Christian scholars are denouncing the claims of the jolly pseudo-historian, his Christian publisher pulled his latest book from the shelf, and Christian advocacy groups acknowledge he has a loose relationship with historical truth...and yet politicians still want a photo-op with him. Stephanie Simon at Politico:
Barton’s abrupt, and short-lived, fall from grace began with the publication in April 2012 of his book “The Jefferson Lies,” which portrays Thomas Jefferson as an orthodox Christian who saw no need to separate church and state.
Secular critics had long denounced Barton as a fraud who manipulates and misrepresents history to serve political goals. With the publication of “The Jefferson Lies,” several dozen academics at Christian colleges stepped forward to join the chorus.
Led by Warren Throckmorton, a professor of psychology at Grove City College, the Christian scholars tore apart the new book, pointing out a bevy of errors and distortion. Several pastors picked up the thread, organizing a boycott of Barton’s publisher, the Christian publishing house Thomas Nelson. The critiques gained so much steam that Barton’s book was voted “the least credible history book in print” in an online poll by the History News Network.
Barton rejected the barrage of criticism as mean-spirited, politically motivated and just plain wrong. But in August, his publisher withdrew “The Jefferson Lies.” A senior executive explained to NPR that Thomas Nelson couldn’t stand by the book because “basic truths just were not there.”
It was a stunning repudiation of Barton’s credibility.
But to his critics’ astonishment, Barton has bounced back. ... “It has been shocking how much resistance there is to critically examining what Barton says,” said Scott Culpepper, an associate professor of history at Dordt College who has critiqued Barton’s scholarship. “I really underestimated the power of the political element in evangelicalism.” ...
During their campaign to point out the errors in Barton’s work, his Christian critics asked two of the nation’s biggest evangelical advocacy groups, the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, to stop promoting his faulty scholarship.
The FRC responded by quietly pulling from its website a popular video showcasing clips of Barton leading one of his Capitol tours. FRC Vice President Kenyn Cureton said the video was removed because of “a few historical inaccuracies.” ...
Focus on the Family, meanwhile, edited two videos on its website featuring a lengthy interview Barton gave to Focus radio. The editing deleted a segment in which Barton declares that Congress printed the first English-language Bible in America — and intended it to be used in schools. That’s one of Barton’s signature stories — it’s a highlight in his Capitol tour — but historians who have reviewed the documentation say it’s simply not true.
