God's New Israel

Religious Interpretations of American Destiny

Revised and Updated Edition

Edited by Conrad Cherry

448 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, notes, bibl., index

  • Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8078-4754-1
    Published: November 1998
  • E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-0-8078-6658-0
    Published: February 2014
  • E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-6821-3
    Published: February 2014

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The belief that America has been providentially chosen for a

special destiny has deep roots in the country's past. As both a

stimulus of creative American energy and a source of American

self-righteousness, this notion has long served as a motivating

national mythology.

God's New Israel is a collection of thirty-one readings that trace the theme of American destiny under God through major developments in U.S. history. First published in 1971 and now thoroughly updated to reflect contemporary events, it features the words of such prominent and diverse Americans as Jonathan Edwards, Thomas Jefferson, Brigham Young, Chief Seattle, Abraham Lincoln, Frances Willard, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Ralph Reed, and Rosemary Radford Ruether. Neither a history of American religious denominations nor a history of American theology, this book is instead an illuminating look at how religion has helped shape Americans' understanding of themselves as a people.

About the Author

Conrad Cherry is Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. His books include The Theology of Jonathan Edwards and Hurrying Toward Zion.
For more information about Conrad Cherry, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"Ensures that this anthology should remain a standard work for scholars and students of American religious history."--Religious Studies Review

"God's New Israel was an invaluable resource for decades. This new edition is a thorough revision which brings the story up to date and shows the continuing importance of the religious understanding of America. It deserves wide usage in college classrooms as well as in churches and community associations."--Robert N. Bellah, coauthor of Habits of the Heart

"This new edition is long overdue and very welcome indeed!"--Catherine L. Albanese, University of California, Santa Barbara

"Religious interpretations of American destiny continue to affect the ways in which many citizens understand their nation, its past, and its future. For teachers who wish to confront the meaning of this historical reality, Cherry's book is an invaluable source for discussion of the major issues."--Donald G. Mathews, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"Scholars and students everywhere will rejoice in the reissuing of this volume. It has been long recognized as a classic, offering a superb collection of primary readings on the subject of religion and American nationality. It is now available again, updated for the 1990s."--Robert Bruce Mullin, General Theological Seminary