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Captain America And The Crusade Against Evil: The Dilemma Of Zealous Nationalism Books
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 303.48273017671
EAN: 9780802828590
ISBN: 0802828590
Label: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 392
Publication Date: June 15, 2004
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Sales Rank: 496796
Studio: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
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.
Average Rating: 
Rating:
- An unwanted common ground?This is a book with many important points to make. Other reviewers have done a fine job, so I'll point out just a few.
OK, here's the disclaimer first. I am not saying we should not fight terrorism, nor am I denying that "jihad" is a term usually used in reference with making the "world of war" submit to the "world of Islam". That said, I still find the central points of this book very much worth considering, since it seems our nation's foreign policy is in some ways mirroring the jihadist's ... Read More
Rating:
- Book reviewCaptain America and the Crusade against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism; Book Review
Extrapolation
September 22, 2004
No. 3, Vol. 45; Pg. 320; ISSN: 0014-5483
Kapell, Matthew
As I sit writing this, American troops remain in Afghanistan and Iraq, some of those troops have recently been implicated in the possible torture of Iraqi citizens and the President is quite sure that the decision to invade these two countries was the correct ... Read More
Rating:
- InterestingThese two author's earlier work "The Myth of the American Superhero" explored the presentation of Justice as needing a redeemer figure replete with an arsenal of `righteous' weaponary and how this image has affected the US idea of politics. This earlier book represents the `secular' aspects. In "Captain America and the Crusade against Evil" Jewett and Lawrence show how this mindset coupled with the US's puritan backdrop has made this monomyth into a national obsession bearing all the hallmarks of Civil Religion ... Read More
Rating:
- Interesting thesisThe idea of this book is that comic book superheros are an ideal character in how America solves its foreign policy crisis. The authors want to show that America feels that it has a do it alone mentality to save the world much like comic books.
The authors do not say that comic books make policy, but that they reflect American thoughts regarding its place in the world.
Overall, the authors present their thesis and give adequate material to back up their ideas. However, it seems at times that the superhero ... Read More
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