From Publishers Weekly
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, American cars, homes and churches were suddenly covered with flags and the phrase "United We Stand." Bass (Strength for the Journey) gives eloquent expression to the discomfort such patriotism caused among Christians who, like her, find themselves "resident aliens" in an America once again steeped in civil religion. The book's title is Bass's faith-based answer to "United We Stand," and she weaves a series of reflections around her conflicted reactions to the patriotism of her parish at the time: Christ Church of Alexandria, Va., four miles from the Pentagon, heir to a long military tradition and dominated by memorials to both George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Drawing on Augustine, Bass argues that American Christians have become so enamored of "the City of Man" that they have forgotten their true citizenship in the "City of God." She deftly explores the history of "God Bless America" and "Amazing Grace," the two songs that defined post-September 11 religiosity, contending that neither provides adequate guidance for Christian citizenship. Bass's prose is often lyrical, and readers troubled by America's combination of military might and professed faith will find this book refreshing. But Bass displays so little sympathy for her former fellow worshippers at Christ Church, and delves so little into the rich variety of Christian reflection on civic responsibility, that others will be frustrated by her seemingly impermeable idealism. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
In this timely and quite personal book, Bass explores post-9/11 America and, in particular, the often volatile, confusing relationship between Christian belief and U.S. citizenship. Unlike many in and out of government, she doesn't see good and evil in stark black and white, and she has no patience for the simplistic, with-us-or-against-us stance that disguises itself as public policy. She makes an anguished appeal for self-reflection, sprung from an ecumenical approach, and a spiritual lament of sorts acknowledging that, in a world of increasingly righteous patriotism, some use religion for their own agendas. Looking for the revival of civic religion in the public sphere, she notes that Americans are once again talking, and often passionately arguing, about the role of faith in national life. Thoughtful readers are sure to be moved by the tension Bass descries and personally feels between loyalty to the nation and loyalty to the teachings of the Gospels. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, American cars, homes and churches were suddenly covered with flags and the phrase “United We Stand.” Bass (Strength for the Journey) gives eloquent expression to the discomfort such patriotism caused among Christians who, like her, find themselves “resident aliens” in an America once again steeped in civil religion. The book’s title is Bass’s faith-based answer to “United We Stand,” and she weaves a series of reflections around her conflicted reactions to the patriotism of her parish at the time: Christ Church of Alexandria, Va., four miles from the Pentagon, heir to a long military tradition and dominated by memorials to both George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Drawing on Augustine, Bass argues that American Christians have become so enamored of “the City of Man” that they have forgotten their true citizenship in the “City of God.” She deftly explores the history of “God Bless America” and “Amazing Grace,” the two songs that defined post-September 11 religiosity, contending that neither provides adequate guidance for Christian citizenship. Bass’s prose is often lyrical, and readers troubled by America’s combination of military might and professed faith will find this book refreshing. But Bass displays so little sympathy for her former fellow worshippers at Christ Church, and delves so little into the rich variety of Christian reflection on civic responsibility, that others will be frustrated by her seemingly impermeable idealism. (May 7) (Publishers Weekly, March 29, 2004)


Review
"...readers troubled by America’s combination of military might and professed faith will find this book refreshing." (Publishers Weekly, March 29, 2004)


Review
“This is a timely project addressing the delicate and imprecise relations between piety and politics in contemporary America. It will help people in the pew discern a more active role in our national politics.”
—Peter Gomes, author, The God Book, and Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, Harvard Divinity School

“Diana Bass has written a moving, deeply personal and provocative history of her struggle to be a peacemaker in the midst of post 9-11 patriotism. Broken We Kneel will resonate with everyone trying to live in the City of Man and the City of God.”
—Bob Abernethy, executive editor, Religion & Ethics News Weekly

“Whether through her down-to-earth stories about her daughter Emma, her insightful contrast of chapel and church or security and shalom, her re-evaluations of Constantine and St. Francis, or her exploration of empire and its relation to the gospel of Jesus, Diana Butler Bass educates, inspires, corrects, and stimulates. I wish every Democrat in America would read this book, and then quickly pass it on to a Republican—including our President.”
—Brian McLaren, pastor, author, A New Kind of Christian, and fellow emergentvillage.com

