Download or read book American Presidents Religion and Israel written by Paul Merkley and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2004-07-30 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortly after the end of the Second World War, President Harry S Truman declared his support for the creation and maintenance of the modern state of Israel, basing that support on religious and theological grounds. This is the first book to explore the connection between the religious backgrounds and beliefs of U.S. presidents in relation to their policies toward Israel. From Truman to Ford, U.S. presidents relied, in part, on their religious and moral commitments to support their policies and views toward Israel. Beginning with Carter, however, presidents have abandoned the role of champions of Israel to become champion of the Peace Process, stressing peace and a secular approach that rises above the religious and theological fray. And yet, even in the context of this attempted fair-mindedness, U.S. presidents reveal their personal religious and moral beliefs in their responses to the issue of Israel. Today, George W. Bush, one of the most vocally religious presidents, seems poised to take up the tradition once again of relying on his religious convictions to justify his positions toward the Arab-Israeli conflict. Here, Merkley argues that while faith alone does not determine action, or that it even has a controlling influence, religious belief does play a role in the policies that U.S. presidents, and the nation, adopt toward Israel. When Truman declared, I am Cyrus, he was emphatically grounding his support of the modern state of Israel in his belief in the Bible. Referring to the Persian king who allowed the Jews to return to Israel, and to build the Second Temple, Truman revealed his religious commitments and supported his policies on biblical grounds. Bringing to the fore neglected evidence of the role of religious belief in policies toward Israel, Merkley explores an overlooked aspect of presidential decision-making, suggesting that religion, while not the only factor, is at least among the influences that determine a president's view of the Arab-Israeli conflict. From Truman to Ford, policies often reflected the Evangelical traditions that dictated unyielding support of Israel, but with Carter's commitment to the peace process above all else, the trend turned toward moral absolutes and more general religious beliefs that could sustain arguments for a negotiated peace. George W. Bush, thus far, however, has clearly demonstrated his personal religious beliefs and may, in the end, reclaim the mantle of Cyrus.
Download or read book Religion and the American Presidency written by Mark J. Rozell and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2024-01-21 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book chronologically analyzes fourteen key US Presidents, from Washington to Biden, to highlight how religion has informed or influenced their politics and policies. For years, leading scholars have largely neglected religion in presidential studies. Yet, religion has played a significant role in a number of critical presidencies in US history. This volume reveals the deep religious side to such presidents as Truman, Eisenhower, and Reagan, among others, and the impact that faith had on their administrations. Now in its fourth edition, this work includes analysis of Joe Biden as the second Catholic president in United States history and provides a timely update to a key text in the study of religion and the presidency.
Download or read book Religion in the Oval Office written by Gary Scott Smith and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-02-27 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his highly praised book Faith and the Presidency, Gary Scott Smith cast a revealing light on the role religion has played in presidential politics throughout our nation's history, offering comprehensive, even-handed examinations of the role of religion in the lives, politics, and policies of eleven presidents. Now, in Religion in the Oval Office, Smith takes on eleven more of our nation's most interesting and influential chief executives: John Adams, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William McKinley, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Drawing on a wide range of sources and paying close attention to historical context and America's shifting social and moral values, he examines their religious beliefs, commitments, affiliations, and practices and scrutinizes their relationships with religious leaders and communities. The result is a fascinating account of the ways in which religion has helped shape the course of our history. From John Quincy Adams' treatment of Native Americans, to Harry Truman's decision to recognize Israel, to Bill Clinton's promotion of religious liberty and welfare reform, to Barack Obama's policies on poverty and gay rights, Smith shows how strongly our presidents' religious commitments have affected policy from the earliest days of our nation to the present. Together with Faith and the Presidency, Religion in the Oval Office provides the most comprehensive examination of the inseparable and intriguing relationship between faith and the American presidency. This book will be invaluable to anyone interested in the presidency and the role of religion in politics.
Download or read book God s Country written by Samuel Goldman and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2018-02-02 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States is Israel's closest ally in the world. The fact is undeniable, and undeniably controversial, not least because it so often inspires conspiracy theorizing among those who refuse to believe that the special relationship serves America's strategic interests or places the United States on the right side of Israel's enduring conflict with the Palestinians. Some point to the nefarious influence of a powerful "Israel lobby" within the halls of Congress. Others detect the hand of evangelical Protestants who fervently support Israel for their own theological reasons. The underlying assumption of all such accounts is that America's support for Israel must flow from a mixture of collusion, manipulation, and ideologically driven foolishness. Samuel Goldman proposes another explanation. The political culture of the United States, he argues, has been marked from the very beginning by a Christian theology that views the American nation as deeply implicated in the historical fate of biblical Israel. God's Country is the first book to tell the complete story of Christian Zionism in American political and religious thought from the Puritans to 9/11. It identifies three sources of American Christian support for a Jewish state: covenant, or the idea of an ongoing relationship between God and the Jewish people; prophecy, or biblical predictions of return to The Promised Land; and cultural affinity, based on shared values and similar institutions. Combining original research with insights from the work of historians of American religion, Goldman crafts a provocative narrative that chronicles Americans' attachment to the State of Israel.
