The decision to remove David Barton’s book from publication… has drawn the ire of evangelicals across America. Activists from Mike Huckabee to Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann have embraced Barton as historical spokesman for the religious right of American politics. As his supporters rally to his defense, arguing that free speech is under attack, some basic facts are being ignored and truth is being lost….
Fraudulent scholarship on display
- Barton’s most vocal critics are Christians- Thomas Kidd of Baylor University and Warren Throckmorton of Grove City College, both evangelical historians, have drawn attention to Barton’s gross inaccuracies. Conventional Jefferson scholars paid little attention to the book.
- Thomas Nelson is a Christian publishing house- Barton’s book was not discontinued by some secular (or Liberal) publishing firm. Nelson publishing is one of the largest Christian publishers in the world.
- Free speech is not under attack- Barton’s book is still being sold at his website and the book sold over a million copies- Barton’s dubious historical theories are being read and believed by a distressingly large number of people. Publishers have every right to review and reconsider the work of their authors. Barton’s book did not meet the muster of Thomas Nelson or any publisher.
If the book is that bad, I haven’t read it and didn’t plan to, then it’s just as bad as the revisionists. History cannot be propaganda. Yes bias will sneak in but we must try to control it.
Jefferson was no angel, neither was he the Devil. He was a man, with strengths and weaknesses, like us all, although smarter than a lot of us put together.
I’ve got other blogs about Barton, and there are more to come this week.
Good. From your tone I expect that he is a charlatan of the first rank. I’m no real historian but, if I can’t trust my sources (I rarely have the opportunity to use the original sources) my work is of no value, and its applicability to many things is in question.
The only surprise is that the editors did not notice.
I think the only mistake was presenting the book as a scholarly examination. Evangelical historians face plenty of grief without someone like Barton throwing gas on the fire. This is why so many have spoken out against him.
Thank you, that sounds right to me.