and accepted him, while it was obvious that his supposedly open-minded friends and family would have derided him if he’d told them how he really felt about his time at Liberty. Overall, this is a great read, with lots of humor and insight. Roose did a fantastic, balanced job of telling us what life at Liberty is like, without turning it into a farce or a bashing of evangelical Christianity. Highly recommended.
A neat picture of life at a conservative college. Impressive for someone as young as the writer.
I bought this book amongst many others concerning christianity, science, and atheism. Reason being, I am an avid researcher, and I love developing arguments from design. This book allowed me to step back for a moment from the hustle and bustle of researching and get a glimpse of what it’s like for a non-believer to transcend the boundary of two different worlds and world-views. Having transferred from the extremely liberal Brown University into the extremely conservative (America’s \\”holiest\\” university) Liberty U, Kevin Roose is in for the ride of his life. This book journals his experiences both physical and mental between classmates, a new love, his professors, himself, and more. It depicts what emotions and though-processes go on within his brain as he begins to question his belief and mold into the \\”Liberty Way.\\” Now, although I do not advocate the conservative Christian stance, it was very interesting to take note of how these students’ minds work and how they intertwine into a godly knit group. And who could forget the pattern of conformity, where Kevin is transitioning intellectually almost due to group-think! The book is extremely well-written, and was one I couldn’t put down. I recommend it whole heartedly!
This young author has crafted his first book with balance and objectivity, yet with emotion and feelings at every turn. Kudos to the publisher for recognizing a masterpiece of writing by someone so young on his first attempt. My reason for reading this book is my nephew’s enrollment at Liberty U this coming fall. He’s Baptist and attends a mega-church in a small town. I’m spiritual and embrace all forms of spiritualism as valid in their own right and context, including Baptism. I look back on the vicarious experience provided by this book with a smile. The book is well-written and provides a rollicking ride through the daily lives of real people on campus that the reader comes to care about. This book would be good if the characters were those of fiction. It soars precisely because it accurately memorializes the trials of daily life for real, flesh-and-blood, struggling young people at Liberty U. With this book as a vicarious foundation, I look forward with delight to visiting my nephew on campus and meeting his new friends this coming winter.
I am the parent of two Christian university alumni. I found Kevin’s writing humorous but never denigrating. He not only attended Liberty, but made a real effort to be involved in every aspect of Christian student life- Bible study, prayer, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this very talented young man.
I just finished The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University by Kevin Roose, and feel like I am probably the last book blogger to have read this book. In fact, even though I heard about this book when Barnes and Noble selected it as one of its Discover New Writers books, I postponed reading it until finally, after reading positive review after positive review, I decided I needed to read it for myself. After all, it is a memoir, and we all know how much I enjoy a good memoir. To give a brief synopsis: Kevin Roose decides that he will spend a semester at Liberty University, the largest Christian fundamentalist college in the United States, founded by Jerry Falwell, the leader of the Moral Majority. Roose transfers from Brown University, Liberty’s polar opposite, ready to note the vast differences in the students and lifestyles. Quickly Kevin realizes that while he may not have the same religious beliefs as his new friends, he genuinely likes the people at Liberty University. Yes, they are a conservative bunch, which Roose is not, but over the months he spends there, he is able to understand (even if he doesn’t agree) with this new way of thinking. And, Roose gains a greater understanding of faith and the different religious beliefs and practices that he was unfamiliar with. Roose only intended on spending a semester at Liberty, and as his time there nears an end, two important things occur. First, Roose is able to interview Jerry Falwell, meeting the famed founder of Liberty. The second event, coming closely after Roose’s interview with Falwell, is Jerry Falwell’s death at the age of seventy three from a heart attack. This tragedy was a monumental event at Liberty that Kevin just happened to be present for. Roose’s writing is entertaining and interesting. He mentions early on that he worked as A.J. Jacobs’ assistant (Jacobs penned the memoir The Year of Living Biblically along with two other memoirs), something I enjoyed knowingbecause it put things in perspective for me. Jacobs spent a year trying to live according to all Old Testament laws, writing a humorous memoir about this feat. The fact that Roose then found a way in which to write a memoir about a religious experience is not all that surprising. My feelings about this book seem to mirror the other reviews I have read. First of all, I appreciated that Roose does not make fun of or demean the students at Liberty University and their beliefs. Despite the fact that Roose knew that his beliefs would not mesh with those of most Liberty students, he doesn’t try to present his views as \\”right\\” and theirs as \\”wrong.\\” Instead, I felt that Roose writes about his experience in an open-minded way, and genuinely realizes that people are complex- with more to them than the beliefs that caused them to choose an education at a fundamentalist college. While I can understand why Roose didn’t share his real reason for attending Liberty University with his peers, it does make it seem as though he was being somewhat deceptive. True, the knowledge of Roose’s intent to write about them would have changed how people presented themselves, but I would have had a hard time with my own guilt about this if I had been Roose. And if I had been the subjects of this book, I may not have been as quick to forgive as Roose’s Liberty friends. All in all, this book was entertaining – at times I did wish it could have moved faster – and interesting. I have no doubt we will be seeing more of Roose’s work in the future.
You know it is going to be a good book when the subtitle is \\”A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University.\\”
Kevin Roose – a mentee of A.J. Jacobs – is a typical liberal, non-religious, secular Brown University student who realized that he had no clue about those on the other side of the \\”God divide.\\” Therefore, in an effort to get to know more about them, he decided to attend Liberty University for a semester – similar to how other college students spend a semester overseas.
\\”As a college student who doubles as a journalist, what fascinated me most about Liberty was its student culture. I still have so many unanswered questions. Like what do Champions for Christ learn in class? Do they date? Do they use Facebook? What exactly do they believe? And are we really that different?\\” -Kevin Roose
The result of his experiment is very telling and amazing.
I spent the entire book laughing, crying, or reading passages out-loud to everyone I could!
* Laughing because of Kevin very real and funny look at the evangelical Christian culture
* Crying because of the disconnected and rule driven evangelical Christian culture
* Reading passages out-loud because what he wrote was SO true!
One of the things I love about this book is how real it is – Kevin could of went to Liberty and wrote a shallow, one dimensional critique of evangelicalism. But he didn’t.
Instead, he wrote about real people with real complex lives, beliefs, and actions.
And his conclusions – wow…they are powerful!!
Yet, I won’t tell you them here because I would recommend reading it – only, if you do, please keep an open mind and read it with a heart to learn, not to defend or critique Kevin’s experience. If you that, you will miss a great opportunity to see the plank in our eyes.
This is a surprisingly enjoyable book. Kevin Roose transfers for a semester from Brown to the staunchly conservative,Christian Liberty University, run by the late Jerry Falwell. He attends school as a in-the-closet writer, who doesn’t quite feel the passion for Jesus all around him. But this is no Richard Dawkins-esque rant against a religious institution; Roose is very sympathetic in his portrayal not only of his classmates, but even of Falwell himself. Roose’s classmates turn out not to be religious fanatics (for the most part), but young men and women searching for meaning. I highly recommend The Unlikely Disciple.