When is a war a holy crusade? And when does theology cause Christians to condemn violence? In American Crusade, Benjamin Wetzel argues that the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and World War I shared a cultural meaning for white Protestant ministers in the United States, who considered each conflict to be a modern-day crusade. American Crusade examines the "holy war" mentality prevalent between 1860 and 1920, juxtaposing mainline Protestant support for these wars with more hesitant religious voices: Catholics, German-speaking Lutherans, and African American Methodists. The specific theologies and social locations of these more marginal denominations made their ministries highly critical of the crusading mentality. Religious understandings of the nation, both in support of and opposed to armed conflict, played a major role in such ideological contestation. Wetzel's book questions traditional periodizations and suggests that these three wars should be understood as a unit. Grappling with the views of America's religious leaders, supplemented by those of ordinary people, American Crusade provides a fresh way of understanding the three major American wars of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
There is a war raging in America. On one side sits religion and freedom. On the other side, atheism and Statism. American liberty hangs in the balance. In this timely and well-documented expose, author Brad O'Leary takes you deep inside the battle to save our nation's Judeo Christian identity, and with it, our liberty. From attacks on Christian holidays, to government efforts to stamp-out homeschooling, to the courtroom assault on Christianity and free speech, O'Leary leaves no doubt that there is a concerted effort underway to replace allegiance to God with allegiance to government. If you cherish your God-given freedom, this book is a must read. If you're ready to fight back, this book is an essential weapon in your arsenal!
This is a compilation of articles found on the Internet which looks at who is mainly responsible for terrorism, death, destruction and genocide around the world today. Based on the numbers killed in Asia & the Middle East, the United States of America is responsible for terrorism and genocide on a colossal scale. Ground war with modern weapons and aerial bombing (4 years in Korea, 10 years in Vietnam, & 10 years each in Iraq & Afghanistan) is terrorism resulting in the deaths of millions. In wars before WWI the combatants could see who they were killing. US aerial bombing since WWII involves no risks to the US military while terrorizing & killing innocent civilians and destroying cities. the suicide bombing by a few Muslims youths get a lot of publicity in the US, so this document concentrates on the atrocities of Jews and "so-called" Evangelical Christian Right in the US. Jews, Christians and Muslims believe in the same God described in the Old Testament Bible (OTB) by God himself (the Bible is the Word of God) as a petty, retarded, vindictive genocidal maniac. Israel was created in 1948 by Eastern European Jews (converts to Judaism 1,000 years ago with no Semitic, genetic or ancestral connection to Palestine) because of the Holocaust in Europe. It was created by eradicating Palestinians from their ancestral homeland by armed robbery & genocide. Palestinians had nothing to do with the Holocaust. the most zealous supporters of US wars since WWII (particularly on behalf of Israel created in 1948) are the Right Wing Evangelical Fundamentalist Conservative Christians (RWEFCC). In the 1950s and 1960s the evil enemy (Satan & Anti-Christ) was communism. When communism disappeared, the RWEFCC switched to condemning, hating & attacking the evil Muslims. RWEFCC people believe that once Palestine & Palestinians have been eradicated and replaced with God's new only chosen people of Eastern European origin, Armageddon, the end of the world, and the Second Coming of Christ are imminent. They ignore the spiritual message of Christ. the moral and ethical justification by Zionists Christians for creating Israel by armed robbery and mass murder in 1948 is the Old Testament Bible (OTB) and Revelations in the New Testament Bible (NTB). It is supposed to be fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. the Old Testament Bible (OTB) is historical mythology, and teaches hatred, cruelty, murder, genocide, sexism, homophobia & racism. Revelations is ridiculous science & horror fiction by primitive & ignorant people of ancient times. It is nearly impossible for a politician to get elected to office in the US Bible-Belt today without the support of Zionist Christians and if they do not affirm that they also worship "Jews" as God's only chosen people and Israel as a country created by God.
Recovers a forgotten history of how U.S. Christian leaders, in the era of Spanish-American War, began using Christian ideas to promote an American responsibility for extending freedom around the world--by force, if necessary.
Four Australian thinkers come together to ask and answer the big questions, such as: What is the nature of the universe? Doesn't religion cause most of the conflict in the world? and Where do we find hope? We are introduced to the detail of different belief systems - Judaism, Christianity, Islam - and to the argument that atheism, like organised religion, has its own compelling logic. And we gain insight into the life events that led each author to their current position. Jane Caro flirted briefly with spiritual belief, inspired by 19th century literary heroines such as Elizabeth Gaskell and the Brontë sisters. Antony Lowenstein is proudly culturally, yet unconventionally, Jewish. Simon Smart is firmly and resolutely a Christian, but one who has had some of his most profound spiritual moments while surfing. Rachel Woodlock grew up in the alternative embrace of Baha'i belief but became entranced by its older parent religion, Islam. Provocative, informative and passionately argued, For God's Sake encourages us to accept religious differences but to also challenge more vigorously the beliefs that create discord.
Anne M. Blankenship's study of Christianity in the infamous camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II yields insights both far-reaching and timely. While most Japanese Americans maintained their traditional identities as Buddhists, a sizeable minority identified as Christian, and a number of church leaders sought to minister to them in the camps. Blankenship shows how church leaders were forced to assess the ethics and pragmatism of fighting against or acquiescing to what they clearly perceived, even in the midst of a national crisis, as an unjust social system. These religious activists became acutely aware of the impact of government, as well as church, policies that targeted ordinary Americans of diverse ethnicities. Going through the doors of the camp churches and delving deeply into the religious experiences of the incarcerated and the faithful who aided them, Blankenship argues that the incarceration period introduced new social and legal approaches for Christians of all stripes to challenge the constitutionality of government policies on race and civil rights. She also shows how the camp experience nourished the roots of an Asian American liberation theology that sprouted in the sixties and seventies.
There is a tug of war going on for the future of America. At one end of the rope are those who think America is a secular nation; at the other end are those who believe religion is at the root of our country's foundation. In this paperback release of the thought-provoking America's Real War, renowned leader and speaker Rabbi Daniel Lapin encourages America to re-embrace the Judeo-Christian values on which our nation was founded, and logically demonstrates why those values are crucial to America's strength in the new millennium.
We know Jesus the Savior, but have we met Jesus, Prince of Peace? When did we accept vengeance as an acceptable part of the Christian life? How did violence and power seep into our understanding of faith and grace? For those troubled by this trend toward the sword, perhaps there is a better way. What if the message of Jesus differs radically differs from the drumbeats of war we hear all around us? Using his own journey from war crier to peacemaker and his in-depth study of peace in the scriptures, author and pastor Brian Zahnd reintroduces us to the gospel of Peace.
From the celebrated author of "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" comes a startling expos of the political ambitions of the Christian Right--a clarion call for everyone who cares about freedom.
