The Netflix series, Anne with an “E”, is something very special, a series that combines a heart-moving story with insightful social comment in a brilliant and beautiful way.
Based on the novel, Anne of Green Gables by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, the series tells the story of a precocious adolescent girl living in late 19th century Canada as the setting for addressing modern issues that affect our lives today, especially children, adolescents, and teenagers.
Noteworthy for me is the fact that the local minister in the series is stereotypically prudish, moralistic, and prejudiced, a portrayal that is more realistic than I wish had been the case then – and now.
What is more, the Catholic priest and nuns in the series represent the era of the church that was – and sadly sometimes still is – repressive, self-righteous, arrogant, and just plain cruel.
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the way Christianity is portrayed in the series is the fact that it is so accurate. Victorian Christianity was prudish, moralistic, misogynistic, racist, judgmental, and stubbornly triumphal (Christianity is the only way to God).
Even worse, there are many white American evangelicals who remain captive to this kind of Christianity. There are many reasons they are, but none more fundamental than the fact that they believe Christianity is all about beliefs.
It is not, at least it shouldn’t be, which is why I wrote my new book, Unbinding Christianity.
Evangelicalism and much of traditional Christianity has turned the message of Jesus into a set of beliefs and doctrines and dogma that constitute a religion about Jesus instead of the actual teachings of Jesus that are about values, not beliefs.
That is why the book’s subtitle is, Choosing the Values of Jesus over the Beliefs of the Church.
Beliefs are important in our lives because they influence what we do, but it is what we do that ultimately matters, and what we do is at the end of the day all about values.
Values define Christianity, not beliefs, something evangelicals do not get, just as their 19th-century ancestors didn’t.
Beliefs are by nature claims we make that cannot be proven. In other words, beliefs are not facts. This means when I say anything about God, I am expressing what I believe to be true, not what is factually true.
Evangelicals ignore this. They speak as if what they believe is true and cannot be wrong, and then they compound the mistake by citing the Bible as the source of what they believe as if the Bible is a book of facts rather than stories and testimonies of faith.
The relevance of the biblical message lies in the stories it tells whose message is about how to live a life that is “well-pleasing to God” (Roman 12:2).
Stories are stories. They may have historical grounding or they may not. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is the power of faith to which these stories testify?
Unfortunately, evangelicals read the Bible literally instead of metaphorically and in the process miss the message it conveys. That message is about values, how to live, not about “right” beliefs.
This is why evangelicals can support Trump even though he shows no concern for the values Jesus lived and taught. As long as he supports what they believe, he’s their man.
Christianity is better than this, better than “right beliefs,” and certainly better than supporting Trump.
My book explains how and why, and also why Anne Shirley Cuthbert (the Anne with an “E”) understood better than the minister or the priest and nuns what Christianity is really all about.
If evangelicals were to watch the series with an open mind, they would make that same discovery, but I’m guessing they won’t, any more than they will read my book.
linnposts.com 
Jan, I found your book very helpful in the distinction you make between values and beliefs. It precisely addressed the questions I have lived with the past number of years regarding how I grew up and why I’ve pulled away from Christianity. It also offers a considerable challenge in reconciling Christ’s admonishment to love one another with the feelings I have toward President Trump and his supporters. I highly recommend your book, so much so that I just purchased 4 more to give way.
Music to my ears. Wilbur!
Many thanks for putting into words what many of us have been thinking, but find hard to explain. This is especially true when I am around some who are more literal, some of whom are leaders in the church. However, there is hope The other day I was sitting with a group of twelve Senior. We shared books we had read and our common hope for a more progressive understanding of our faith and world. One perplexed Trumper left. I wish I had six of your books to share with the remaining seniors.
Les, I think I have been writing that book my entire life, and I know from experience that it speaks to others. Thanks for reading it. Urge your book group friends to get it. I think they will find it helpful. All the best.