Customer Reviews

Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Is the United States policy on the Native American Indians far more based in religion than we believe? "Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery" is a look at the government's relations with the native people of this country and how the treatment of the natives, non-Christian indigenously, may be part of a sub-conscious Christian doctrine that the country has been following for centuries. Intriguing information from first page to last, "Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery" is deftly written and highly recommended to community library Native American studies collections.

Every educator or world peace advocate must read this book. Passionate and compelling arguments inspire readers to be more informed about overlooked and archaic policies in the U.S. Government. This contemporary work examines and explores doctrines that began with Indian Nations and are still being implemented in other areas of the modern world. Pagans in the Promised Land written by a Native American Scholar, Steven Newcomb, delivers some stimulating arguments based on over 20 years of research. This book is a must read for all universities prompting engaging classroom discussions.

Pagans in the Promised Land is a text that posits the academic truths about the "Christian Doctrine of Discovery." The text exposes the Christian roots that grow back through the "U.S. Supreme Court" toward the "Papacy" and "Holy Church," which reveals the self-evident truth that not all men are created equal from the Christian perspective.

Moreover, the idea of separating the church from state in the U.S. is really an illusion. In fact, it is the "Christian Doctrine of Discovery" that U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Marshall effectively integrates into U.S. and International Law for the purpose of expanding the "holy church's [and American]empire." In so doing, oppressing and dispossessing indigenous people and the Native Nations around the world of their land, property, liberty, freedom, independence, and basic human rights.

Newcomb effectively weaves the understanding that Christianity is just a religious ethnocentric construct. A racist mind set that metaphorically places "The White Man's Imagination" at the center of the universe, making the white Christian "divinely" superior to all other races on the planet/universe, as affirmed by St. Peter in the Popes' Papal Bull documents. Therefore, giving themselves the self-proclaimed "divine" right to be the "Chosen People" to wage "Crusade" on ANY land inhabited by the non-Christian and thereby claiming those lands in the name of the Christain Monarchs.

This book is a tough read for the Christian, but is a must-read for those wanting to understand the "Why" behind the ongoing oppression and genocide of indigenous people around the world.

Pagans in the Promised Land is a book that will either scare you back into your narrow paradigm of comfort & hypocrisy, or shock your paradigm into shifting toward a greater level of enlightenment and causing you to challenge the fundamental ideas of liberty, freedom, justice, independence, and equality for all human beings.

Reading Pagans in the Promised Land has re-interpreted for me our history in North America. I am not Native American, but have become involved in their wisdom and truth after spending time with Indigenous Peoples, including Native Americans, at the UN. Around the world the Indigenous Peoples are communicating with each other and standing up to speak with one voice about their common beliefs and interests. Great things are going on.

Right now there is an important convergence of interests among Indigenous Nations and others who love the living Earth and want to work toward restoring the planet's health. Pagans in the Promised Land has provided me with the context I need to sustain my activism. I love the lawyer-ly attention to detail and to getting things straight. There is truth to the analysis of metaphor in our shared history. I am grateful for this book and will share what I have learned as well as recommending it to others.

Mary Gilbert

Quaker Earthcare Ministry

I do not dispute Newcomb's scholarship. It is first rate. I do however, take issue with some aspects of his central argument. There is no question that American attitudes, inclusive of law and politics, is inherently biased against American Indians, as well as being rife with racism. What is not depicted, however, is that despite these attitudes, America and its colonial predecessors had no choice but to deal with Indian Nations, and recognise inherent rights to sovereignty. It was not until Chief Justice Marshall engaged in revisionist history in reinterpreting the Royal Proclamation of 1763 that the racism became the law in the case of Johnson v. McIntosh (1823). This was done for political reasons covered well in Conquest by Law by Lindsay Robertson.

Although clearly not intended, if the rationale for this book were accepted as legal cannon, it would severly undermine the notion that sovereignty and self government are pre-existing rights that are inherent based on the legal history. If such rights were never recognised in the European derived legal history, then any contemporary assertion of these rights could ONLY come about at the whim of the colonial nation-states.

The reality was that contextually, despite words to the contrary, state practice clearly recognised Indian sovereignty and ownership. They had no choice as Indian Nations were politically and militarily strong. True military dominance was not achieved until the mid 1800's and that is of course when the legal system came to the conclusion that tribal sovereignty and self government was a legal fiction rooted in paternalism.

