United States, we need to understand that it can be seen as filling both roles. Many in the history of the United States have understood it to carry the "local tradition" of a special covenant relationship to God. At the same time, is there a better modern-day candidate to occupy the role of empire? This double reading is necessary because there is no obvious equivalent between ancient reading and contemporary setting. If, however, we take the biblical rendering as in some way relevant to our context, then we may attempt a double experiment in the contemporary relevance of the ancient
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