The Doctrine of Discovery was declared by Pope Nicholas V in 1545. It stated that the Christian civilized empires and kingdoms of Europe had the right to "discover" and do what they wanted with the lands and people they found there, including enslaving those people. The ideas of American Exceptionalism and White Supremacy are closed connected to the Doctrine of Discovery. The authors are a Native American man and a Korean American man. Both say that the result of this Doctrine of Discovery and the White supremacy and exceptionalism that come from it are flawed, dysfunctional, dehumanizing and cruel. They also say that acting on these ideas has prepetuated crimes against non-whites in America for hundreds of years. This book is a call to Christian and other Americans to repudiate these heritical ideas and repent and make amends to those who have been harmed by them, particularly Native Americans whose lands were stolen, and Black Americans whose labor was stolen. This book is disturbing, it will make many people uncomfortable. We might not want to believe what the authors are saying but they are not wrong. ( )

Summary: "You cannot discover lands already inhabited. In this prophetic blend of history, theology, and cultural commentary, Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah reveal the damaging effects of the "Doctrine of Discovery," which institutionalized American triumphalism and white supremacy. This book calls our nation and churches to a truth-telling that will expose past injustices and open the door to conciliation and true community"-- Provided by publisher.

Very true on the 'unsettling' part - but authors Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah point out the
some of the hidden history of the United States that as a follower of Christ I would have a difficult time supporting. But there is the distinction between Christianity and Christendom - in one (Christianity) we become servants - like Christ -and see the Imagio Dei in all of humanity - no matter their beliefs or ethnicity.

In the other we make others servants based on bad theology. We take old testament promises to only Israel and apply it to any country and throw away much of the NT teachings of Christ as not being 'practical'.

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Summary: Shows how "The Doctrine of Discovery," an outgrowth of a Christendom of power rather than relationship has shaped a narrative of the United States, to the dehumanizing of Native Peoples, slaves, and other non-white peoples.

Columbus discovered America, right? Pilgrims, Puritans, and other Europeans "settled" America and drove out the "Indians" who threatened their settlements. That's what I learned in history class.

That's not how the Native Peoples of Turtle Island (what they call North America) saw it. They were invaded and had the land of their ancestors taken from them, were displaced, often with genocidal marches, to inferior lands. Unfortunately, victors usually write the history.

The two authors of this work show the complicity of the church in the "Doctrine of Discovery" that justified the settlement of Native lands, and the subjugation of Native Peoples that resulted, as well as the dehumanizing treatment of African slaves. They trace this back to the transition the church underwent under Constantine, when church and state became Christendom, and Constantine's "faith" was written into the narrative by Eusebius. The crusades led to classifying "infidels" as inferior human beings and the church baptized the early explorers efforts as "evangelistic," and the early settlers appropriated Israel's land covenant and Jesus' "city on a hill" to articulate their justification for "settling" the Native lands.

The most disturbing part of this narrative is the genocidal effects of this settlement reducing a population of approximately six million to under 240,000 at one point. Some was disease. Some was warfare. Some was outright massacre, like Wounded Knee, and some, like the Trail of Tears or the Navajo and Apache removal to Bosque Redondo, when thousands died. Proportionally, the death rate of the latter was greater than the Holocaust.

Another "unsettling truth" was the equivocal character of the "Great Emancipator," Abraham Lincoln. There is a plaque at the base of the Lincoln Memorial that records these words of Lincoln:

"I would save the Union. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that."

An uprising of Dakota initially led to 2 of 40 being sentenced to death. Lincoln expanded the criteria for death sentences resulting in the execution of 39. Subsequently, Lincoln signed into law a bill nullifying treaties with the Dakota and Winnebago tribes in Minnesota and mandating their forced removal to the Dakota Territory. Bounties were set on those who who tried to escape the roundup.

