Homeland Mythology: Biblical Narratives in American CultureSince 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
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... Christ's spiritual presence and thus create the thousand-year kingdom of heaven, with America at its center. Christ would physically return, of course, but only after the Millennium concluded. (This belief is known as postmillennialism ...
Biblical Narratives in American Culture Christopher Collins. Christian's genuine homeland. (Because Christ's return must occur before the Millennium, this belief is called premillennialism and is shared by Christians who identify ...
... Christ would return to earth to establish the kingdom of heaven, as his followers believed, would it be a ... Christ's kingdom of heaven. The phrase “shadow of heavenly things” becomes “shadow of things to come” in Hebrews 10:1 and ...
... Christ all preceding earthly time revealed itself to have been an imitation of the heavenly time to come, a shadowy parable of the kingdom of heaven.13 When Christ ascended from this earth, he returned to the realm of light. It is from ...
... Christ. Satan had been chained in hell (exactly where Dante was to find him centuries later), and with the founding of the Church, the millennial realm had been inaugurated. This City of God was a spiritual kingdom that would coexist ...
Contents
Myths of Curses Myths of Blessings | |
Narratives of the Night | |
Abduction Narratives | |
Homeland Nostalgia and Holy | |
Secular Modernism Biblical Style | |
Notes | |
Bibliography | |
Index | |
Other editions - View all
Homeland Mythology: Biblical Narratives in American Culture Christopher Collins Limited preview - 2010 |
Homeland Mythology: Biblical Narratives in American Culture Christopher Collins Limited preview - 2015 |
Homeland Mythology: Biblical Narratives in American Culture Christopher Collins No preview available - 2013 |