Hollywood is rediscovering the Bible.
Two rival films about Moses, both by established producers, are vying to become the next chapter of the century-long love affair between the merchants of sin in Tinsletown and the prophet of hope in Israel. But no matter how far the filmmakers stretch their story, there are unlikely to reach the least known but perhaps most influential impact of Moses today: He is the Patron Saint of Thanksgiving.
The real story of Thanksgiving has surprising biblical roots. A few years ago, I set out on a 10,000-mile journey through the hidden symbols of American life that became the basis for my book, America's Prophet: How the Story of Moses Shaped America. My journey began on a visit to Plymouth, Mass., where I boarded a replica of The Mayflower. A re-enactor was reading from the Bible. "Exodus 14," he explained. "The Israelites are trapped in front of the Red Sea, and the Egyptians are about to catch them. 'Hold your peace!' Moses says. The Lord shall fight for you.' Our leader read us that passage during our crossing."
I hadn't ever associated the biblical prophet with this most American holidays, but his fingerprints are all over our turkeys. How did this happen? How did a 3,000-year-old story become the inspiration for a contemporary American national holiday?
The answer begins with the Protestant Reformation. All through the Middle Ages, Catholics were not allowed to read the Bible directly, but the Reformation, coupled with the printing press, brought vernacular Bibles into the hands of everyday believers. Many of those believers were Protestants who felt oppressed by the Church. They related to the story of the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham who were enslaved in Egypt around 1200 B.C., were set free by Moses, then set out for the Promised Land.
The Pilgrims, a band of Protestant outcasts, saw themselves as fulfilling this biblical story. In coming to the New World, they, too, had to cross a tumultuous sea, arrive in an untested wilderness and create a new "Promised Land." As a result, when they set sail on The Mayflower in 1620, they described themselves as the chosen people fleeing their pharaoh, King James. On the Atlantic, their leader, William Bradford, proclaimed their journey to be as vital as "Moses and the Israelites when they went out of Egypt." And when they got to Cape Cod, they thanked God for letting them pass through their fiery Red Sea.
The pilgrims were so enamored of Moses, the Bibles they brought with them were emblazoned with pictures of Moses on the title page, and they named their children biblical virtues like Fear, Patience and Wrestling, as in "Wrestling with God," the English translation of Israel.
As Peter Gomes, the preacher of Harvard told me, "They weren't trying to recreate the biblical narrative. They were trying to fulfill it." Because of them, the story of Moses became the story of America.
And because of the biblical roots of this most secular of American holidays, if your gathering threatens to descend into a familiar fracas among different faiths, factions and political persuasions, Moses, precisely because he has been used by believers and non-believers alike, Republicans and Democrats, Jews, Catholics and Protestants, may be the one figure who can unite the family and allow them all to enjoy their pumpkin pie.
This entry is part of a series, "This Month in Moses," chronicling the 400-year relationship between the United States and "America's Prophet." For more information, and to read the entire series, visit Bruce Feiler's website, or follow him on Twitter.
Follow Bruce Feiler on Twitter: www.twitter.com/brucefeiler
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Book review: 'America's Prophet' by Bruce Feiler - washingtonpost.com
Bruce Feiler: Moses vs. Jesus: Who is America's Prophet?
Moses is America's prophet - CNN
Thanksgiving (United States) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thank You
It’s always worth point out that the village the pilgrims settled in was once a Native village, whose inhabitants were just killed by small pox.
I think Columbus day is the day that honors when the death of the Natives began, and Thanksgiving the day that honors when Americans forgot about the Native genocides.
BOTH fail to honor america
I suggest you contact Robert Jensen…very bold and blunt about the accounts and history of your "poor Pilgrims".
And as I feminist I mos def. do not agree with your view about Thanksgiving, and I do hope you keep holy and good people like Moses out of the picture…enough damage has already been done to Jesus…Thank You
Btw read up on MS blog and this...
http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/11/25/no-thanks-no-giving-part-2/
that is a naive and misleading statement.
Just because you have unfounded nationalistic beliefs doesn’t make the reality any different.
Americas "Protestant Christian principles" did nothing to prevent the genocide of the Native Americans. there is so little left we could take from natives without looking like the monster we have been up to this point, that your stance is insulting. The only reason people look at casinos and say, "Many are becoming wealthy" is because it justifies their racist argument. It is racist and no different than thinking because there is a black president that blacks in America don’t suffer from the same racist injustice they suffered under slavery. The conditions are different, I agree, but the racism remains. You seem to think that pagans condone genocides faster than Christians, I don’t know of a single example to support that, but I know of many to support that Christians have entertained multiple genocides for centuries. From nazi germany, south africa, the congo, ALL OVER South and North America, and countless other examples that show "Protestant Christian principles" at work. The worst part is that they are completely shameless and justify their murdering, or contest it, at every chance.
Thanksgiving should be a day where YOU Americans should reach out to the Native Americans, and GIVE BACK to them, celebrate with them, and give them a day to remember their HISTORY, and the land of their Ancestors…I believe they embody the struggle of all struggles, and to know that they have survived is a miracle of all.
I have always said that if Jesus does return one day will be the Moses for the Native Americans…don’t be fooled or let yourself to be fooled…open you eyes and see the world not through the lens of the Bible…but the struggle of others…because from they way I see it, certain powerful Christians throughout history have caused the world a great distress colonizing, enslaving, and massacring all in the name if Jesus…not cool
Humans may forget and move on, but God never does...
Anyways Bruce I suggest you contact Robert Jensen…very bold and blunt about the accounts and history of your "poor Pilgrims".
And as I feminist I mos def. do not agree with your view about Thanksgiving or your beliefs, and I do hope you keep holy and good people like Moses out of the picture…enough damage has already been done to Jesus…Thank You
Btw read up on MS blog and this...
http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/11/25/no-thanks-no-giving-part-2/
The West may be enjoying the much needed freedom Europeans* have always longed for…son the natives of North America, Africa, Australia, and the M/E have been living in their own lands, happily until your ancestors showed up on their land, stuffed the bible down their throats, shipped them to foreign lands, enslaved as many and massacred the rest. The Jews and Muslims were even cool until the Crusades showed up, took a blood bath in the Holy city and its unfortunate that you continue to overlook all of that and still believe you are right and the rest is wrong…
Worse is the West today continues though claiming secularism, meddle with the affairs of foreign countries, throw cluster bombs on top innocent children, support corrupted regimes financially behind the scenes… The West CLAIMS democracy while consuming most of the worlds energy (Americans are only 5% of the world pop, and consumers 24% of world energy). Stealing resources from poor nations, destroying their local markets, representing organizations (WTO) that contribute to poverty and limited freedom of these poor people.
Where is the democracy for the world...If you think the world is crazy for a reason, look no further than your own backyard…I am grateful for the freedom I enjoy here, but just like Jesus, I do not care about myself, and want to see justice and freedom for all. You have the audacity to talk about the cruelty of others w/o looking at your own self…son in order for all of us to enjoy what you have…all we are asking is give us our space, we don’t want no foreign help, no money, no food, no anything, just let us enjoy our lands, our resources, and our way of life w/o having the West tell us what we should do and should not...
Catholics were forbidden to read these bibles directly only because of the numerous errors that were made in the translations and not, as is often charged, to keep control over what the people believed.
The vaunted first translation of the King James bible, for example, contained numerous errors that needed to be corrected in subsequent editions.
I do not understand how one can publish an article like this one without doing any research.
The West may be enjoying the much needed freedom Europeans* have always longed for…son the natives of North America, Africa, Australia, and the M/E have been living in their own lands, happily until your ancestors showed up on their land, stuffed the bible down their throats, shipped them to foreign lands, enslaved as many and massacred the rest. The Jews and Muslims were even cool until the Crusades showed up, took a blood bath in the Holy city and its unfortunate that you continue to overlook all of that and still believe you are right and the rest is wrong…
Where is the democracy for the world...If you think the world is crazy for a reason, look no further than your own backyard…I am grateful for the freedom I enjoy here, but just like Jesus, I do not care about myself, and want to see justice and freedom for all. You have the audacity to talk about the cruelty of others w/o looking at your own self…son in order for all of us to enjoy what you have…all we are asking is give us our space, we don’t want no foreign help, no money, no food, no anything, just let us enjoy our lands, our resources, and our way of life w/o having the West tell us what we should do and should not...
The first to offer verbal thanksgiving was Abraham. And the Jewish People are commanded to offer thanksgiving before and after eating and/or drinking any foods, every day.
http://www.tefillos.com/birkas_hamazon.asp - Notice how long the after prayer is if one has eaten bread.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkat_Hamazon
I know it is a very complex issue, and my original posts were censored, so didnt not present a full thought, even my second posting was removed.
it was not removed because its lack of relevance.
first, fistula does not occur through female circumcision. that practice is barbaric, but is no where close to damaging enough to cause fistula( the tearing of the tissue wall between the vagina, and the anus)
fistula is one of many side effects, along aids as you mentioned, of an imperial suppression, and dehumanization.
I mention this side effect in relation to christmas, because while we buy products for which materials are obtained through this imperial suppression, we never stop to consider the effects of our celebration.
This is related to thanksgiving, as it is the product of imperial suppression. I say this because of the approach to thanksgiving which minimizes the cause and effects of such an event.
I am not saying celebrating cell phone technology, or the gratefulness people have to feast with family, but if they are only possible through dire consequences, then those consequences must be acknowledged every time.
the celebrating of an event like thanksgiving, which is a page of history between mass genocides, without reading the prior, and post pages, is willful, and perpetuated ignorance.
accepting this narrowed view of our history, has lead us to celebrating other things like, cellphones, without reading the before and after pages.