The authors conclude with how we react to these unsettling truths, including the efforts of Christian boarding schools designed to "kill the Indian to save the man.". One of the most interesting ideas, but also one on which I'd like to see more research is what they termed Perpetrator Induced Traumatic Stress (PITS). They contend that Native Peoples and African Americans are not the only ones traumatized by the Doctrine of Discovery. White America is also traumatized. The authors propose that this may explain the "triggering" effect of the election of Barack Obama as president. They also propose that healing can come only through lament, relational apologies to the Tribal People whose lands were taken and the children of slaves forcibly brought here, and with Tribal peoples, and acknowledgement of thanks to them as hosts in a land where we are guests. That's only a beginning, but a necessary one.

The "unsettling truths" of this book don't appear in traditional histories, and I'm sure there are those who will contest them, particularly because of the sweeping nature of this account, from the beginnings of Christendom to white trauma. While there is extensive documentation in the form of endnotes, the case of this book would be helped with a bibliography of further readings for each chapter. From other readings, I found much to warrant this cumulative case. Furthermore, the authors write both unsparingly, and yet with the hope that their narrative will contribute to the equivalent of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. The question is whether there will be leaders in local communities as well as national bodies willing to acknowledge the truth, make honest and sincere apologies to the peoples whose lands they occupy.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

The past few years have seen many contributions from people of color regarding their experience in America in light of its heritage of white supremacy, especially as it relates to the Christian faith; this work is an important contribution to that end, featuring the perspective of a Native American regarding the "doctrine of discovery" and its implications in Western civilization ever since.

The author brings to the fore the principle which undergirded the colonization of America: the "doctrine of discovery," enshrined in papal bulls granting the Portuguese and Spanish dominion over any lands they would "discover," even though the lands they discovered already had Native populations within it. It was presumed that the Europeans "discovering" these lands were superior in belief and nature to those who would be "discovered," and from this principle would come the ungodly, dehumanizing, and genocidal treatment of the Native Americans at the hands of Europeans from the 16th century into the 20th. The author describes how the "doctrine of discovery" became enshrined in American legal precedent in the Johnson vs. M'Intosh Supreme Court decision in 1823, and has remained live and active to the present, used in a justification of denying a Native claim to land in New York in 2005.

The author speaks of the transgressions of the nation: the forced deportation of Natives from their lands to places out West; the dire conditions of the reservations; the massacres at Sand Creek and Wounded Knee; the boarding schools and the desire to "get the Indian out of the man". He likewise views "Western" civilization through critical lenses: its white supremacy, its "Christendom" and Christianity's compromise with empire, its dysfunctional theology of domination and conquest, its colonialism, its claims to exceptionalism, and the ugly side of its heroes, especially Abraham Lincoln. He also speaks of trauma and its effects. He yearns for conciliation in truth.

It's a challenging read for the white American, but a very necessary one. Many will be offended at the way in which the author approaches many of the subjects, but the reader ought to step out of his or her perspective and consider how it would all look to Native Americans whose legitimacy in the land was denied for nearly 400 years, and to thus be open to the prospect that he is not wrong, and has a clearer view to an ugliness we would rather not see.

The author's desire for truth in conciliation is good, wise, and appropriate. That conciliation would, no doubt, lead to a restoration of some land to the Natives. But it is hard to square the posture of the author to be working for an America "for everyone" with wide-ranging thoroughgoing land claims that would come at the expense of plenty of others who are here in America. The means by which land was taken from Native Americans was, without an argument, unjust and wrong. Then again, for generations before Europeans came (and even afterward!), Natives would dispossess other Natives through war. Based on genetics and records it would seem that human history is one long series of migrations (or invasions): in many instances, the newcomers genetically assimilated into the local populations, with either the newcomers or the locals assimilating culturally into the other; yet in many other instances, the newcomers wiped out the local populations and replaced them on the land. For that matter, the Bible itself testifies to the same piece of land being possessed, at different times, by different peoples.

So what do you do with land claims and land ownership? I do not think it is an easy question with an easy answer, and worthy of more meditation.

Regardless, invaluable and important reading. Highly recommended.

**galley received as part of early review program ( )