Download or read book Americanism The Fourth Great Western Religion written by David Gelernter and published by Doubleday. This book was released on 2007-06-19 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does it mean to “believe” in America? Why do we always speak of our country as having a mission or purpose that is higher than other nations? Modern liberals have invested a great deal in the notion that America was founded as a secular state, with religion relegated to the private sphere. David Gelernter argues that America is not secular at all, but a powerful religious idea—indeed, a religion in its own right. Gelernter argues that what we have come to call “Americanism” is in fact a secular version of Zionism. Not the Zionism of the ancient Hebrews, but that of the Puritan founders who saw themselves as the new children of Israel, creating a new Jerusalem in a new world. Their faith-based ideals of liberty, equality, and democratic governance had a greater influence on the nation’s founders than the Enlightenment. Gelernter traces the development of the American religion from its roots in the Puritan Zionism of seventeenth-century New England to the idealistic fighting faith it has become, a militant creed dedicated to spreading freedom around the world. The central figures in this process were Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, who presided over the secularization of the American Zionist idea into the form we now know as Americanism. If America is a religion, it is a religion without a god, and it is a global religion. People who believe in America live all over the world. Its adherents have included oppressed and freedom-loving peoples everywhere—from the patriots of the Greek and Hungarian revolutions to the martyred Chinese dissidents of Tiananmen Square. Gelernter also shows that anti-Americanism, particularly the virulent kind that is found today in Europe, is a reaction against this religious conception of America on the part of those who adhere to a rival religion of pacifism and appeasement. A startlingly original argument about the religious meaning of America and why it is loved—and hated—with so much passion at home and abroad.
Download or read book End of Days written by Thomas Spriggs and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2008-08-01 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thomas Spriggs takes a fresh look at the fateful period leading up to 9/11 and comes to the conclusion that the destruction of the World Trade center WAS an inside job. End of Days describes the ongoing war over faith, and the real meaning of the attacks of 9/11.
Download or read book American Civil Religion written by Peter Gardella and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter Gardella explores the monuments, texts, and images that embody the spirit of the United States.
Download or read book American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion written by John D. Wilsey and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2015-10-22 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea of America's special place in history has been a guiding light for centuries. With thoughtful insight, John D. Wilsey traces the concept of exceptionalism, including its theological meaning and implications for civil religion. This careful history considers not only the abuses of the idea but how it can also point to constructive civil engagement and human flourishing.
Download or read book The American Jesus written by Douglas Johnson and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2020-08-07 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is being a good American the same thing as being a good Christian? Are they the same thing? Are they opposed? Or perhaps they overlap in important ways. The “Christ and Culture” question is not new. It showed itself in the reaction of many Jews to Jesus. The early Christians had to find some way to relate to their Greek and Roman societies, with questionable results for their faith and their cultures. This problem has haunted Christians throughout history, and still is with us today. This book looks at much of the history of the church and the various answers that have been given to the issue. It does not attempt to arrive at a definitive answer to these questions but invites the reader to come to their own conclusions.
Download or read book The Dark Side written by Young Park and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2012 with total page 621 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of the United States is the history of people who migrated to America from all parts of the world. As a result American society is composed of many unique cultures and races. Unfortunately, the uniqueness of these cultures is one of the underlying causes of tension and conflict in America, resulting in racism, religious intolerance, and class warfare. In spite of this, the multi-racial nature of American society is an integral part of America's strength as a nation. Thousands of immigrants from unique cultures who speak totally different languages came to find a better life in America. But they were never accepted by the dominate white Christians. The immigrants had to fight for the right to be in America. Racism, race riots, and genocide are integral parts of the lives of immigrants. The racial complexion of America is changing in the twenty-first century. In a short time the non-white population will be the majority. Social, economic, and political changes are already taking place. Unfortunately, the dominate power holders and white middle classes have not adjusted to these changes. The unique system of government and economics developed over the years has reached a point that many believe will end the American Empire. There is a certain bias in this presentation and criticism is aimed at the extreme beliefs and actions of a large segment of Americans, particularly white Christians. They have been the dominant political, social, and economic forces in the country. Any assessment of the American system becomes a criticism of that segment of Americans. Their beliefs and actions represent the Dark Side of America.
Download or read book One Nation Under God written by John D. Wilsey and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2011-06-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is America a Christian nation? This question has loomed large in American culture since the Puritans arrived on American shores in the early seventeenth century. More recently, the Christian America thesis has been advocated by many evangelical leaders across the denominational spectrum. This book contributes to the conversation by critiquing, from an evangelical perspective, the idea that America is a Christian nation as articulated by specific writers over the past three decades. Wilsey asserts that the United States was not conceived as a Christian nation, but as a nation with religious liberty. Herein lies the genius of the Founders and the uniqueness of America.
