American Jesus

A Deep Dive into America's Complex Relationship with Jesus There's no denying America's rich religious background–belief is woven into daily life. But as Stephen Prothero argues in American Jesus, many of the most interesting appraisals of Jesus have emerged outside the churches: in music, film, and popular culture; and among Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and people of no religion at all. Delve into this compelling chronicle as it explores how Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, has been refashioned into distinctly American identities over the centuries. From his enlistment as a beacon of hope for abolitionists to his appropriation as a figurehead for Klansmen, the image of Jesus has been as mercurial as it is influential. In this diverse and conflicted scene, American Jesus stands as a testament to the peculiar fusion of the temporal and divine in contemporary America. Equal parts enlightening and entertaining, American Jesus goes beyond being simply a work of history. It’s an intricate mirror, reflecting the American spirit while questioning the nation's socio-cultural fabric.

AMERICAN JESUS returns with THE NEW MESSIAH. A virgin pregnancy in '70s New York forces a young couple to flee for their lives, as evil powers close in to destroy them. An angel in a dream foretells a dark future and a battle with the Antichrist. The teenagers go on the run with only their faith.

From the writer of the Universal hit, Wanted, comes his next graphic novel on the way to becoming a feature film! American Jesus Volume 1: Chosen follows a twelve-year-old boy who suddenly discovers he's returned as Jesus Christ. He can turn water into wine, make the crippled walk, and, perhaps, even raise the dead! How will he deal with the destiny to lead the world in a conflict thousands of years in the making?

NEW EDITION CHOSEN. After surviving a freak accident, a twelve-year-old boy discovers he's the returned Jesus Christ. He can turn water into wine, make the crippled walk...he can even raise the dead. How will he deal with his destiny -- to lead the world in a conflict that's been thousands of years in the making? Collects AMERICAN JESUS: CHOSEN #1-3

The Messiah is running wild in her new life, free from the rules of the church and the protection of her parents. But evil forces are descending. Evil forces that want to snuff her out before she receives her holy powers. Evil forces that will kill her to make way for the Antichrist's rule.

Is being a good American the same thing as being a good Christian? Are they the same thing? Are they opposed? Or perhaps they overlap in important ways. The “Christ and Culture” question is not new. It showed itself in the reaction of many Jews to Jesus. The early Christians had to find some way to relate to their Greek and Roman societies, with questionable results for their faith and their cultures. This problem has haunted Christians throughout history, and still is with us today. This book looks at much of the history of the church and the various answers that have been given to the issue. It does not attempt to arrive at a definitive answer to these questions but invites the reader to come to their own conclusions.

What does the most infamous criminal proceeding in history--the trial of Jesus of Nazareth--have to tell us about capital punishment in the United States? Jesus Christ was a prisoner on death row. If that statement surprises you, consider this fact: of all the roles that Jesus played--preacher, teacher, healer, mentor, friend--none features as prominently in the gospels as this one, a criminal indicted and convicted of a capital offense. Now consider another fact: the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus bear remarkable similarities to the American criminal justice system, especially in capital cases. From the use of paid informants to the conflicting testimony of witnesses to the denial of clemency, the elements in the story of Jesus' trial mirror the most common components in capital cases today. Finally, consider a question: How might we see capital punishment in this country differently if we realized that the system used to condemn the Son of God to death so closely resembles the system we use in capital cases today? Should the experience of Jesus' trial, conviction, and execution give us pause as we take similar steps to place individuals on death row today? These are the questions posed by this surprising, challenging, and enlightening book

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The “paradigm-influencing” book (Christianity Today) that is fundamentally transforming our understanding of white evangelicalism in America. Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping, revisionist history of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, revealing how evangelicals have worked to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism—or in the words of one modern chaplain, with “a spiritual badass.” As acclaimed scholar Kristin Du Mez explains, the key to understanding this transformation is to recognize the centrality of popular culture in contemporary American evangelicalism. Many of today’s evangelicals might not be theologically astute, but they know their VeggieTales, they’ve read John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart, and they learned about purity before they learned about sex—and they have a silver ring to prove it. Evangelical books, films, music, clothing, and merchandise shape the beliefs of millions. And evangelical culture is teeming with muscular heroes—mythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of “Christian America.” Chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done. Challenging the commonly held assumption that the “moral majority” backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 for purely pragmatic reasons, Du Mez reveals that Trump in fact represented the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicals’ most deeply held values: patriarchy, authoritarian rule, aggressive foreign policy, fear of Islam, ambivalence toward #MeToo, and opposition to Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community. A much-needed reexamination of perhaps the most influential subculture in this country, Jesus and John Wayne shows that, far from adhering to biblical principles, modern white evangelicals have remade their faith, with enduring consequences for all Americans.