Unafraid

March 12, 2018
Hamilton (Making Sense of the Bible), founding pastor of Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City, Mo., addresses ways of overcoming fears—of failure, loneliness, change, illness, crime, aging, and loss—in this convincing book. Americans are more fearful now than any time in history, Hamilton writes at the beginning of his investigation into how fear shapes people’s personal lives and politics. Hamilton believes that when people are anxious, they seek out information from sources that reinforce their anxiety. On top of this, fear motivates people to vote, which makes the most anxious, fearful citizens into the most dedicated voters and policy advocates. Although he addresses the current political climate, Hamilton never promotes a specific political agenda. Instead, he believes that liberals without a conservative impulse become unmoored and conservatives without a liberal impulse become intransigent. Using research into neuroscience and introducing effective psychological tools for cognitive restructuring, Hamilton provides a way through fear that is intelligent, pastoral, and comprehensive. For instance, instead of turning to cable news to understand political events, he recommends using church and neighborhood communities as resources. Although he writes from a Christian perspective, Hamilton’s universally applicable lessons will appeal to a broad audience.