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On Christendom's Far Shore

The United States and the Western Tradition

James Larry Hood

On Christendom’s Far Shore describes and explains American society by first illuminating its foundational stones: the traditional western (Judeo-Christian) faith in God and the West’s once common understanding of the natural order and the nature and destiny of man. It explores the biblical concepts of faith, paradox, tragedy and grace, time, gender relations, love, work, play, individual and communal responsibilities, freedom, and the Kingdom of Heaven. The book illustrates how these ideas and values underlie more specifically American values and American social and governmental patterns and structures, such as the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, the creation of families and larger social groups and communities, the mentoring of future generations, and people’s understanding of self-governance and how to relate to other nations. On Christendom’s Far Shore depicts the present as a time of twilight with the United States caught up in a cataclysmic clash between a traditional understanding of man and of a God-centered universe and a post-modern, existential, man-centered, multicultural worldview that rejects the old values and structures and determinedly seeks a vast restructuring of the nation’s social and political order and character.

University Press of America

Pages: 166 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-0-7618-6282-6 • Hardback • December 2013 • $81.00 • (£62.00)

978-0-7618-6283-3 • eBook • December 2013 • $76.50 • (£59.00)

Subjects: Religion / Christianity / History, Family & Relationships / General, Political Science / American Government / National, Political Science / Political Freedom, Religion / Christian Living / Spiritual Growth, Philosophy / Philosophy of Law, Philosophy / Comparative Philosophy

On Christendom's Far Shore

The United States and the Western Tradition

Hardback

eBook

Summary

On Christendom’s Far Shore describes and explains American society by first illuminating its foundational stones: the traditional western (Judeo-Christian) faith in God and the West’s once common understanding of the natural order and the nature and destiny of man. It explores the biblical concepts of faith, paradox, tragedy and grace, time, gender relations, love, work, play, individual and communal responsibilities, freedom, and the Kingdom of Heaven. The book illustrates how these ideas and values underlie more specifically American values and American social and governmental patterns and structures, such as the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, the creation of families and larger social groups and communities, the mentoring of future generations, and people’s understanding of self-governance and how to relate to other nations. On Christendom’s Far Shore depicts the present as a time of twilight with the United States caught up in a cataclysmic clash between a traditional understanding of man and of a God-centered universe and a post-modern, existential, man-centered, multicultural worldview that rejects the old values and structures and determinedly seeks a vast restructuring of the nation’s social and political order and character.

Details

University Press of America

Pages: 166 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-0-7618-6282-6 • Hardback • December 2013 • $81.00 • (£62.00)

978-0-7618-6283-3 • eBook • December 2013 • $76.50 • (£59.00)

Subjects: Religion / Christianity / History, Family & Relationships / General, Political Science / American Government / National, Political Science / Political Freedom, Religion / Christian Living / Spiritual Growth, Philosophy / Philosophy of Law, Philosophy / Comparative Philosophy

Author

James Larry Hood graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, with a BA in history and government. He received an MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, and earned an MA and PhD in American history from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. He has published several essays and books on Kentucky and American history touching on Civil War politics and the creation of the Republican Party in Kentucky, Kentucky’s participation in the nation’s early twentieth century Progressive drive for political and social reform, and the Nixon administration’s establishment of affirmative action policies and regulations. He has taught at Bellarmine University, Kentucky State University, and Lexington Community College and has given lectures for the Kentucky Humanities Council and various Kentucky Elderhostel programs. Retired from Kentucky state government where he worked as a manager within the health and welfare cabinet’s Inspector General’s Office and as a business office manager, he is presently an adjunct professor of history at the University of Kentucky.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: The Western World
Introduction
Paradox
The Bible
Work
Play
Religion
Zero-Sum Thought
The Kingdom of Heaven, The Promised Land
Prophet, Priest, and King
Liberal Arts
Chapter 2: American Political Values and Structures
Introduction
Ins and Outs
Revolution
The National Government
Federalism’s Checks and Balances
Liberty and Equality
Diversity
Community Organizers/Communitarianism
Chicago Style Politics
President Obama and a New Eden
Chapter 3: American Family/Social Values and Structures
Introduction
Love and Indifference
The Individual
Masters
Generational Mentoring
Social Groups
Men
Marriage and Family
The Next Generation
Gay Integration
Chapter 4: The United States and the Rest of the World
Introduction
Status
The Other
Transnationalism
War and Peace
Chapter 5: Saving Grace
I Corinthians 13
Forgiveness
Remnant
Conclusion
Epilogue
Appendix
Paradox: The Nature of the Cosmos, Man, and Civilization
Bibliography
Index

On Christendom's Far Shore

The United States and the Western Tradition

James Larry Hood

On Christendom's Far Shore

The United States and the Western Tradition

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