Download or read book The Elected and the Chosen written by Denis Brian and published by Gefen Publishing House Ltd. This book was released on 2012 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why american presidents have supported jews and israel.
Download or read book As America Has Done to Israel written by John P. McTernan and published by Whitaker House. This book was released on 2008-03-04 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is America on a Collision Course with God? There is a direct correlation between the alarming number of massive disasters striking America and her leaders pressuring Israel to surrender her land for “peace.” Costing hundreds of lives and causing hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of damage, dozens of disasters have hit America—and always within twenty-four hours of putting pressure on Israel. These disasters have included earthquakes, raging fires, hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, and tornadoes. What can you do as an individual—and what can America do—to change the direction of our country in relation to Israel and prevent the increasing number of calamities?
Download or read book Religion and the American Presidency written by Gastón Espinosa and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 566 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book challenges the idea that the mixing of religion and presidential politics is a new phenomenon. It explores how presidents have drawn on their religious upbringing, rhetoric, ideas, and beliefs to promote their domestic and foreign policies to the nation. This influence is evident in Washington's decision to add "so help me God" to the presidential oath, accusations by Adam's supporters that Jefferson was an infidel, Lincoln's biblical metaphors during the Civil War, and FDR's call to fight against Nazi totalitarianism on behalf of Judeo-Christian civilization. It is also apparent in Truman's support for Israel, Eisenhower's Cold War decision to add "In God We Trust" on American currency, the debate over JFK's Catholicism, Jimmy Carter's born-again Christianity, Reagan's "Evil Empire" speech, Clinton's public repentance, and George W. Bush's "crusade" against Islamic terrorists. This volume explores these issues of religion and power in the presidencies of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush through scholarly interpretations, primary sources, and illustrations.
Download or read book The Presidents Their Faith written by Darrin Grinder and published by Elevate Publishing. This book was released on 2012-03-21 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The old adage, "never discuss religion and politics," is roundly rejected in this incisive exploration of presidential history and religious faith. The Presidents & Their Faith is a fascinating and informative look at how every U.S. president exercised their personal faith, exerted presidential power, and led a religiously diverse nation. Has there ever been a stranger prayer than Truman's, offered upon America's successful development of the atom bomb: "We pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes"? At the nation's founding, Northeast Presbyterians demanded explicit mention of Jesus in the Constitution. George Washington refuted them, saying that religious piety "was a matter best left between an individual and his God; religious instruction was the responsibility of religious societies, not the civil state." What drove Washington to make that argument, and what if he had lost? Who wouldn't feel like the exasperated FDR when he said, "I can do almost everything in the 'Goldfish Bowl' of the President's life, but I'll be hanged if I can say my prayers in it. It bothers me to feel like something in the zoo being looked at by all the tourists in Washington when I go to church...No privacy in that kind of going to church, and by the time I have gotten into that pew and settled down with everybody looking at me, I don't feel like saying my prayers at all." But even more importantly, what's real, what's a show, and why does it matter when it comes to faith and politics? > These questions and more are unpacked and examined, leading to a whole new understanding of how religion and politics interfaced through America's history, and how they will play out in our future. In this climate of religious and political tensions, The Presidents & Their Faith casts a civil, yet entertaining, and insightful spotlight on the unique mix (and frequent mix-ups) of politics and religion in America.
Download or read book Religion and the American Presidency written by Gastón Espinosa and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book challenges the idea that the mixing of religion and presidential politics is a new phenomenon. It explores how presidents have drawn on their religious upbringing, rhetoric, ideas, and beliefs to promote their domestic and foreign policies to the nation. This influence is evident in Washington's decision to add "so help me God" to the presidential oath, accusations by Adam's supporters that Jefferson was an infidel, Lincoln's biblical metaphors during the Civil War, and FDR's call to fight against Nazi totalitarianism on behalf of Judeo-Christian civilization. It is also apparent in Truman's support for Israel, Eisenhower's Cold War decision to add "In God We Trust" on American currency, the debate over JFK's Catholicism, Jimmy Carter's born-again Christianity, Reagan's "Evil Empire" speech, Clinton's public repentance, and George W. Bush's "crusade" against Islamic terrorists. This volume explores these issues of religion and power in the presidencies of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush through scholarly interpretations, primary sources, and illustrations.
Download or read book Presidential Profiles written by John Sutherland Bonnell and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Accidental Presidents who Became the Blessers of Israel written by Colonel John T Somerville Usmc (Ret ) and published by Tsurtsina Publications. This book was released on 2020-03-15 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The five American men pictured on the Mount Rushmore picture had two things in common. First, they were in the presidential office when Israel needed their help and gave it against overwhelming opposition. Second ... Ha! Did you really think we are going to tell you? Read the book and you'll find out.
