God's Country: Christian Zionism in America

by Samuel Goldman

The United States is Israel's closest ally in the world. The fact is undeniable, and undeniably controversial, not least because it so often inspires conspiracy theorizing among those who refuse to believe that the special relationship serves America's strategic interests or places the United States on the side of Israel's enduring conflict with the Palestinians. Some point to the nefarious influence of a powerful "Israel lobby" within the halls of Congress. Others detect the hand of evangelical Protestants who fervently support Israel for their own theological reasons. The underlying assumption of all such accounts is that America's support for Israel must flow from a mixture of collusion, manipulation, and ideologically driven foolishness.

Samuel Goldman proposes another explanation. The political culture of the United States, he argues, has been marked from the very beginning by a Christian theology that views the American nation as deeply implicated in the historical fate of biblical Israel. God's Country is the first book to tell the complete story of Christian Zionism in American political and religious thought from the Puritans to 9/11. It identifies three sources of American Christian support for a Jewish covenant, or the idea of an ongoing relationship between God and the Jewish people; prophecy, or biblical predictions of return to The Promised Land; and cultural affinity, based on shared values and similar institutions. Combining original research with insights from the work of historians of American religion, Goldman crafts a provocative narrative that chronicles Americans' attachment to the State of Israel.

Genres: Religion, Politics, Christianity, American, History, American History

248 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2018

Reviews

[F. Belanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account of the relations between Israel as an ancient Biblical people and a modern nation and the settlement and growth of the USA down to the 21st century. BTW fact is ( check it all at Google) : Bible has incredible scientific accuracy like round Earth 🌍 and the hydrologic cycle and jet streams and much more!

[John Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enormously clarifying book on the history of Zionism in America (with a little background on these themes throughout Christian history). Goldman is a reliable guide to the warp and wood of this recurring spirit and its hockey-puck-like movement across political and ecclesial divides.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Davis Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry but definitely worth a skim if you’re interested in the topic.

[Rick Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye-opening book. I thought that the United States supports Israel because our two countries have shared values. I was aware that some Christian conservatives support Israel because Jewish people are needed in Israel to support the second coming of Jesus per Biblical prophesies, but I wasn't aware that Israel's Prime Minister Begin encouraged this Christian conservative support in 1981, and I wasn't aware how American history has been influenced by these Biblical prophesies.