The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=72&ItemID=13972


The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God – A Political, Economic, Religious Statement. John Cobb, Richard Falk, David Griffin and Catherine Keller. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 2006.



Based solely on the title, this book appeared to be something that could have some strong revelations on the nature of the American Empire and its relationship with religion. Having read several books from the religious right, including the first volume of the “Left Behind” series (summed up as a compilation of Star Wars, Harlequin Romance, and end of times theology), I thought this volume might have a more rational approach than the fear mongering and devilish rhetoric that saturates the right wing material.



Surprisingly, The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God is quite full of what for many are very common sense observations concerning the nature of the empire. It is not until three-quarters of the way through the volume that religious issues are addressed, and it is definitely not supportive of the evangelical end of times demonizing rants against the evil arising in Iraq and Iran. The four authors (three of whom are professors of theology) have, as would be expected, very similar viewpoints and understanding of the empire, and more surprisingly, have a strong similarity stylistically with their writing such that the reader can hardly tell which author is writing what without referring to the table of contents. That makes for a very clear and coherent read overall, with the work divided into three broad sections: The Nature of the American Empire, Alternatives to the American Empire, and finally, Religious Reflections.



The book starts with a religious conviction, that “We oppose the American empire on the basis of what we believe to be the sacred divinely rooted moral law of the universe” a statement that needs to be juxtaposed against the “universal values” so broadly declared by the empire’s leaders. Given that the “dominant image of the Divine Reality has been easily used to support empire, this image is profoundly wrong, even idolatrous.” From that strongly worded contradiction of the evangelical right, its end of times prophecies, and complicity in the Israeli Zionist project, the authors settle into a fully secular argument.



Quite straightforwardly the authors state “the United States has long been working toward the goal of exercising unchallenged and exploitative control of the planet,” based on the apologists argument that it is an empire “dedicated to the spread of democracy.” In counter-argument, the authors “find nothing in the history of U.S. foreign policy in general or that of the Bush-Cheney administration in particular to lend credibility to this conceit.” The replacement of the present global order, “which is based on violence and other modes of coercion, with a world based on democratic principles will be a shift of enormous magnitude,” but that for this shift, “a threefold vision already exists.”

more....




Hagee:Strike Iran 'for Israel' on Moyers Part 1

Hagee:Strike Iran 'for Israel' on Moyers Part 2

Hagee:Strike Iran 'for Israel' on Moyers Part 3

Hagee:Strike Iran 'for Israel' on Moyers Part 4

Hagee:Strike Iran 'for Israel' on Moyers Part 5

[papau]

1. Interesting Book that I'd agree with based on review - but the "Hagee" Moyer stuff

is not something I want to visit - avoiding Hagee is a bit like avoiding Hannity or Rush so as to not feel like you need a shower.