Christians Are Under Attack in the Culture War, Todd Starnes Argues in New Book
WASHINGTON — The "Culture War" is not just directed at religious liberty, but the Christian faith, Fox News conservative columnist Todd Starnes remarked to The Christian Post during an event launching his new book, God Less America: Real Stories From the Front Lines of the Attack on Traditional Values. The "mainstream media" is ignoring this problem, he added, not because of any animus toward Christianity, but because few of them know Evangelical Christians.
Family Research Council, a social conservative think tank, held a ceremony to launch the book on a humid Thursday evening at FRC's Washington, D.C. headquarters.
In an interview with The Christian Post, Starnes explained that he was led to write the book due to the material he had gathered for his columns for Fox News.
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"I cover the Culture War for Fox News. For quite some time now and I've been collecting all of these stories and without fail every time one of these stories comes out, people generally say how in the world can this be happening in the country?" said Starnes.
"That really prompted me to write the book and for me the issue here is not just a war on religious liberty but it's a war directed specifically at the Christian faith."
Held at the FRC's office, the event featured a social gathering with dinner provided for FRC members and assorted guests unaffiliated with the organization.
Later, a presentation was given that included a short promotional video, Starnes reading from "God Less America", and a question and answer segment.
Starnes also signed free copies of his book and will be this weekend beginning his corss-country tour promoting "God Less America."
Regarding his statement that mainstream media usually ignores culture war issues, Starnes told CP that there were "different theories" out there as to why.
"And some people say there is a vast conspiracy that they have people at the networks saying 'oh you know, let's get the Christians!' I don't think that's the case. I think it's just a matter of worldview," said Starnes.
"I'd be willing to bet that most national newsrooms are not populated by evangelical Christians. I think that's a pretty fair statement and as a result of that, they just don't know anything about us and these stories just don't interest them."
As part of the presentation, Starnes shared the stage with FRC President Tony Perkins and FRC Executive Vice President and retired Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin. Perkins gave some opening remarks.
"I cannot tell you how grateful we are for the work that Todd Starnes does. He is, like we say in the South, he's like white on rice when it comes to these issues of religious liberty across the country," said Perkins.
Whereas many are afraid to talk about these issues, he added, "Todd is right there in the midst, mixing it up and we're grateful for that because it has drawn attention."
Boykin also commended Starnes for his work, stating before those gathered that Starnes "does what he believes in" and has "moral courage."
"I am very proud to call you friend," said Boykin, adding that Starnes was "a brother in all senses of the word."
Released earlier this week, "God Less America" is a blend of satire and real life events written by Starnes. Each chapter focuses on a certain topic, with titles like "Chick-fil-A: The Gospel Bird," "Macy's Kinky Thanksgiving Day Parade," "No Gideons Allowed," and "So Absurd It Could Be True: The Gospel According to Barack Obama."
