Repeat: America is Not a Covenant Nation

This week's podcast episode expands on the myth that America is a covenant nation

During the bicentennial celebration in 1976, I remember hearing I Chronicles 7:14 recited as a conditional promise to America.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Trusting my Christian leaders, I assumed they were right. I thought the verse was meant first for the nation of Israel and then for Americans if we repented of all kinds of sins. Much later I learned the passage was for a certain time and place and did not apply to the United States.

During the 250th anniversary, this passage is everywhere again, including in Donald J. Trump’s mouth as he read it on camera during a week long Bible reading ceremony. His reading of it was rebroadcast during the Rededicate 250 performance on Sunday May 17. Politically, the message is that people should get in line with Republican policies and God will heal America. Christian nationalists are just sure God is an American and He is on their side.

In this week’s episode of The Christian Past That Wasn’t, I react to the myth that America is a covenant nation. I play clips of Eric Metaxas, Josh Hawley, and J.D. Vance and rebut their contentions that America is a chosen nation and that the covenant goes back to seventeenth-century Massachusetts.

For the rest of this season of the podcast, I plan to expand and discuss elements of each chapter of The Christian Past That Wasn’t book. In this way, getting the book and listening to the podcast will enhance the experience of both. This week the focus is on Chapter 3 - Myth One: America is a Covenant Homeland for European Protestants.

To get the book, you can go to Christianpast.com for several options. Amazon and Walmart have it for 25% right now. It is currently the #1 New Release in the History of Religion and Politics on Amazon.

Netop

Some have asked about the music on the podcast. Much of it comes from the same room where I produce the podcast. I have landed on the name Netop (NEH-top) for the project. Netop is a Narragansett word for friend or neighbor. The legend goes that Roger Williams was greeted at what is now Providence, RI by Narragansett leaders with the phrase, “What cheer, Netop?” “What cheer” was an English greeting coming from the saying, “what is cheering you?” We might say, “what’s up?” today.

My ancestors, John and Rebecca Throckmorton came over with Roger Williams on the Lyon arriving in February of 1631. John was the lone witness to the land transaction between the sachems and Williams when Williams acquired the land to found Providence. Hopefully, my next book will take a deep dive into all of this.

In any case, some of the podcast theme and background music is now available for streaming on all major platforms under the name Netop. I invite you to check it out at the links below. If you host a podcast and want to use any of this (some of it is mainly for soundtrack or meditation purposes as will be obvious), then please let me know.

Here is title track on Spotify:

The project link on Spotify:

Also on Amazon, Pandora, iHeart, Apple, YouTube. Click here to choose your music service. I want to thank my daughter, the very talented Sarah Eshelman for the cover art on all tracks.