“In Broken We Kneel, Diana Butler Bass weaves her experience of and love for the church into conversation with the deepest and most urgent theological questions, in particular, ‘What does it mean to be a faithful church in a post-September 11 world?’ Pastoral leaders and Christians will find Broken We Kneel rich in pastoral insight and prophetic provocation.”
—Anthony B. Robinson, senior minister, Plymouth Church (UCC) Seattle and author, Transforming Congregational Culture


Book Description
Drawing on her personal experience as well as her knowledge of religious history, Diana Butler Bass examines the contours of the uniquely American relationship between church and state, Christian identity and patriotism, citizenship and congregational life. Broken We Kneel attempts to answer the central question that so many are struggling with in this age of terror: “To whom do Christians owe their deepest allegiance? God or country?” In writing both impassioned and historically informed, Bass, who lives outside of Washington, D.C., reflects on current events, personal experiences, and political questions that have sharpened the tensions between serious faith and national imperatives. This book incorporates the author’s own rich experience of faith, her vocation as a writer and teacher, and her roles as wife, mother, and churchgoer into a larger conversation with Christian practice and contemporary political issues.   Broken We Kneel is a call to remember that the core of Christian identity is not always compatible with national political policies.


From the Inside Flap
The relationship between Christian identity and secular citizenship has been a source of tension and conflict since the fourth century when Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. The tragic events of September 11, 2001, renewed the ancient debate about the roles of church and state as people of faith have struggled with issues of war and peace, of terrorism and homeland security. Drawing on her personal experience as well as her knowledge of religious history, Diana Butler Bass examines the contours of the uniquely American relationship between church and state, Christian identity and patriotism, citizenship and congregational life. Broken We Kneel attempts to answer the central question that so many are struggling with in this age of terror: "To whom do Christians owe their deepest allegiance? God or country?" In writing both impassioned and historically informed, Bass, who lives outside of Washington, D.C., reflects on current events, personal experiences, and political questions that have sharpened the tensions between serious faith and national imperatives. This book incorporates the author’s own rich experience of faith, her vocation as a writer and teacher, and her roles as wife, mother, and churchgoer into a larger conversation with Christian practice and contemporary political issues. Broken We Kneel is a call to remember that the core of Christian identity is not always compatible with national political policies.


From the Back Cover
"Amid the cacophony of voices responding to 9-11, this book offers a distinctive voice that combines the passion of faith with a hands-on cherishing of life. The summons of Broken We Kneel is that we forego macho national pride in a moment of brokenness and return to the most elemental truth of suffering love and buoyant faith. Butler Bass’s references stretch from a ‘Constantinian hangover’ to her little daughter Emma who knows how to be generous. The reader will find here a sane, grounded invitation to humanness that is broken, but not driven to despair." –Walter Brueggemann, author, The Prophetic Imagination, and professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary "Broken We Kneel makes a compelling argument to restore the church to what surely its founders intended: that it be a community of people who practice the discipline of peacemaking. Diana Butler Bass has refused to accept the dangerous association of church with militaristic state and instead argues that, in these saber-rattling times, the church must stand with Jesus in his brokenness and courage. Butler Bass is a real patriot." – Nora Gallagher, author, Practicing Resurrection: A Memoir of Work, Doubt, Discernment, and Moments of Grace What Does It Mean to Be a Christian and an American? "Broken We Kneel is a personal reflection on public matters. Written in a beckoning style, Diana Butler Bass calls upon all of us to consider public issues from a stance that is prayerful, humble, and engaged. Those who agree with her, and those who disagree, will alike find much to enlighten and to edify." – Jean Bethke Elshtain, author, Just War Against Terror, and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics, The University of Chicago "Since September 11, 2001, our nation has been torn between testy self doubt and a new self-congratulatory jingoism. In this highly personal book, Diana Butler Bass offers a constructive lament about what has happened to our understandings of citizenship and faith and, in the tradition of Reinhold Niebuhr, calls people of faith to renew their commitment to a vision of prophetic realism. I highly recommend Broken We Kneel both for personal reflection and for congregational discussion." – Robert Wuthnow, author, Christianity in the Twenty-First Century


