Captain America and the Crusade Against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism

Couverture
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 14 juin 2004 - 392 pages
As immediate and relevant as today's 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 "evildoers" 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 America's 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 also immensely 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. Isaiah's "swords into plowshares" 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.
 

Table des matières

II
1
IV
3
V
6
VI
10
VIII
11
IX
13
X
16
XI
18
LIV
164
LV
167
LVI
168
LVII
170
LVIII
176
LIX
180
LX
186
LXI
188

XII
20
XIII
26
XIV
27
XV
28
XVI
35
XVII
39
XVIII
42
XIX
44
XX
45
XXI
48
XXII
51
XXIII
53
XXIV
55
XXV
61
XXVI
66
XXVII
68
XXVIII
71
XXIX
75
XXX
79
XXXI
80
XXXII
88
XXXIII
96
XXXIV
100
XXXV
103
XXXVI
107
XXXVII
112
XXXVIII
115
XXXIX
118
XL
119
XLI
123
XLII
126
XLIII
131
XLIV
135
XLV
138
XLVI
142
XLVII
144
XLVIII
147
XLIX
149
L
150
LI
155
LII
160
LIII
162
LXII
192
LXIII
194
LXIV
197
LXV
200
LXVI
206
LXVII
209
LXVIII
214
LXX
216
LXXI
221
LXXII
223
LXXIII
226
LXXIV
231
LXXV
237
LXXVI
245
LXXVII
246
LXXVIII
250
LXXIX
254
LXXX
261
LXXXI
270
LXXXII
273
LXXXIII
275
LXXXIV
276
LXXXV
281
LXXXVI
285
LXXXVII
288
LXXXVIII
294
LXXXIX
297
XC
301
XCI
302
XCII
304
XCIII
306
XCIV
309
XCV
313
XCVI
315
XCVII
316
XCVIII
319
XCIX
323
C
325
CI
327
CII
372
CIII
390
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À propos de l'auteur (2004)

Robert Jewett (1933-2020) was a New Testament scholar at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois.

Informations bibliographiques