Episode 03: Why Norman Vincent Peale?

Christian Rightcast

How did a Methodist preacher’s kid become a post-war right wing icon… and pastor to the Trump family? In the first episode of a two-part series, Kristin leads a deep dive into the life of “God’s Salesman” — speaker and writer Norman Vincent Peale.

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Articles and books mentioned in this episode include:

• The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale

• God’s Salesman: Norman Vincent Peale and the Power of Positive Thinking, by Carol George

• “New Thought” at Encyclopaedia Britannica

• “New Thought” at Encyclopedia.com

• “Why You Should Know About the New Thought Movement,” by Christopher H. Evans

• A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion, by Catherine L. Albanese

• “Norman Vincent Peale, Smiley Blanton and the Hidden Energies of the Mind”, by Donald Capps in the Journal of Religion and Health

• Surge of Piety: Norman Vincent Peale and the Remaking of American Religious Life, by Christopher Lane

• Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, by Kate Bowler

• One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America, by Kevin Kruse