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 52–ի 6-ից 10-ը:
... true when we turn our thoughts from our brief life span to the life span of our species. Over a period of several million years, our ancestors extended the strength and skill of the human body by the invention of wood, stone, and bone ...
... true, Freud also seems to credit national leaders and cultural elites with an interest in maintaining moral behavior.26 He ignores the fact that nations are incapable of altruism, that they bully and humiliate other nations and ...
... true parents must have abandoned him and that he was suckled by some wild thing. Or perhaps some god sired him, for anyone who does not share communal values (as Aristotle said in reference to individuals not belonging to a polis) must ...
... true Islamic values”—should have surprised no one. As Constantine the Great proved, the civil-religious conversion experience may be as sudden as it is superficial. The discontents that provoke mythmakers to elaborate a civil religion ...
... true, the assumption that each culture arrived at its distinct orientation by simply unfolding some inward essence is open to debate. If we understand time to be a relation between a retreating past and an approaching future and space ...
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 |