Download or read book Bad Religion written by Ross Douthat and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the decline of Christianity in America since the 1950s, posing controversial arguments about the role of heresy in the nation's downfall while calling for a revival of traditional Christian practices.
Download or read book Assassination of the American Character written by Charles Brown and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2023-06-27 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I began writing about the American character nearly ten years ago. I began by writing my belief that Christianity teaches and promotes individualism. I consider individualism to be the missing ingredient of the American character, and I hope to show how to regain that in this treatise. There is a dilemma that we, in a free society, face when black and white is not clear and varying shades of gray appear to isolate the black and white. Finding moral clarity becomes far more difficult. It is very easy for those of us living in a free society to lose moral clarity. In the collective society, the primary challenge is finding the inner strength to confront evil. In the free world, the primary challenge is finding the moral clarity to see evil. We must find the strength to replace the critical theory of diversity, equity, and inclusion with the Judeo Christian belief in faith, freedom, and family.
Download or read book Lincoln and the Politics of Christian Love written by Grant N. Havers and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2009-11-13 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America has seen faith-based initiatives and “the audacity of hope” in twenty-first-century politics, but few participants in our political scene have invoked the other Christian virtue of charity as a guiding principle. Abraham Lincoln extolled the merit of “loving thy neighbor as thyself,” especially as a critique of the hypocrisy of slavery, but a discussion of Christian love is noticeably absent from today’s debates about religion and democracy. In this provocative book, Grant Havers argues that charity is a central tenet of what Lincoln once called America’s “political religion.” He explores the implications of making Christian love the highest moral standard for American democracy, showing how Lincoln’s legacy demands that a true democracy be charitable toward all—and that only a people who lived according to such ideals could succeed in building democracy as Lincoln understood it. Havers argues that it is simplistic to conflate Lincoln’s invocation of “with charity for all” with his abiding support for the ideal of human equality. The ethic of charity in his view also brought a uniquely Christian realism to the universalism of democracy. He also describes how, since World War I, intellectuals and political leaders have denied that there exists a necessary relation between democracy and Christian love, proposing that democracy is sufficiently ethical without reliance on a specific religious tradition. Today’s neoconservatives and liberals instead posit a universal yearning for democracy that requires no foundation in the ethic of charity. Havers shows that this democratic universalism, espoused by those who believe a “chosen people” should uphold the natural rights of humanity, is alien to the sober thought of both the founders and Lincoln. This carefully argued work defends Lincoln’s understanding of charity as essential to democracy while emphasizing the difficulty of fusing this ethic with the desire to spread democracy to people who do not share America’s Christian heritage. In considering the prospect of America’s leaders rediscovering a moral foreign policy based on charity rather than the costly idolization of democracy, Lincoln and the Politics of Christian Love makes a timely contribution to the wider debate over both the meaning of religion in American politics and the mission of America in the world—and opens a new window on Lincoln’s lasting legacy.
Download or read book Law and International Religious Freedom written by Pasquale Annicchino and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-12-01 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyzes the promotion and protection of freedom of religion in the international arena with a particular focus on the role and influence of the US International Religious Freedom Act, 1998. It also investigates the impact of the IRFA on the legislation and policies of third countries and the EU. The book develops the story of the protection of religious freedom through foreign policy by showing how religious laws affect and shape a more communitarian dimension of the notion of freedom of religion which stands in contrast with a traditionally Western individualistic understanding of the right. It is argued that it is still possible to defend the unstable category of freedom of religion or belief especially when major violations are at stake. The book presents a balanced contribution to the academic debate on the promotion and protection of religious freedom. The comparative approach and interdisciplinary methodology make it a valuable resource for academics, students and policy-makers in Law, International Relations and Strategic Studies.
Download or read book A Short History of Western Ideology written by Rolf Petri and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-02-22 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We are arguably living in a 'postideological' era. However, when we tune into the TV news we can hear political leaders talk about 'advanced' societies, geopolitical experts suggest 'humanitarian' interventions, and sober events presenters qualify a murder as 'barbaric'. What does this mean? In this comprehensive book, Rolf Petri reveals how our everyday political language is full of ideological representations of the world, and places them in an accessible historical narration. From the secularization of Europe and the Enlightenment project of 'civilization' to the contemporary preoccupation with ecological catastrophes or the end of history, A Short History of Western Ideology carves out the central elements of western ideology. It focuses on a wide variety of issues including religion, colonialism, race and gender, which are essential for how we conceive of the modern world. By creating an awareness of the ideological character of the western worldview, its limits and its flaws, this book warns us of the dangers that derive from a self-righteous mindset. It is stimulating and important reading for history and politics students seeking to understand the ideology of the western world.
