Books that Address Cultural Issues
This post focuses on books in my library that address social issues, particularly from a biblical worldview. I've also included commentaries on education.
This month, I will share some titles from our Social Science category (approximately 66 books). In the Library of Congress (LOC) system, Class H encompasses the Social Sciences, which includes economics/finance, social issues, family, and the government theories of socialism and communism. I have placed our books on economics/finance and the family books in separate collections and will highlight them in the future.
This post will focus on books addressing social issues, including Christian books that fall in the LOC’s BR or BV subclass but address how the church can approach cultural issues. I also included commentaries on the American education system LOC categorizes in Class L.
Sexuality from the Biblical Worldview
I’m passionately pro-life and have volunteered for pregnancy resources centers. In the mid-1990s, I served as the newsletter editor/designer for Life Choices of King County, WA, and from November 2018 to November 2019, I volunteered at the Langley, WA, pregnancy care clinic.
Below you will find some books on this topic.
Homosexuality and Gender Identity: A Biblical Review for Study and Teaching by Carrie Abbott and The Legacy Institute (2017).
I haven’t had a chance to go through this small group video curriculum yet. See the publisher’s description. Both of my kids went through the homeschool High School Foundational Series. I own a copy of this as well.
Pro-Life Answers to Pro-choice Arguments by Randy Alcorn (2000).
This book can be read through or used as a reference to prepare compelling arguments for life from the biblical point of view. See my book review near the bottom of this post.
Architects of the Culture of Death by Donald DeMarco (2004).
This large volume contains a set of mini-biographies of individuals who have normalized death (abortion, euthanasia, and other attacks on the sanctity of human life) in Western Civilization. These include Friedrich Nietzsche, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Sartre, Sigmund Freud, Margaret Sanger, Jack Kevorkian, and many more. Though a dark book, it provides a pro-life person an understanding of how our culture has come to accept various forms of death.
Target Africa: Ideological Neo-colonialism of the Twenty-first Century by Obianuju Ekeocha (2018).
Author Ekeocha describes how progressive donors from wealthy nations push their sexual liberation values onto the developing countries of Africa as part of their humanitarian aid and how this runs counter to most Africans’ traditional values.
Critical Conversations: A Christian Parents’ Guide to Discussing Homosexuality with Teens by Tom Gilson (2016).
Tom Gilson introduces the biblical view of homosexuality and then provides tips on addressing the issues with tact and gentleness with teens. The book's third part offers responses to common challenges and serves as a quick reference guide to accusations such as “You are homophobic” or “Hate is not a family value.” A valuable resource.
You’re Teaching My Child What?: A Physician Exposes the Lies of Sex Ed and How They Harm Your Child by Miriam Grossman, MD (2009).
See my review.
Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student by Miriam Grossman, MD (2007).
See my review and chapter summaries.
Gianna: Aborted and Lived to Tell About It by Jessica Shaver (1995).
An incredible story about an abortion survivor (and she’s not the only one, believe it or not) and her involvement in the pro-life movement.
Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier (2021).
I see this book referred to frequently in my readings as the authority on the dangers of transgenderism.
Critique on Public Education
Failure: The Federal Miseducation of America’s Children by Vicki E. Alger (2016).
The book calls for the defunding of the Department of Education. Alger gives a history of American education before the government became involved. She also provides an extensive overview of education systems from around the world. The key takeaway is that schools perform best when they have to compete for students.
The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto (2006).
Several years ago, I picked up this tome while in the thick of homeschooling. Although I found the information fascinating, the fragmented nature of John Gatto’s writing style lost me, and I didn’t finish this long volume. However, I still recommend it for those who wish to understand the foundation of modern American public education and why it doesn’t perform the way most people think it ought to.
Get Out Now: Why You Should Pull Your Child from Public School Before It’s Too Late by Mary Rice Hasson J.D. and Theresa Farnan (2018).
These two authors point out that it is too late to reform the public schools for current students. They argue it’s time to pull them out before they are harmed by the teachings of the LGBTQ gospel, scientism, identity politics, social-emotional learning, and political activism.
Views on Race
Uncle Tom DVD by Larry Elder.
This video came out during the summer of 2020, just in time for the George Floyd/Black Lives Matter riots. Beautifully blending historic film clips with interviews of contemporary conservative black leaders recorded in black-and-white, this documentary is as artistic as it is informative. I knew little of the black conservative movement and searched for it to gain a perspective on the American race issue when BLM erupted into the mainstream.
Slavery, Terrorism and Islam by Peter Hammond (2010).
This book tells the untold history of slavery practiced by Muslims throughout history. This eye-opening information counters the narrative that America is uniquely evil for having had slavery. Slavery is as old as humankind.
Poverty
The Tragedy of American Compassion by Marvin Olasky (1995).
Early in the Clinton administration, when many debated welfare reform, I did a deep dive into the history of the welfare state. I wanted to know how and why the care for the poor transferred from the responsibility of the church and private charities to the state. While researching, I discovered this gem of a book. The three reviews by LibraryThing members describe it well from what I can remember reading over 25 years ago.
Engaging Culture from a Biblical Worldview
I believe the Christian call to be salt and light includes pushing back the darkness in culture, and I frequently read books on this topic.
Why Social Justice Is Not Biblical Justice: An Urgent Appeal to Fellow Christians in a Time of Social Crisis by Scott David Allen (2020).
The author distinguishes between how culture defines justice and how the Bible defines justice and warns Christians not to fall into the social justice warrior trap. The book contains an informative table that contrasts the two worldviews.
Eraced: Uncovering the Lies of Critical Race Theory and Abortion by John K. Amanchukwu (2022).
I picked up this title after hearing Pastor Amanchukwu speak at the Washington Love Life Conference in October 2022. It’s not the best book I’ve read about Christians engaging the culture. Still, the author provides the point of view of a black pastor and explains how black churches have been led astray by Critical Race Theory and how abortion is rampant in black communities.
Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Rod Dreher (2020).
This excellent book draws its title from the final article that Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn wrote to the Russian people before being exiled from the Soviet Union. Rod Dreher wrote this book after numerous immigrants from the former Soviet bloc urged him to. They see signs that the United States is falling under totalitarianism and want to warn their fellow Americans. Dreher shares their stories about living under communism as Christians and freedom fighters. These immigrants encourage Americans to prepare to do the same as our nation moves from freedom to tyranny.
Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe by Voddie T. Baucham Jr. (2021).
Pastor Voddie Baucham gives a superb critique of Critical Race Theory and demonstrates how this anti-biblical worldview has infiltrated the church. He shows how a fault line runs through our culture and the church, the line between social justice and biblical justice. His goal isn’t to stop the divide but to urge readers to choose the right (biblical) side.
Letter to the American Church by Eric Metaxas (2022).
Author of the bestselling biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who opposed the Nazi regime, Eric Metaxas warns the American church not to fall into the apathy that the German church in the 1930s did. Our government and culture show many signs of the rise of totalitarianism that existed in pre-Nazi Germany. It is time for the American church to wake up and engage the culture before it is too late.
If any of these titles intrigue you, please click the link to borrow my copy. Or share this post with a friend who might find one of these books beneficial.
Please share any comments or recommendations for similar titles in the comment section.