Michael Parker, Author at The Presbyterian Outlook

Michael Parker

The Rev. Dr. Michael Parker is the former director of graduate studies at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. He has an MDiv and PhD in U.S. history, and is currently a historian based in Louisville, Kentucky. His latest book is Though Middle Eastern Eyes: A Life of Kenneth E. Bailey.

More Stories from this Author

Poster for Wicked: For Good

Oz was always political — ‘Wicked’ simply makes it clear

Long before "Wicked" soared across stage and screen, L. Frank Baum’s world carried a political pulse. The new film reminds us that Oz’s magic has always included questions of power, propaganda, and resistance, writes Michael Parker.

Jesus through Middle Eastern eyes: The life and legacy of Kenneth E. Bailey

Michael Parker recalls the life of missionary and New Testament scholar Kenneth Bailey, who depicted Jesus as a “metaphorical theologian.”

The Year of Our Lord 1943: Christian Humanism in an Age of Crisis

Alan Jacobs Oxford University Press, New York, 280 pages Amid the horrors of World War II, Christian humanist thinkers came suddenly to..

Emblem of Faith Untouched: A Short Life of Thomas Cranmer

Leslie Williams Eerdmans, 208 pages In the summer of 1529, theology professor Thomas Cranmer decided to escape the plague and passed..

Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet

Lyndal Roper Random House, 576 pages Lyndal Roper, holder of the Regius Chair at Oxford University, is a scholar of early modern..

American Covenant: A History of Civil Religion from the Puritans to the Present

Philip Gorski Princeton University Press, 325 pages Contemplating the references to God made by John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address, sociologist..

The First American Evangelical: A Short Life of Cotton Mather

Rick Kennedy Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Mich. 176 pages Michael G. Hall wrote “The Last American Puritan: The Life of..

One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America

Kevin M. Kruse Basic Books, New York. 384 pages Over the past several decades Americans have debated whether the nation was..

Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism

Chris Jennings Random House, New York. 512 pages Americans can hardly imagine utopia anymore. Instead, we are awash in dystopian fantasies like..

Abba Eban: A Biography

by Asaf Siniver Overlook Press, New York. 464 pages Abba Eban (1915-2002) was arguably the most brilliant and accomplished statesman that Israel..

Joy: Poet, Seeker, and the Woman Who Captivated C.S. Lewis

by Abigail Santamaria Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York. 413 pages For fans of C. S. Lewis, Abigail Santamaria’s biography of Joy Davidman,..

Richard John Neuhaus: A Life in the Public Square

by Randy Boyagoda Image, New York. 480 pages Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009) defies easy characterization. A high school dropout, he was early recognized..

Lincoln and the Jews: A History

by Jonathan D. Sarna and Benjamin Shapell Thomas Dunne Books, New York. 288 pages For professional historians, Civil War specialists and enthusiasts..

America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation

by Grant Wacker Belknap Press Cambridge, Mass. 448 pages Billy Graham was a major fixture in American culture throughout the second half..

The Road to Character

by David Brooks Random House, New York. 320 pages David Brooks is a conservative op-ed columnist for the New York Times who..

Reclaiming Pietism: Retrieving an Evangelical Tradition

by Roger E. Olson and Christian T. Collins Winn William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Mich. 204 pages Pietists are a misunderstood..

The Pilgrim’s Regress: Wade Annotated Edition

by C.S. Lewis, edited/introduced by David C. Downing William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mich. 239 pages Fans of C.S. Lewis are in..

Jesus without Borders: Christology in the Majority World

Gene L. Green, Stephen T. Pardue and K.K. Yeo, editors William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mich. 193 pages The full-grown humanity of Christ,”..

American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism

by Matthew Avery Sutton The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 480 pages The story of fundamentalism-cum-evangelicalism in America is..