American Exceptionablism  ·  DSP Prague  ·  Grades 11–12
God
and
Mammon
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon." Matthew 6:24

Five instruments on faith, power, and the American nation.

American Christianity has been repeatedly available as technology — for producing compliance, justifying conquest, sanctifying racial hierarchy, and reproducing political power — while claiming to serve God.

The instruments
Instrument I
Suitable Passages
London, 1807
"Which parts of the Bible should an enslaved person be allowed to read?"
Role: Editor
Instrument II
Two Documents
United States, 1830–1839
"Both sides appealed to God. They reached opposite conclusions. Why?"
Role: Historian
Instrument III
A Ceremony
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1913
"The Confederacy lasted four years. How long did the story last?"
Role: Attendee
Instrument IV
A Revival
New York City, 1917–2016
"Who is this Jesus?"
Role: Genealogist
Instrument V
The Present Tense
United States, 2019–2023
"Where have you seen this before?"
Role: Witness
VI
Coda — not an instrument. An audit.
Exodus
The editors removed Exodus. The following pages document what happened to that story after it was removed.
I
Editing
Suitable Passages
II
Justification
Two Documents
III
Memorialisation
A Ceremony
IV
Reproduction
A Revival
V
Continuation
The Present Tense