USA celebrates 250 years
On July 4, the United States of America celebrates 250 years since the Declaration of Independence.
Here are some reviews and articles from The Pneuma Review archives that look at the highs and lows, the revivals and awakenings, the challenges and victories the nation has seen.
In “Five Pillars on which the American Republic was Founded,” Christian historian Eddie L. Hyatt says religious liberty was important to those that risked everything to break away from Britain to form the USA.
Read Laurence Van Kleek’s review of First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament.
Antipas Harris introduces his 2020 book, the serious challenge behind it, and his invitation to join him in proclaiming anew that Jesus is Good News for everyone. Is Christianity the White Man’s Religion?: How the Bible Is Good News for People of Color
“Difference Can Make Us Mo’ Betta” is the late Richard Twiss’ review essay of Whose Religion is Christianity?: The Gospel beyond the West (2003) by Lamin Sanneh.
History and Missions
In “A Pentecostal Season: The Methodists in England and America, Part 1” Methodist historian and renewalist Frank Billman reveals how miracles and supernatural interventions were widespread in the ministries of John Wesley and the early Methodists.
William De Arteaga reviews the PBS miniseries The American Revolution in “Doing History the Biblical Way: Reflections from a Patriotic Baby Boomer.”
“The Making of the Christian Global Mission, Part 2: Missions to the First Americans” is part of The Gospel in History series by Woodrow Walton.
J. D. King reviews Larry Martin’s Charles Fox Parham: The Unlikely Father of Modern Pentecostalism in “Remembering the Iniquities of the Fathers.”
In “Reclaiming the Original American Vision,” Eddie L. Hyatt urges all Americans to recapture the Founding Fathers’ vision that linked faith and freedom together.
Revival and Awakening
In “The Great Civil War Revival: God at Work in Unlikely Places,” Wes Shortridge presents the astounding revival that occurred on both sides of the American Civil War and how it impacted the nation for decades.
In “People Met Jesus Deeply Here,” Craig S. Keener writes about the 2023 Asbury Outpouring
Culture, Prophecy, and Politics
Professor Stephen M. King compares American and Biblical politics in “The Seduction of Public Leadership: Principles of Morality for Christian Leaders.”
Read Amos Yong’s review of Evangelicals in the Public Square: Four Formative Voices on Political Thought and Action.
In “Eviscerating History: Conspiracy Theories and their Consequences,” Christian historian William De Arteaga argues that conspiracy theories undermine factual history and he offers practical advice to avoid falsehoods and grow in the truth.
Read John Lathrop’s review of 
Michael L. Brown, Jezebel’s War With America: The Plot to Destroy Our Country and What We Can Do to Turn the Tide (2019).
Read Esther Tsai’s review of 
William L. De Arteaga, On Discerning Trump’s Character and Presidency: A Theological Reflection on How False Prophecy Influenced American Politics
William De Arteaga takes up the question of how prophecy should impact our politics in “Why Christians Fell for False Prophecy”
Before his passing later that year, Loren Sandford called for a “Prophetic Reformation” in February 2021 after the many failed prophecies of 2020 including predictions about COVID-19 and the re-election of President Trump.
Read Brian Roden’s review of 
Michael L. Brown, The Political Seduction of the Church: How Millions of American Christians Have Confused Politics with the Gospel (2022).
There are many more articles and reviews that could fit into one or more of the topics I selected. Please leave a comment to point out articles that you have appreciated or taught you something.
