As immediate and relevant as todaybs headlines, this book sets
forth a bold argument with direct implications for political life
in America and around the world. Combining incisive cultural
analysis and keen religious insight, Robert Jewett and John Shelton
Lawrence maintain that American crusading -- so powerfully embodied
in popular entertainments -- has striking parallels with Islamic
jihad and Israeli militancy.
According to Jewett and Lawrence, American civil religion has
both a humane, constitutional tradition and a violent strand that
is now coming to the fore. The crusade to rid the world of evil and
bevildoersb derives from the same biblical tradition of zealous
warfare and nationalism that spawns Islamic and Israeli radicalism.
In America, where this tradition has been popularized by
superheroic entertainments, the idea of zealous war is infused with
a distinctive sense of mission that draws on secular and religious
images. These crusading ideals are visible in such events as the
settling of the western frontier, the World Wars, the Cold War, the
Gulf War, and Americabs present war on terrorism.
In exploring the tradition of "zealous nationalism," which seeks
to redeem the world by destroying enemies, the authors provide a
fascinating access to the inner workings of the American psyche.
They analyze the phenomenon of "zeal" -- the term itself is the
biblical and cultural counterpart of the Islamic concept of "jihad"
-- and address such consequential topics as the conspiracy theory
of evil, the problem of stereotyping enemies, the mystique of
violence, the obsession with victory, and the worship of national
symbols such as flags.
This critical book, however, is alsoimmensely constructive. As
Jewett and Lawrence point out, the same biblical tradition that
allows for crusading mentalities also contains a critique of
zealous warfare and a profound vision of impartial justice. This
tradition of "prophetic realism" derives from the humane side of
the biblical heritage, and the authors trace its manifestations
within the American experience, including its supreme embodiment in
Abraham Lincoln. Isaiahbs bswords into plowsharesb image is carved
on the walls of the United Nations building, thus standing at the
center of a globally focused civil religion. Grasping this vision
honored by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike includes
recognizing the dangers of zealous violence, the illusions of
current crusading, and the promise of peaceful coexistence under
international law.
Instructive, relevant, and urgent, "Captain America and the
Crusade against Evil" is sure to provoke much soul-searching and
wide debate.
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