American Martyr: The Jon Daniels Story

Rating:
Summary: An American hero
Review: Many Christians today have what some sociologists of religion have called a "suburban spirituality": we like our religion neatly trimmed, safe, gated, and above all respectable. As a consequence, fewer and fewer of us are willing to take chances--much less, God forbid, risks--for the sake of the Gospel. Little wonder that some of the folks most ardently working for peace and justice have a healthy distrust of Christianity.

Jon Daniels, a seminary (Episcopal) student, was someone who had no use for suburban spirituality. He went down to Alabama at the height of the Civil Rights disturbances, lived the Gospel's message of service, and eventually was gunned down by a white deputy sheriff (who was acquitted by an all-white jury!)when he pushed a black teenager out of the way and caught the gunshot blast intended for her.

Daniels was only in his mid-twenties when he was martyred, but his essays, letters, and journal, which make up a good half of this biography, reveal a man who had thought and prayed deeply about the need to live the Gospel message of service to others. The book, first published some 35 years ago, has been reprinted by Moorehouse Press, and deserves wider attention than it's gotten thus far. Jon Daniels is a real American hero.

Rating:
Summary: An American hero
Review: Many Christians today have what some sociologists of religion have called a "suburban spirituality": we like our religion neatly trimmed, safe, gated, and above all respectable. As a consequence, fewer and fewer of us are willing to take chances--much less, God forbid, risks--for the sake of the Gospel. Little wonder that some of the folks most ardently working for peace and justice have a healthy distrust of Christianity.

Jon Daniels, a seminary (Episcopal) student, was someone who had no use for suburban spirituality. He went down to Alabama at the height of the Civil Rights disturbances, lived the Gospel's message of service, and eventually was gunned down by a white deputy sheriff (who was acquitted by an all-white jury!)when he pushed a black teenager out of the way and caught the gunshot blast intended for her.

Daniels was only in his mid-twenties when he was martyred, but his essays, letters, and journal, which make up a good half of this biography, reveal a man who had thought and prayed deeply about the need to live the Gospel message of service to others. The book, first published some 35 years ago, has been reprinted by Moorehouse Press, and deserves wider attention than it's gotten thus far. Jon Daniels is a real American hero.