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Shepherds for Sale 2024
Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda is a 2024 publication by Megan Basham, released through HarperCollins. The work claims that evangelical figures—particularly within the Southern Baptist Convention—have advanced left-leaning positions on matters including climate change, illegal immigration, abortion, COVID-19, critical race theory, and the #MeToo movement. Basham contends that these leaders have shifted from traditional Christian stances to align with broader cultural elites in pursuit of acceptance and influence. The book ignited debate shortly after its release.
Critics pointed out errors within the text. Several individuals named in the book have publicly challenged its claims. For instance, J. D. Greear stated that the book's reporting "is neither careful nor charitable, and in many places, demonstrably untrue, as even the simplest of internet searches reveals." Warren Cole Smith, contributing to The Dispatch, claimed that the work reads less like journalism and more like propaganda. Rick Pidcock from Baptist News Global added that Basham "resorts to lies and conspiracy theories to make her case."
Warren Cole Smith identified what he sees as the central flaw in Basham’s argument: “corrupting money is not on the evangelical left, as she claims, but on the populist right.” Pidcock expanded by saying that “the bigger story is how Basham and the evangelicals who support her book are actually the wolves in bed with billionaires.” Smith also noted that the book “has many villains, but it has only one true hero: Donald J. Trump. He is mentioned more than 30 times in the book, all positively or defensively.” He argued that Shepherds for Sale "purports to fight for the Gospel against heretics, but Basham is waging a proxy war, defending Trump against his evangelical critics."
On the other hand, some have embraced the text as a rallying point. Advocates of the book include Tom Ascol, Doug Wilson, and Eric Metaxas. Daniel Gullotta, writing for National Review, believes that the book "mirrors the growing divisions within the church."
Thomas Creedy, in Premier Christianity, observes that Shepherds for Sale "is a political book more than a religious one.
Details
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Pages
- 352