About the Author
Diana Butler Bass is senior research fellow and director of the Project on Congregations of Intentional Practice, a Lilly Endowment funded research study of vital mainline Protestant churches, at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. From 1995—2000, she wrote a weekly column on American religion for the New York Times Syndicate. She is the author of Strength for the Journey: A Pilgrimage of Faith in Community, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2002.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The relationship between Christian identity and secular citizenship has been a source of tension and conflict since the fourth century when Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. The tragic events of September 11, 2001, renewed the ancient debate about the roles of church and state as people of faith have struggled with issues of war and peace, of terrorism and homeland security. Drawing on her personal experience as well as her knowledge of religious history, Diana Butler Bass examines the contours of the uniquely American relationship between church and state, Christian identity and patriotism, citizenship and congregational life. Broken We Kneel attempts to answer the central question that so many are struggling with in this age of terror: "To whom do Christians owe their deepest allegiance? God or country?" In writing both impassioned and historically informed, Bass, who lives outside of Washington, D.C., reflects on current events, personal experiences, and political questions that have sharpened the tensions between serious faith and national imperatives. This book incorporates the author's own rich experience of faith, her vocation as a writer and teacher, and her roles as wife, mother, and churchgoer into a larger conversation with Christian practice and contemporary political issues. Broken We Kneel is a call to remember that the core of Christian identity is not always compatible with national political policies.

SYNOPSIS

"Amid the cacophony of voices responding to 9-11, this book offers a distinctive voice that combines the passion of faith with a hands-on cherishing of life. The summons of Broken We Kneel is that we forego macho national pride in a moment of brokenness and return to the most elemental truth of suffering love and buoyant faith. Butler Bass’s references stretch from a ‘Constantinian hangover’ to her little daughter Emma who knows how to be generous. The reader will find here a sane, grounded invitation to humanness that is broken, but not driven to despair." —Walter Brueggemann, author, The Prophetic Imagination, and professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

"Broken We Kneel makes a compelling argument to restore the church to what surely its founders intended: that it be a community of people who practice the discipline of peacemaking. Diana Butler Bass has refused to accept the dangerous association of church with militaristic state and instead argues that, in these saber-rattling times, the church must stand with Jesus in his brokenness and courage. Butler Bass is a real patriot." — Nora Gallagher, author, Practicing Resurrection: A Memoir of Work, Doubt, Discernment, and Moments of Grace

What Does It Mean to Be a Christian and an American?

"Broken We Kneel is a personal reflection on public matters. Written in a beckoning style, Diana Butler Bass calls upon all of us to consider public issues from a stance that is prayerful, humble, and engaged. Those who agree with her, and those who disagree, will alike find much to enlighten and to edify." — Jean Bethke Elshtain, author, Just War Against Terror, and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics, The University of Chicago

"Since September 11, 2001, our nation has been torn between testy self doubt and a new self-congratulatory jingoism. In this highly personal book, Diana Butler Bass offers a constructive lament about what has happened to our understandings of citizenship and faith and, in the tradition of Reinhold Niebuhr, calls people of faith to renew their commitment to a vision of prophetic realism. I highly recommend Broken We Kneel both for personal reflection and for congregational discussion." — Robert Wuthnow, author, Christianity in the Twenty-First Century

The relationship between Christian identity and secular citizenship has been a source of tension and conflict since the fourth century when Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. The tragic events of September 11, 2001, renewed the ancient debate about the roles of church and state as people of faith have struggled with issues of war and peace, of terrorism and homeland security.

Drawing on her personal experience as well as her knowledge of religious history, Diana Butler Bass examines the contours of the uniquely American relationship between church and state, Christian identity and patriotism, citizenship and congregational life. Broken We Kneel attempts to answer the central question that so many are struggling with in this age of terror: "To whom do Christians owe their deepest allegiance?

God or country?"

In writing both impassioned and historically informed, Bass, who lives outside of Washington, D.C., reflects on current events, personal experiences, and political questions that have sharpened the tensions between serious faith and national imperatives. This book incorporates the author’s own rich experience of faith, her vocation as a writer and teacher, and her roles as wife, mother, and churchgoer into a larger conversation with Christian practice and contemporary political issues. Broken We Kneel is a call to remember that the core of Christian identity is not always compatible with national political policies.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly