Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, 25th Anniversary Edition by Randall Balmer (review)

We can all be glad for the twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, by Randall Balmer. In capturing, with respect and compassion, the lives and sentiments of evangelical Americans Balmer gifted scholars and students with a wide-ranging analysis of a social group that continues to strongly influence American society. The original analysis offers what is still one of the best discussions of such issues as the development of churches qua organizations, the historical and contemporaneous force of millennialism, how “oddities” such as faith healing constitute the evangelical experience, and the impact of social location on our research (via Balmer’s frank disclosures of self throughout his analytic narrative). In this anniversary edition we also get new material—a chapter on Latino evangelicals and an afterword with updates on people and churches from the original research.

Balmer’s attention to the term evangelical also remains relevant. Today, more perhaps than in 1989, we are uncertain who is included in this term. Or, perhaps not confused; rather, many simply still assume evangelicals comprise a homogenous group, share a set of beliefs, evangelize in similar ways, etc. That was not sufficient then, and is even less so today. Today evangelical congregations include LGBT in their names, policies, and agendas. We see the growth of “prosperity gospel” churches. And, the evangelical Left thrives. Balmer addressed the problem of definition (originally) by contextualizing evangelical subculture within historical shifts across the twentieth century. The question of definition is reflected in the chapter on Latino evangelicals and in the afterword, when Balmer considers theology in and contemporary evangelical services. Balmer is dismayed by the elevation of “praise music” and the neglect of the sacrament of the Eucharist, causing a “diminution of the gospel, a departure from the capacious words of Jesus, who invited all who labor and are heavy laden to come and find comfort” (378).

The chapter on Latino evangelicals provides a solid examination of their impact on American evangelicalism. Partly it is the youth of American Latinos (median age is 27, while 37 is the median age for the general population) that fuels their importance—young people are bringing greater attention to issues of social justice across all arenas of American life and the evangelical subculture is no exception. In this case, the driving issue is immigration reform. As Balmer puts it, “[it] represents a kind of redemptive symmetry. Just as a path to citizenship allows immigrants to move from the shadows and seek a better life, so too evangelical advocacy on their behalf allows evangelicals to reclaim its noble legacy” (350).

Then and now it remains a fair question whether Balmer gives a pass to evangelicals in regards to their participation in reactionary politics. If this is your question, I strongly recommend you read Balmer’s afterword. Candidly and with heart Balmer gives us his response by sharing how his own (complicated) position toward evangelicalism has changed.