The Faith of Barack Obama

November 24, 2008
As a veteran communications professional, it comes as no surprise that Mansfield commands an easygoing conversational speaking style that helps buffer some of the potentially loaded issues he chooses to tackle. While he may be best identified by his ties to the conservative evangelical community, Mansfield possesses the ability to explore divergent ideologies while acknowledging some of his personal red flags with a tone of utmost respect. Listeners in search of a definitive, comprehensive Obama spiritual biography may not find the level of dramatic new revelations they were hoping for, but Mansfield succeeds in adding thoughtful theological and political context to events and experiences. Perhaps the most captivating section involves Mansfield's account of a Sunday visit to Trinity United Church of Christ, the congregation from which Senator Obama resigned his membership following publicity surrounding controversial statements by founding pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Mansfield presents an analysis of Obama's distinctly postmodern journey that will generate valuable discussion across the religious spectrum. A Thomas Nelson hardcover.

As author and narrator, Stephen Mansfield discusses how President-Elect Barack Obama's politics and religion are intertwined. He first recounts Obama's upbringing by an atheist mother and Muslim father in an attempt to portray Obama's search for meaning as a young man. With careful pacing and understatement, he describes Obama's rise from a self-described "skinny kid with a funny name" to a politician with rock-star status, illustrating with vivid descriptions Obama's sudden emergence from relative obscurity into the national political arena. He also addresses Obama's association with Reverend Jeremiah Wright and his "liberal leftist" church with the intent to place it within a sociological context. Mansfield depicts Obama's genuine anguish regarding the conflict that arose over his former mentor. Overall, Mansfield creates an interesting profile of Obama's life and faith, the details of which were gleaned from an interview, but in the end one feels that the President-Elect is never personally revealed. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine