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God and Country: Upholding Faith, History, and National Identity
176 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 12, 2026
I love Dr. Wilsey and I enjoyed the content of his book. My only quibble is with the title. The substance seemed directed more at how to think historically as a Christian. The final chapter address the subject of Christian Patriotism, but it’s mostly a summary and extension of his prior work on Exceptionalism. Even still, this book was written with the sort of careful, concrete, and conservative wisdom I’ve come to expect from Wilsey. He writes as a specialist, a fellow American, and as a Christian servant who can help us all think more biblically about the study of history.
May 12, 2026
I picked up this book in hopes of finding a response to Christian Nationalism. What I got was not exactly that...
John Wilsey takes the long route to giving an answer to how an American believer should understand his relationship with his country. In the end, he gets there - but the journey meanders through the necessary but often-ignored forest of foundational thinking. Wilsey spends the majority of the book laying out proper and ethical ways that we should be doing history. This was not what I expected and I only hung on for the ride because of his whimsical personal anecdotes and crisp writing. I am glad that I did.
Wilsey begins where you might expect a theologian to begin - by giving a solid biblical rationale for why we should study the past. Having established his premise upon Scripture, he then gives the reader an overview of the 5 C's of historical thinking: change, context, causality, contingency, and complexity. He credits Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke for this helpful rubric in understanding history. Then he argues the need for historians to be virtuous, both in the biblical and classical senses. "A historian without virtue is like a physician without compassion, a soldier without patriotism, a politician without integrity, or a pastor without love" (92). It is only when we do history properly and with virtue that we can have a rightly ordered relationship with the past. And this, in Wilsey's estimation, is how we get to a rightly ordered patriotism.
Proper, ethical historical method precludes "closed exceptionalism," the view that "America is God's chosen nation, superior in rank to other nations and commissioned by God to act on other, inferior nations as it will" (143). Instead, he argues for "open exceptionalism." This view posits the citizen to humbly recognize that America is great "because of its unique contributions to human freedom . . . . The history of the United States is a story of the advancement of freedom, not only within our own borders but around the world. No other country has done more for the advancement of human freedom than the United States" (146-7). In arguing his point, Wilsey does not turn a blind eye to the black marks on American history. He argues for an honest expression of open exceptionalism. "The patriot can honor and even revere figures like George Washington, who was a slaveholder, and Martin Luther King Jr., who was an adulterer, by celebrating the virtues they represented and by understanding that greatness in a person often manifests itself in great sins" (147). He notes that closed exceptionalism puts country ahead of God in "an act of self-praise, or idolatry." To the contrary, open exceptionalism is a rightly-ordered love of neighbor, acknowledgment of God's hand, and obedience to the Lord.
While Wilsey's argument is a slow-burn, it is effective. This is a worthy read, especially for those who teach and admire history.
John Wilsey takes the long route to giving an answer to how an American believer should understand his relationship with his country. In the end, he gets there - but the journey meanders through the necessary but often-ignored forest of foundational thinking. Wilsey spends the majority of the book laying out proper and ethical ways that we should be doing history. This was not what I expected and I only hung on for the ride because of his whimsical personal anecdotes and crisp writing. I am glad that I did.
Wilsey begins where you might expect a theologian to begin - by giving a solid biblical rationale for why we should study the past. Having established his premise upon Scripture, he then gives the reader an overview of the 5 C's of historical thinking: change, context, causality, contingency, and complexity. He credits Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke for this helpful rubric in understanding history. Then he argues the need for historians to be virtuous, both in the biblical and classical senses. "A historian without virtue is like a physician without compassion, a soldier without patriotism, a politician without integrity, or a pastor without love" (92). It is only when we do history properly and with virtue that we can have a rightly ordered relationship with the past. And this, in Wilsey's estimation, is how we get to a rightly ordered patriotism.
Proper, ethical historical method precludes "closed exceptionalism," the view that "America is God's chosen nation, superior in rank to other nations and commissioned by God to act on other, inferior nations as it will" (143). Instead, he argues for "open exceptionalism." This view posits the citizen to humbly recognize that America is great "because of its unique contributions to human freedom . . . . The history of the United States is a story of the advancement of freedom, not only within our own borders but around the world. No other country has done more for the advancement of human freedom than the United States" (146-7). In arguing his point, Wilsey does not turn a blind eye to the black marks on American history. He argues for an honest expression of open exceptionalism. "The patriot can honor and even revere figures like George Washington, who was a slaveholder, and Martin Luther King Jr., who was an adulterer, by celebrating the virtues they represented and by understanding that greatness in a person often manifests itself in great sins" (147). He notes that closed exceptionalism puts country ahead of God in "an act of self-praise, or idolatry." To the contrary, open exceptionalism is a rightly-ordered love of neighbor, acknowledgment of God's hand, and obedience to the Lord.
While Wilsey's argument is a slow-burn, it is effective. This is a worthy read, especially for those who teach and admire history.
March 6, 2026
Accessible monograph in historical methodology and application to the Christian Patriot. I will be writing a more extensive review in my Substack!
Review of advance copy received from Author
This book was not what I expected. I am grateful that I was able to be gifted a copy of the book from the author in response to a sort of complaint I had. Having sat through the harrowing experience of Dr. Wilsey critiquing a research paper I submitted for a doctoral seminar, I remarked that it would have been useful to have the view of history he taught us before trying to complete a paper for his course. "Maybe you could record a lecture or something like that to help us to understand." I remarked. "I've got something better," he said, and later that afternoon handed me a copy of this text. I started it expecting it to be a treatise all about how to approach history academically and understand a correct way to interpret the data of historical events, but that is almost anecdotal to what is really offered. Instead, John Wilsey has presented to the reader a semi-autobiographical tale of why he loves history so much and how this love is an immediate extension of his Christian faith. If you are wondering why someone should care about history, this is a great book to read. If you are curious about how a person should go about studying history rightly from a Christina perspective, this book is perfect. If you are looking for a book that will explain how to approach history to better appreciate what it communicates, this book is waiting. Finally, if you are interested in learning more about what makes a man like John D. Wilsey exist in the world, a man who is respected for his work in history as well as his faithful approach to the Christian faith, here is your answer.
February 24, 2026
I was deeply, personally enriched through reading God and Country. A significant portion of the book teaches the reader how to think about history—particularly through the framework of the “5 Cs” and the cultivation of biblical virtues. That emphasis alone made it worthwhile.
The author frequently used personal examples to illustrate his points, which I found both helpful and engaging. I wasn’t expecting so much memoir-like content, but it added warmth to his argument.
The conclusion moves from what he calls “closed exceptionalism” to “open exceptionalism.” While I personally might have elaborated even more on exceptionalism in a positive sense, I cannot deny that the distinction he draws is an important one. It is a needed reminder that America must not attempt to play God in the world.
I suspect this will be among my favorite books I read this year. Five stars — and better than I expected.
The author frequently used personal examples to illustrate his points, which I found both helpful and engaging. I wasn’t expecting so much memoir-like content, but it added warmth to his argument.
The conclusion moves from what he calls “closed exceptionalism” to “open exceptionalism.” While I personally might have elaborated even more on exceptionalism in a positive sense, I cannot deny that the distinction he draws is an important one. It is a needed reminder that America must not attempt to play God in the world.
I suspect this will be among my favorite books I read this year. Five stars — and better than I expected.
May 21, 2026
Good thoughts about history, historical thinking, love and virtue as they relate to history, practical tips for studying history, and all of it applied to how Christians ought to think about the United States of America. Wilsey's argument terminates on thankfulness, gratitude, and an affirmation of religious freedom - but everything thing he said about history could have landed with more emphasis on "Christian nationalism."
May 14, 2026
Great little book on thinking rightly about history. However, the title is a bit misleading as he doesn't really deal with the issue directly until the last chapter. Still, it's a good argument for how we should view history as Christians.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews