Title: Walking with a Bible and a Gun
Subtitle: The Rise, Fall and Return of American Identity
Description: Walking with a Bible and a Gun: The Rise, Fall & Return of American Identity - by Dr. E. Michael Jones - is a provocative cultural and historical analysis of the American character, tracing its evolution from Puritan beginnings to modern identity crises. Challenging mainstream narratives, Jones explores how Protestant theology, frontier mythology, and Enlightenment ideals fused to form the American psyche—often through violence, displacement, and religious zealotry. He examines foundational myths, from “city on a hill” idealism to the dark undercurrents of racial and religious conflict, while arguing that Protestantism’s decline has left a moral and cultural vacuum increasingly filled by nihilism and identity politics.

Spanning the Salem witch trials, the creation of “whiteness,” and the legacy of figures like Emerson, Jefferson, and Clint Eastwood, the book confronts controversial issues head-on, including Critical Race Theory, Jewish influence in American culture, and the theological roots of American exceptionalism. Jones draws heavily from Catholic tradition to argue for a reinvigorated and unified American identity grounded in spiritual truth rather than ideological fragmentation.

By linking historical moments to theological movements, Walking With a Bible and a Gun offers a sweeping yet intimate examination of the forces shaping America’s past, present, and uncertain future. Will the nation reclaim its soul—or continue its descent into cultural dissolution?
Subjects: Theology, American Idealism, 19th century, The Great Awakening, Protestantism
Places: American West (United States), American Frontier
Time periods: 19th Century