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 56–ի 6-ից 10-ը:
... early Iron Age in this region, a time recalled in the Hellenic north as the heroic age made famous by the siege of Troy. For the Israelites, the saga of the second phase, divinely appointed kingship and national religion, begins with 1 ...
... early Christianity and, despite the fact that the Christian West has increasingly dominated the world since the eighteenth century, many conservative Christians still identify themselves as a beleaguered people of God. Reading their ...
... early first century BC5 —offers another theory of idolatry along with some media implications for civil religion: graven images came to be worshipped at the command of despotic princes. When men could not do honour to such a prince ...
... Early Christians who had been schooled in the biblical master narratives had a special perspective on these cultural policies of Rome. Incorporating the Jewish books (as the “Old Testament”) and, by the early second century, the Gospels ...
... early Christian uses of the Hebrew scriptures. The prophets had predicted the coming of an Anointed One, or Messiah, a “Son of David,” and Jesus's words and deeds, his followers believed, had fulfilled these prophecies. But, besides ...
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 |