So, while one would be inclined not to criticise this book, it would be unwise for the reader not to explore further. I staunchly support tribal sovereignty, and while this work is informative it does not provide the entire context. Well worth the read, thogh.

Pagans in the Promised Land is little more than logical fallacy after logical fallacy, out of context quote after out of context quote. Newcomb selectively presents information and cleverly twists statements made by whites in order to support an initial premise: that US policy towards native nations is based solely upon Christian Dogma. As a historical text or an analysis of American legal jurisprudence, Newcomb's book is worthless.

It does, however, hold a single important use. It plainly presents the concerns of the modern Native, making them clearly understandable to an outsider. As such, it is necessary reading for any non-native who expects to find himself dealing with native issues on a regular basis.

Thank you. The shopping time was much longer than I expected but I will continue to use amazon.com

Understand this???!!! You who think you know absolutely everything there is to know about Christianity versus paganism. The truth is this book tells lies! Even if ignorantly, it still tells them! The author knows nothing about real Biblical narrative and instead just repeats over and over again the same truthless platitudes about the Promised Land supposedly being 'conquered space'. Get real! In fact if you understand anything of Biblical history you would appreciate the truth that the people of Israel were a nomadic tribal people who were called by the Creator to move in their nomadic wanderings to a certain place and not to imperialize it but rather to eventually throw the real imperialists out by covert political means!! The people of Israel were commanded by the Creator to remain a tribal nation and when they wandered to the land which God had shown them, they would find nations living there who were living as the Greeks and Romans lived - these were the imperialistic governing powers that God had wanted Israel to go in and politically tackle. God's prerogative was about culturo-political transformation in a place dominated by politically oppressive regimes and therefore, contrary to popular misconception, wasn't about taking land away from someone else. But what happened? The people of Israel many times defied the Lord's decrees by co-opting into the ways of those surrounding imperialistic (read "pagan") nations and bended to their militaristic ways instead of holding on to the peaceful cultural traditions given them by God. This is why there is so much misunderstanding about Biblical narrative, particularly for those who do not know the whole story. Christ's exhortation was to a reclamation of the original customary ways that God had covenanted with Israel to keep. By the time He came to earth, the people of Israel had sold out severely to imperialistic and truly pagan ways - those of social hierarchicalization and complexified power niches which straddled and maintained a sophisticated ruling class. This was acculturation at its worst and Christ's mission was to steer people away from that back to the truth - the truth to be found in the original cultural blueprint given by God to His people - one of intimacy with the Creator and a mutually shared depth of connectedness with each other and the rest of creation.

Moreover, the truth also remains that the colonialists in America were not entirely true in their perception of Christianity - they had been so used to the appropriated version thanks to the Roman Empire and Constantine that they knew no better - they could not see the obvious truth about Christianity as another suppressed indigenous culture from way back! This is why in many respects (not all, but many), "Christians" were actually the Sioux, Navahos, Kwakawakws, Iroquois, Denes, and the like whilst the Europeans were actually "pagans" when we look through the lens of culture and how this reflected the true reality of lived experience. This is not to say that all of the Europeans were evil or heartless just because in certain major respects, they were culturally pagan. There were many who in fact did act in solidarity with the native communities as well as opposing the bane of slavery and other forms of social and political oppression common to that time and that place. In these ways, they too exhibited some sympathies that bore a core inner desire to come to understand the real meaning of living for the recognition of the rights of others and ultimately for what matters most: the Creator's purpose for our reconciliation with Him, with each other, and with the extended creation. This they learnt well in some areas, but in others they could have better learnt it from the traditional people. This is why, whether we are indigenous or non-indigenous, we have to be united in our efforts at collaboratively being co-workers for a better world. For this is the only way towards a more complete de-colonization of life at all levels.

No one can afford to alienate anymore those tribes, factions, or organizations for that matter which can do far "better together" for the greater good than when they are in competitive antagonism with one another, for this solidarity slogan still holds true: United We Stand, Divided We Fall! For nothing wracks a movement more than internal bickering, dissension, strife, and malicious scheming both from the inside out and the outside in.