Download or read book The Faiths of the Postwar Presidents written by David L. Holmes and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2012-04-25 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Impressively balanced accounts of such matters as Nixon’s betrayal of Billy Graham’s trust and Obama’s connection to Jeremiah Wright…[An] interesting take.”—Booklist From the author of The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, an acclaimed account of the spiritual beliefs of such iconic Americans as Franklin, Washington, and Jefferson, this is a measured look at the role of faith in the lives of twelve presidents who have served since the end of World War II. David Holmes examines not only the beliefs professed by each president but also the variety of possible influences on their religious faith, such as their upbringing, their education, and the faith of their spouse. In each profile, close observers such as clergy, family members, friends, and advisors recall churchgoing habits, notable displays of faith (or lack of it), and the influence of their faiths on policies concerning abortion, the death penalty, Israel, and other controversial issues. Whether discussing John F. Kennedy’s philandering and secularity or Richard Nixon’s betrayal of Billy Graham’s naïve trust during Watergate, Holmes includes telling and often colorful details not widely known or long forgotten. We are reminded, for instance, how Dwight Eisenhower tried to conceal the background of his parents in the Jehovah’s Witnesses and how the Reverend Cotesworth Lewis’s sermonizing to Lyndon Johnson on the Vietnam War was actually not a left- but a right-wing critique. “An admirable and colorful yet balanced look at our recent Presidents and their religious beliefs. It will have wide appeal for all readers and particularly for those interested in presidential history.”—Library Journal
Download or read book Evangelicals and Israel written by Stephen Spector and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2009 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most observers explain evangelical Christians' bedrock support for Israel as stemming from the apocalyptic belief that the Jews must return to the Holy Land as a precondition for the second coming of Christ. But the real reasons, argues Stephen Spector, are far more complicated. In Evangelicals and Israel, Spector delves deeply into the Christian Zionist movement, mining information from original interviews, web sites, publications, news reports, survey research, worship services, and interfaith conferences, to provide a surprising look at the sources of evangelical support for Israel.Israel is God's prophetic clock for many evangelicals - irrefutable proof that prophecy is true and coming to pass in our lifetime. But Spector goes beyond end-times theology to find a complex set of motivations behind Israel-evangelical relations. These include the promise of God's blessing for those who bless the Jews; gratitude to Jews for establishing the foundations of Christianity; remorse for the Church's past anti-Semitism; fear that God will judge the nations based on how they treated the Jewish people; and reliance on Israel as the West's firewall against Islamist terrorism. Spector explores many Christian Zionists' hostility toward Islam, but also uncovers an unexpected pragmatism and flexiblility concerning Israel's possession of the entire Holy Land.For evangelicals, politics frequently mixes with faith. Yet Spector argues that evangelical beliefs - though often portrayed as unifying and rigid - are in reality various and even contradictory. Spector uses George W. Bush's beliefs about the Bible as a sounding board for these issues and explores the evangelical influence on his Middle East policies. Evangelicals and Israel corrects much of the speculation about Bush's personal faith and about evangelicalism's impact on American-Middle East relations, and provides the fullest and most nuanced account to date of the motives and theology behind Christian Zionism.
Download or read book Religion Race and the American Presidency written by Gaston Espinosa and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2008-08-22 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The role that race and religion play in American presidential elections is attracting national attention like never before. The 2008 presidential candidates reached out to an unprecedented number of racial and religious voting constituencies including African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, Mainline Protestants, Catholics, Evangelicals, Jews, women, the non-religious, and more. Religion, Race, and the American Presidency focuses on the roles of these racial and religious groups in presidential elections over the last forty years, and in elections since 2000 in particular. Drawing upon survey data, interviews, and case studies of recent presidents, the contributors examine the complicated relationships between American presidents and key racial and religious groups. The paperback edition features a new capstone chapter on the 2008 elections. Contributions by Brian Robert Calfano, David G. Dalin, Paul A. Djupe, Gastón Espinosa, John C. Green, Melissa V. Harris-Lacewell, Lyman A. Kellstedt, So Young Kim, David C. Leege, Laura R. Olson, Corwin Smidt, Katherine E. Stenger, and Adam L. Warber.
Download or read book God in the White House A History written by Randall Herbert Balmer and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2008-01-22 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bush White House, historian Balmer explores the role religion plays in the personal and political lives of Americas presidents. 16-page b&w photo insert.
Download or read book God s New Israel written by Conrad Cherry and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2014-02-01 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The belief that America has been providentially chosen for a special destiny has deep roots in the country's past. As both a stimulus of creative American energy and a source of American self-righteousness, this notion has long served as a motivating national mythology. God's New Israel is a collection of thirty-one readings that trace the theme of American destiny under God through major developments in U.S. history. First published in 1971 and now thoroughly updated to reflect contemporary events, it features the words of such prominent and diverse Americans as Jonathan Edwards, Thomas Jefferson, Brigham Young, Chief Seattle, Abraham Lincoln, Frances Willard, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Ralph Reed, and Rosemary Radford Ruether. Neither a history of American religious denominations nor a history of American theology, this book is instead an illuminating look at how religion has helped shape Americans' understanding of themselves as a people.
Download or read book Religion and the Bush Presidency written by M. Rozell and published by Springer. This book was released on 2007-08-20 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: George W. Bush's religiosity has invited much analysis and controversy about the impact of religion on government. This collection of leading scholars' essays first examines the impact of various religions voting groups on the 2004 presidential campaign, and then reviews and assesses the impact of religion on the policies of the Bush presidency.
