Homeland Mythology: Biblical Narratives in American CulturePenn State Press, 10 սեպ, 2015 թ. - 288 էջ Since 9/11, America has presented itself to the world as a Christianist culture, no less antimodern and nostalgic for an idealized past than its Islamist foes. The master-narrative both sides share might sound like this: Once upon a time, the values of the righteous community coincided with those of the state. Home and land were harmoniously united under God. But through intellectual pride (read: science) and disobedience (read: human rights), this God-blessed homeland was lost and is now worth every drop of blood it takes, ours and others’, to recover. For Americans, the prime source for this once-and-future-kingdom myth is the Bible, with its many narratives of blessings gained, lost, and regained: the garden of Eden, the covenant with Abraham, the bondage in Egypt, the exodus under Moses, the glory of David and Solomon’s realm, the coming of the promised Messiah, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, his apocalyptic return at the end of history, and his establishment of the earthly kingdom of God. As Homeland Mythology shows, these biblical narratives have, over time, inspired a multitude of nationalist narratives, myths ingeniously spun out to justify a number of decidedly unchristian policies and institutions—from Indian genocide, the slave trade, and the exploitation of immigrant workers to Manifest Destiny, imperial expansionism, and, most recently, preemptive war. On March 25, 2001, George W. Bush shared a bit of political wisdom: “You can fool some of the people all of the time—and those are the ones you have to concentrate on.” The cynical use of religion to cloak criminal behavior is always worth exposing, but why our leaders lie to us is no longer a mystery. What does remain mysterious is why so many of us are disposed to believe their lies. The unexamined issue that this book addresses is, therefore, not the mendacity of the few, but the credulity of the many. |
From inside the book
Արդյունքներ 40–ի 1-ից 5-ը:
... past half-century we may have become increasingly demodernized. Indeed, how significant are the differences between secondary and primary orality, the oral culture of preliterates? Insofar as we inhabit a global village of electronic ...
... past, that has prompted my venture into “Big History.” When the anti-Clinton campaigns of the mid-1990s rose to a level of invective I could not then adequately explain, I began to jot down notes that linked this disproportionate ...
... past? As for the future, which will someday become the present, might it not already be “there,” and might not a mind superior to time know the future before it reaches us, confined as we are in our narrow present? Biblical ...
... past associated in their mind with righteous, wise, and heroic men. The process of human degeneration can stop, they believe, but only when a strict, godly government is put in place. This view of historical process they derive ...
... past used the words “home” and “land” in a single sentence, each word preserved its separate meaning.1 In America's national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the phrase “the land of the free and the home of the brave” refers to two ...
Բովանդակություն
Myths of Curses Myths of Blessings | |
Narratives of the Night | |
Abduction Narratives | |
Homeland Nostalgia and Holy | |
Secular Modernism Biblical Style | |
Notes | |
Bibliography | |
Index | |
Այլ խմբագրություններ - View all
Homeland Mythology: Biblical Narratives in American Culture Christopher Collins Դիտել հնարավոր չէ - 2013 |