Christian America and the Kingdom of God

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Richard T. Hughes Foreword by Brian McLaren and the Kingdom of God CHRISTIAN AMERICA “With passion and compelling evidence, this superb book shows the clear difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of America.” —DonAlD B. KrAyBill, author of The Upside-Down Kingdom “Anyone who thinks America is a Christian nation or that it exemplifies the kingdom of God should read this book. Hughes reminds Christians of who Jesus is and what he teaches, something many seem to have forgotten, but he also gives a searching historical account of how such misunderstandings ever arose in the first place. A powerful call for truth in the muddled world that confuses Christianity and American nationalism, this is a book for our time.” —roBert n. BellAH, coauthor of Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life “With roots in the Churches of Christ—a tradition that takes the Bible with great seriousness —Hughes knows his new testament and tells those who place flags above their Bibles that the kingdom of God salutes no flag. We owe him a debt for combining his knowledge as a historian with his insight into Hebrew and Christian scripture.” —roBert M. rAnDolpH, Chaplain, Massachusetts institute of technology “Meticulously researched, brilliantly reasoned, and carefully written, this book deserves to become a classic. Grounded in the prophetic peace-and-justice values of the Hebrew Bible and the new testament, this volume reflects the soul of a prophet and the intellect of a scholar. this book is timeless in theme and timely in need.” —Dr. ronAlD B. SoBel, Senior rabbi emeritus, Congregation emanu-el of the City of new york “this may well be the best book ever written about American civil religion and our peculiar penchant for fashioning a god in Uncle Sam’s image. Hughes writes with rare clarity and theological precision about issues that have blinded us since our nation’s founding.” —tony norMAn, columnist and associate editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “As a Christian and a citizen who is distressed by the shadow side of my country and my faith tradition, i am one of many who owe Hughes a debt of gratitude for his effort to restore integrity to our religious and political life. if you care about (or are confused by) the way some political and religious leaders have abused Christianity to bless the lesser angels of our nature, you must read this book.” —pArKer J. pAlMer, author of The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life “one does not need to be a genius to see that the U.S.—politically, culturally, and ideologically—has lost its way. A vigorous, penetrating, and compelling analysis of how we got where we are with a mistaken sense of U.S. identity, this book will be immensely instructive as we sort out the recent binge of religious self-indulgence and return to the reality of life in the world.” —WAlter BrUeGGeMAnn, author of The Prophetic Imagination “With peerless research into both biblical and historical sources, Hughes dispels the myth of America as a ‘Christian nation.’ the United States, as the author demonstrates, falls short of that standard by almost any criteria: historical, biblical, legal, moral, and empirical. Hughes is persuasive and lucid; his arguments deserve a wide hearing.” —rAnDAll BAlMer, author of Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America “Jesus’s vision was of peace and justice in a world that belonged to a God of justice and peace. What, then, of an America that plans war, supports oppression, and believes the world belongs to it? Since many Americans claim we are a Christian nation, they stand self-indicted, and in this powerful and persuasive book, Hughes argues that they have indicted their country as well as themselves.” —JoHn DoMiniC CroSSAn, author of God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now “Americanized Christianity has equated ‘Christian America’ with the kingdom of God, but the real biblical kingdom of God is characterized by peace and justice, not greed, violence, and war. As a black Christian who has wrestled with these issues for more than fifty years, i find this to be an exceptional book. i highly recommend it.” —JoHn M. perKinS, president, John M. perkins Foundation for reconciliation and Development, Jackson, Mississippi “An early Christian writer once explained the convictions of his fellow believers to a roman official with these words...