Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love: How a Violent Klansman Became a Champion of Racial Reconciliation
Written by Thomas A. Tarrants
Narrated by Ben Holland
5/5
()
About this audiobook
"Riveting, inspiring, at times hard to believe but utterly true...it gives some measure of hope in these rancorous times." -- John Grisham
How a bomb-making white supremacist, once called "the most dangerous man in Mississippi," met Jesus in prison and emerged a committed advocate for Christian discipleship, peace, and racial justice.
As an ordinary high school student in the 1960s, Tom Tarrants became deeply unsettled by the social upheaval of the era. In response, he turned for answers to extremist ideology and was soon utterly radicalized. Before long, he became involved in the reign of terror spread by Mississippi's dreaded White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, described by the FBI as the most violent right-wing terrorist organization in America.
In 1969, while attempting to bomb the home of a Jewish leader in Meridian, Mississippi, Tom was ambushed by law enforcement and shot multiple times during a high-speed chase. Nearly dead from his wounds, he was arrested and sentenced to thirty years in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman Farm. Unrepentant, Tom and two other inmates made a daring escape from Parchman yet were tracked down by an FBI SWAT team and apprehended in hail of bullets that killed one of the convicts. Tom spent the next three years alone in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell. There he began a search for truth that led him to the Bible and a reading of the gospels, resulting in his conversion to Jesus Christ and liberation from the grip of racial hatred and violence.
Astounded by the change in Tom, many of the very people who worked to put him behind bars began advocating for his release. After serving eight years of a 35-year sentence, Tom left prison. He attended college, moved to Washington, DC, and became copastor of a racially mixed church. He went on to earn a doctorate and became the president of the C. S. Lewis Institute, where he devoted himself to helping others become wholehearted followers of Jesus.
A dramatic story of radical transformation, Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love demonstrates that hope is not lost even in the most tumultuous of times, even those similar to our own.
"As a kid in Mississippi in the late 1960's, I remember the men of our church discussing the Klan's bombing campaign against the Jews. The men did not disapprove. Later, I would use this fascinating chapter of civil rights history as the backdrop for my novel The Chamber. Now, one of the bombers, Thomas Tarrants, tells the real story in this remarkable memoir. It is riveting, inspiring, at times hard to believe but utterly true, and it gives some measure of hope in these rancorous times." --John Grisham
"Dramatic...Simply astonishing...Essentia for these times. If you want to understand how the evil of extremist thought works--and how the gospel of God’s grace can overcome it--listen to this book." --Mark Batterson, New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker, lead pastor of National Community Church
"Amazing...Gives hope for what God can do." --Dr. John Perkins, president emeritus, John Perkins Foundation; co-founder emeritus, Christian Community Development Association
"This gripping and inspiring story is as timely as today’s headlines....Put on your seatbelt and prepare to enter into one of the most extraordinary true stories you’ll ever encounter!" --Lee Strobel, best-selling author of The Case for Christ and The Case for Grace
Thomas A. Tarrants
Thomas A. Tarrants is president emeritus of the C.S. Lewis Institute, where he served from 1998 to 2019. Prior to working at the Institute, he was co-pastor of a multi-racial church, in Washington, DC. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Church Alliance. Tom has pursued a ministry of teaching, writing, and spiritual mentoring for many years, with a focus on discipleship, prayer, and devotional life. He holds a master of divinity degree and a doctor of ministry degree in Christian spirituality.
Related to Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love
Related audiobooks
Muslims, Christians, and Jesus: Understanding the World of Islam and Overcoming the Fears That Divide Us Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Insanity of Obedience: Walking with Jesus in Tough Places Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5End of the Spear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Sea between Us: The True Story of a Man Who Risked Everything for Family and Freedom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Preemptive Love: Pursuing Peace One Heart at a Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Two Hundred Tuesdays: What a Pearl Harbor Survivor Taught Me about Life, Love, and Faith Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When Angels Fight: My Story of Escaping Sex Trafficking and Leading a Revolt Against the Darkness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Don't Cry Out Loud: The Lily Isaacs Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Under the Overpass Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Presence of My Enemies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Don't Get Your Own Personal Jesus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God's Hostage: A True Story of Persecution, Imprisonment, and Perseverance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Scared to Life: Tales of a Good God Who Reveals His Heart When Ours Is Racing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImprisoned with ISIS: Faith in the Face of Evil Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Across the Street and Around the World: Following Jesus to the Nations in Your Neighborhood…and Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDivine Collision: An African Boy, An American Lawyer, and Their Remarkable Battle for Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fire Road: The Napalm Girl's Journey through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wurmbrand: Tortured for Christ-the Complete Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Count it All Joy: The Ridiculous Paradox of Suffering Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Long Walk Home: Discovering the Fullness of Life in the Love of the Father Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Meals from Mars: A Parable of Prejudice and Providence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shackled: One Woman’s Dramatic Triumph Over Persecution, Gender Abuse, and a Death Sentence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus Revolution: How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again Today Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Evidence Not Seen: A Woman's Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Eats with Sinners: Loving like Jesus Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Hole in Our Gospel: The Answer That Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Personal Memoirs For You
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pageboy: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Making It So: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Woman in Me Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: My Year of Psychedelics: Lessons on Better Living Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How to Stay Married Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While Time Remains: A North Korean Girl's Search for Freedom in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5See You on the Way Down: Catch You on the Way Back Up! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Me: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Night: New translation by Marion Wiesel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Counting the Cost Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wishful Drinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love, Pamela: A Memoir of Prose, Poetry, and Truth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bad Mormon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Girls Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: Built for This: The Quiet Strength of Powerlifting Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love, Lucy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Writing into the Wound: Understanding trauma, truth, and language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stash: My Life in Hiding Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love
11 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Enthralling and thought provoking account. I hope this story will prompt atheists, agnostics, and even "marginal Christians" to at least consider what an open-minded exploration into what a relationship with Jesus Christ could do for them. This book presents an excellent narrative of the writer's dramatic transformation. It's a concept you cannot comprehend or wrap you head around until you sincerely seek it for yourself. Though we are definitely transformed when we accept Jesus into our hearts, most of us will not be coming from such a radical opposite as Tom Tarrants but are changed nonetheless! "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." --II Corinthians 5:17