Description
Book SynopsisDreisbach shows that the Bible was the most frequently referenced book in the political discourse of the American founders. Drawing on some of the most familiar rhetoric of the founding era, Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers examines the founders' diverse uses of the Bible and how scripture informed their political culture.
Trade ReviewDreisbach easily accomplishes the stated goal of his book, which is to illustrate that "the Bible was featured prominently in the political discourse of the American founding." No one could read it and come away with the attitude that the Bible is irrelevant as a source for understanding the political ideas of the American founding... Hopefully, this book will prompt further investigations into a question whose importance it has clearly established. * Melissa Dow, University of Dallas, Religious Studies Review *
Dreisbach's work is an important contribution to the ongoing discussion of the role of religion in American public life and of the nature of the ideological heritage left to us by the founding fathers. Dreisbach writes clearly, and this work will serve as a helpful introduction for those who have never considered the pervasive influence of the Bible upon the American founding. * Gary Steward, Colorado Christian University, Anglican and Episcopal History *
With the contest over America's heritage intensifying since the election of Donald Trump, the need for better understanding of the relationship between religion and politics in the founding era of the United States has never been greater. As Americans enlist past events in partisan disputes, we are more painfully aware of the fractured nature of historical memory. In this fraught situation, Daniel Dreisbach's deeply researched investigation into how the founders imagined America's republican government is most welcome. * Amanda Porterfield, Journal of Church and State *
One of the many merits of Daniel Dreisbach's book is to show how misleading this picture [of the Founding Fathers as cool to religion] is. Against this popular image, the Bible was referenced more often than any other text, or even writer, during the Revolutionary period... Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers is a scholarly book, drawing on an abundance of source material and demonstrating an admirable familiarity with the period and the Bible. * Church Times *
Table of ContentsChapter One: Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers: An Introduction PART I Chapter Two: The English Bible and American Public Culture Chapter Three: The Bible in the Lives of the Founding Fathers Chapter Four: The Bible in the Political Discourse of the American Founding PART II Chapter Five: What Does God Require of Us?: Micah 6:8 in the Literature of the American Founding The Bible in American History 1: Creating a Great Seal for the New Nation Chapter Six: A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants: The Bible, the Right of Resistance, and the American Revolution The Bible in American History 2: Benjamin Franklin's Call for Prayer in the Constitutional Convention Chapter Seven: The Exalted Nation: Proverbs 14:34 and the Characteristics of a Righteous People The Bible in American History 3: The First Prayer in Congress Chapter Eight: When the Righteous Rule: Proverbs 29:2 and the Character of a Godly Magistrate The Bible in American History 4: Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Chapter Nine: Stand Fast in Liberty: The Use (and Misuse) of Biblical Symbols and Rhetoric of "Liberty" in the American Founding The Bible in American History 5: George Washington Takes the Presidential Oath of Office Chapter Ten: Under Our Own Vine and Fig Tree: Creating an American Metaphor for Liberty in the New Nation Afterword Notes Selected Bibliography Acknowledgments Index