Download or read book The Disunity of American Culture written by John C. Caiazza and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-28 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Disunity of American Culture describes culture now, when different forces are influencing it than in the past, altering it to near incomprehensibility. Identity issues have an effect on culture and politics; more influential is the question of what support the state is obligated to provide the individual. John C. Caiazza seeks to explain how this situation came to be.He begins with an explanation of the origins of Protestantism in America. Caiazza describes how the American religion has declined and the recent responses the decline has provoked. Caiazza follows with an analysis of science as it presently exists in American culture. The work of three scientists prominent in their respective fields—Steven Weinberg in physics, E. O. Wilson in biology, and Stanley Milgram in psychology—are examined with respect to how their work has influenced culture.The author examines the failure of America's school of philosophy, pragmatism, to explain the relationship between religion, science, and general culture, even though its founders, Charles S. Peirce and William James, made serious efforts to do so. He concludes by making the case that there is a contradiction between scientific reason and the claim of state power. Caiazza argues that cultural disharmony will guarantee that the secular state never achieves the dominance over culture and political life it desires.
Download or read book Between Babel and Beast written by Peter J. Leithart and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2012-07-06 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States is one of history's great Christian nations, but our unique history, success, and global impact have seduced us into believing we are something more--God's New Israel, the new order of the ages, the last best hope of mankind, a redeemer nation. Using the subtle categories that arise from biblical narrative, Between Babel and Beast analyzes how the heresy of Americanism inspired America's rise to hegemony while blinding American Christians to our failures and abuses of power. The book demonstrates that the church best serves the genuine good of the United States by training witnesses--martyr-citizens of God's Abrahamic empire.
Download or read book Christian America and the Kingdom of God written by Richard T. Hughes and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea of the United States as a Christian nation is a powerful, seductive, and potentially destructive theme in American life, culture, and politics. And yet, as Richard T. Hughes reveals in this powerful book, the biblical vision of the "kingdom of God" stands at odds with the values and actions of an American empire that sanctions war instead of peace, promotes dominance and oppression instead of reconciliation, and exalts wealth and power instead of justice for the poor and needy. With extensive analysis of both Christian scripture and American history from the founding of the republic to the present day, Christian America and the Kingdom of God illuminates the devastating irony of a "Christian America" that so often behaves in unchristian ways.
Download or read book Twilight of the Republic written by Justin B. Litke and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2013-07-01 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thoughtful analysis of how American identity has been defined and reinvented through history, and the ongoing debate over “exceptionalism.” The idea of “American exceptionalism” tends to provoke strong feelings, but few are aware of the term’s origins or true meaning. Understanding the roots and consequences of America’s uniqueness requires a thorough look into the nation’s history and Americans’ ideas about themselves. Through a masterful analysis of important texts and key documents, Justin B. Litke investigates the symbols that have defined American identity since the colonial era. From the time of the United States’ founding, its people have viewed themselves as citizens of a nation blessed by God, and accordingly sought to serve as an example to others. Litke argues that as the republic developed, Americans came to perceive their country as an active “redeemer nation,” responsible for liberating the world from its failings. He introduces and contextualizes various historical and academic claims about American exceptionalism and offers an original approach to understanding this phenomenon. Today, historians and politicians still debate the meaning of exceptionalism. Advocates are often perceived by their opponents as unrealistically patriotic, and Litke’s historically and theoretically rich inquiry attempts to reconcile these political and cultural tensions. Republicans of every age have recognized that a people cut off from their history will not long persist in self-government. Twilight of the Republic aims to reinvigorate the tradition that once caused people the world over to envy the American political order. “Probing the depths of the American identity, Litke provides a lucid and deft rejoinder to the ‘dangerous nation’ thesis that insists the United States has always been an ideological, imperial power dedicated to global revolution [and] points the way forward to a renewal of the best of the American tradition.” ?Richard M. Gamble, author of In Search of the City on a Hill: The Making and Unmaking of an American Myth
Download or read book The Cambridge History of Jewish American Literature written by Hana Wirth-Nesher and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-12-09 with total page 884 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This History offers an unparalleled examination of all aspects of Jewish American literature. Jewish writing has played a central role in the formation of the national literature of the United States, from the Hebraic sources of the Puritan imagination to narratives of immigration and acculturation. This body of writing has also enriched global Jewish literature in its engagement with Jewish history and Jewish multilingual culture. Written by a host of leading scholars, The Cambridge History of Jewish American Literature offers an array of approaches that contribute to current debates about ethnic writing, minority discourse, transnational literature, gender studies, and multilingualism. This History takes a fresh look at celebrated authors, introduces new voices, locates Jewish American literature on the map of American ethnicity as well as the spaces of exile and diaspora, and stretches the boundaries of American literature beyond the Americas and the West.
