In his book "Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity" (1997), Bawer stated, in the words of "Publishers Weekly", "that fundamentalist Christianity... has been preaching a message of wrath and judgment" that "is incompatible with Jesus' message of love". While criticizing "Bawer's sometimes strident tone", "Publishers Weekly" said that his "graceful prose and lucid insights make this a must-read book for anyone concerned with the relationship of Christianity to contemporary American culture". Walter Kendrick, in "The New York Times", noted that like "A Place at the Table", "Stealing Jesus" was an "alarm bell", in this case about Christian fundamentalism. Although Kendrick complained that, Bawer's hopes to the contrary, there was "no hope of converting the fundamentalists", he concluded that the book might "prove of value simply for its clear exposition of what today's American 'fundamentalists' believe and want to do".