Customer Reviews

Saving Christianity From Empire

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

 

 

Had there been the ability to give this book 3.5 stars I would have. I believe four may be too many and three is not enough. However, since I agree with the general premise, I give it the higher rating.

Pallmeyer makes a strong case that our modern American Empire is now the result of conservative Christian meddling in American foreign policy. To be Christian and to engage in the various imperial activities the American government is currently involved with is an ethical dilemma that cannot be reconciled. Christ spoke of peace and non-violence but nearly every aspect of American foreign policy is the manifestation of violence and territorial ambition. Whatever happened to "turn the other cheek" or the notion that our founding documents promote equality? The Christian right has hijacked American foreign policy and turned it into an Old Testament quest for aggrandizement. Anyone who suggests a different direction is either considered non-Christian or unAmerican, or both. Democrats and Republicans share the blame together.

We have strong republican (small "r") traditions that stem from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and moral vision that stem from the Bible. But somehow these have been mutated into imperial aggression to the detriment of all. Americans are not as safe as we were even before 9-11 because the actions of our government and military have pitted nearly the rest of the world (except for lackeys like Tony Blair) against us. Our faith is in our military, not Christ. Though Pallmeyer doesn't say it, I believe an underlying message is that the moral of the Biblical experience is relevant for today, but the historical context of the various stories is 2500 years out of date.

Fear of attack is what keeps the current political situation from changing. The party in power does nothing to quell people's fears, and the party not in power offers no tanglible solutions of their own. Americans are thus caught in the rhetorical crossfire of two competing (but not conflicting) arguments.

Pallmeyer's argument is somewhat poorly constructed as he uses primarily modern events (events not much older than 15 years) as the basis for his case. Empire is not the invention of the Bush administration. It's been around from our earliest history. People always looked to the horizon for opportunity, but with such opportunity the government grew its attitude of continual growth. We've since filled in our borders (and stole a lot of land from natives and neighbors along the way) but our need to grow continues. Pallmeyer might have had a better book had he taken a more critical view of empire as a way of life (he often quotes William Appleman Williams).

The great victim of American empire is Christianity. A religion of peace is bastardized into an aggressive, unsympathetic movement. For this, Pallmeyer claims, we should be ashamed. Reading the book one could conclude the greatest fear conservative Christians should have (besides Hillary Clinton) is if these really are End Times. Christ may easily confuse the American empire for the Roman empire of his day, and cast his judgment against all of us. What if Revelation is indeed correct, but we've misinterpreted its message?

Jack Nelson-Palmeyer's books all have serious titles and one might expect that they would be a little boring. I find them to be easy and thought provoking reads. He discusses things that I have thought about but could never find anyone objective enough to talk about them. I highly recommend his books if you want to understand why the religious texts of the various faiths may be contributing to the warlike state of the world.