In Search of the City on a Hill

Recently I read a summary of this book by Dr. Kim Riddlebarger over at his blog.  He wrote the following:

For those of you interested in American church history and/or modern politics in light of the two kingdoms debate, you will certainly profit from Richard Gamble's recent book, In Search of the City on a Hill:  The Making and Unmaking of an American Myth.  You can find Gamble's book on Amazon here.

Gamble discusses in great detail the historical context for John Winthrop's famous 1630 sermon "A Model of Christian Charity" given onboard the Arbella before his group arrived in the New World.  As Gamble points out, near the end of his famous sermon Winthrop used the image of a "city on a hill" (found in Matthew 5:14) in a very conventional and biblical way (as an image of the church's witness and pastoral ministry).  Winthrop intended far less by his use of this metaphor than many have assumed.  

Go here to read the rest of Riddlebarger's article.  As an added bonus he includes a link to a recent interview Gamble gave with National Review Online.

I would add that the author is a ruling elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in America and professor at Hillsdale College, in Hillsdale, Michigan.  I had the privilege of meeting him a couple of years back at the Russell Kirk Center.  He is someone worth reading.  If possible, I'd like to work it out to speak in my community.