Description: Millions of American Christians see U.S. support for the State of Israel as a God-ordained responsibility. Robert O. Smith provides an in-depth look at the English Protestant tradition of Judeo-centric prophecy interpretation at the heart of this popular affinity.
Review Quotes: "[An] enlightening book...a detailed and sophisticated examination of the historical roots of Christian Zionism that gets us past an obsession with dispensational premillennialism."--Church History
"Smith offers a new interpretation of the origins of the close U.S.-Israeli alliance by carefully and thoroughly focusing on the theological innovations from the Protestant Reformation through the current American political climate."--American Historical Review"More Desired Than Our Owne Salvation provides an interesting addition to, and another historical angle on, some early expressions of what remains the ongoing American fascination with and affinity for the State of Israel."--Politics & Religion"A provocative and accessible work of historical excavation...this book is a valuable reminder of the larger context out of which contemporary born-again Protestants operate--often neglected by their scholarly interlocutors."--Journal of American History"...Fascinating..." --Moment"This is a highly informed, well-documented, and intelligent critique of the historical roots and political significance of Christian Zionism. The author is a first-rate expert, who has come up with the most comprehensive exploration of the topic to date, including brilliant analysis of the studies on Christian Zionism that emerged in the last decades. I strongly recommend it." --Yaakov Ariel, author of Evangelizing the Chosen People "Robert Smith has ably traced one source of conservative Protestant Zionism to the sense of national exceptionalism that goes way back in American history. The links he finds between the biblical literalism and fixation on prophecy of the early Puritans and the same characteristics among those who today support Israel as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy make for a thought-provoking historical lineage as well as a telling commentary on current events." --Mark Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre DameFrom the Foreword by Martin E. Marty"Smith could have been satirical and even cynical when dealing with some of these movements. He had a higher purpose than merely entertaining or appealing to readers who might find it easy to be condescending towards Puritans, dispensationalists, and Christian Zionists. Instead, he mirrors Spinoza who, when that philosopher set out to deal with human complexities, wrote that he came not to laugh or to cry or to denounce, but to understand. Smith's is an elegant essay in understanding, well grounded in historical sources and showing alertness to contemporary matters of great moment."