No book was more accessible or familiar to the American founders than the Bible; and no book was more frequently alluded to or quoted from in the political discourse of the age. How and for what purposes did the founding generation use the Bible? How did the Bible influence their political culture? Shedding new light on some of the most familiar rhetoric of the founding era; Daniel Dreisbach analyzes the founders' diverse use of scripture; ranging from the literary to the theological. He shows that they looked to the Bible for insights on human nature; civic virtue; political authority; and the rights and duties of citizens; as well as for political and legal models to emulate. They quoted scripture to authorize civil resistance; to invoke divine blessings for righteous nations; and to provide the language of liberty that would be appropriated by patriotic Americans. Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers broaches the perennial question of whether the American founding was; to some extent; informed by religious--specifically Christian--ideas. In the sense that the founding generation were members of a biblically literate society that placed the Bible at the center of culture and discourse; the answer to that question is clearly "yes." Ignoring the Bible's influence on the founders; Dreisbach warns; produces a distorted image of the American political experiment; and of the concept of self-government on which America is built.
#999294 in Books Oxford University Press; USA 2012-10-01 2012-10-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.70 x 1.60 x 9.70l; 2.20 #File Name: 0199945055608 pages
Review
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Eugenic history in depthBy P. Hooper MayhewThese highly accessible essays are written by a cadre of experts and edited with unusual care. This compilation is highly recommended.4 of 7 people found the following review helpful. General OverviewBy Eric LeonardisThis collection of essays is great for someone interested in the broad use of eugenics around the world. But for someone interested in writing a paper about American eugenics; I would suggest looking elsewhere. It is really eerie and unfortunate how this idea keeps showing up in new places.25 of 44 people found the following review helpful. The History of Eugenics Has not EndedBy Wild SwanThis book covers the history of eugenics better than most because it covers eugenics in the post-World War II period and eugenics in countries other than Germany; the US and England. It is occasionally informative but it is not illuminating regardless of the period under discussion.It most obvious failure comes from the fact that eugenics underwent radical changes after 2000 and these changes are not covered in this book. The American eugenics society renamed itself the Society of Biodemography and Social Biology in 2010 following a long power struggle which began in 2000. Biodemography is a new form of eugenics which is being sponsored by a unit of the US government - the Biological and Social Research division of the National Institute of Aging at NIH. The Handbook does not even explain the term - biodemography; let alone discuss the significance of a government sponsoring eugenics for the first time since the Nazi debacle. Granted that the changes in eugenics were not complete in 2003 when the Handbook was published; it remains the case that the book completely misses the change.Moreover; the English society responded to the changes in the American society though in a somewhat subtle way. Beginning in 2006 a series of conferences were initiated by the Galton Institute which are directly connected to the biodemographical movement.(The Galton Institute is the British eugenics society which renamed itself in 1979.) One such conference in Bristol in 2008 was sponsored by the Max Planck Institute of Demographic Research; which is the Vatican of the field of biodemography. The Galton Institute is also sponsoring the conferences of the European Human Behavior Association which was founded by Tom Dickins; currently a Galton Institute Council member. An interest in behavior genetics is a characteristic of biodemography. The Handbook does not discuss any of this. Nor are similarities and differences between the British and American versions of biodemography discussed.Another point is that there would not be a new version of eugenics if the old version were not flawed in the eyes of the eugenicists themselves. But the Handbook does not even discuss issues which; it turns out; were so important to eugenicists themselves that disputes over them tore the American society apart. (No new Officers or Directors of the American society were elected between 1999 and 2008 according to the society journal whereas new Officers and Directors were being elected in from 2004 on according to IRS filings and the CV's of current Board members.)One such dispute centers on the failure of the Theory of the Demographic Transition to predict the demographic realities of the year 2000 - increasing life expectancy and low; low fertility. The Handbook does not discuss this. There are others.Another flaw in the Handbook is the presence of unacknowledged members of the various eugenics societies who are allowed by the authors of the Handbook to make statements without acknowledging their eugenic connections. This vitiates all the history presented. Lesley Hall; for instance; who wrote the chapter on English eugenics; is in 2011 a member of the Galton Institute Council. David J Galton who is quoted frequently in the Handbook; is a vice president of the Institute in 2011.I do not think that a book which purports to be Handbook can be considered a good book when it misses so many important issues and when it blindly follows the interpretation of eugenic history offered by eugenic society members. As a period piece it has value.
