Mission and Menace: Four Centuries of American Religious Zeal Rating :
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
A scathing indictment, nonetheless astutely written and persuasively presented.
By Midwest Book Review
Mission and Menace: Four Centuries of American Religious Zeal is a highly skeptical examination of the impact of Christianity on American history from the colonial era to the modern day. From the role of the "Indian captivity narrative" in popular culture and its evolution into the modern-day superhero story that substituted other villains for nefarious portrayals of Native Americans, to the Civil War interpreted as a conflict over the Bible and millennial mission, to the rise of religious replacement and escapism during the Great Depression and World War II, to the triumph of zealous nationalism over prophetic realism during the Vietnam War and more, Mission and Menace critically analyzes religion's influence on American perception and policy, particularly focusing upon the repercussions of fundamentalist religion. "American millennialism, whether evangelical or liberal, tends to encourage intolerance, which was particularly manifest during the Second Great Awakening and the First World War. In the belief that one's group has the only correct view about the thousand-year kingdom, there is a tendency to reject compromise, which is the essence of constitutional systems of checks and balances. This surfaced with particular intensity after 1980. Gridlock in government, which naturally results from such intransigence, was increasingly welcomed... This theology sees every compromise with America's adversaries as a betrayal of divine trust; every effort to achieve arms control and to reduce the danger of accidental nuclear wars is a sellout to the demonic powers." A scathing indictment, nonetheless astutely written and persuasively presented.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
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By Donnie Lee Gamble
The material covered is applicable, however, author is lost in changing what he writes being his expertise is in another field.
Product Description
Observing that Abraham Lincoln once described the United States as an 'almost chosen nation,' Robert Jewett offers a critical survey of the history of America's self-understanding as a nation enjoying both divine blessing and a God-given vocation as a 'city on a hill'.
From beginnings at Jamestown, Jewett shows, the American mythology of divine mission has decisively shaped both domestic and foreign policies of the developing nation, and remains one of the most important forces affecting the United States' role in the world today. Chapters include: Colonial Beginnings: The City Set Upon a Hill; The Second Great Awakening, Manifest Destiny, Reform and Reaction; From the Civil Rights Movement to the Vietnam War; The Political Distortion of Religion: Triumphant Fundamentalism, Impeachment, the War Against Terrorism; and more.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #255190 in Books
- Published on: 2008-04-01
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.82" h x5.87" w x.91" l,1.38 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 272 pages
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