ABSTRACT
For Solomon Islanders living in Honiara at the turn of the 21st Century, historical and military allusions to the ancient Israelites and the United States (US) of America are more culturally meaningful, and therefore more logical candidates for intertextual reference. Christian Outreach Centre (COC) members’ references to “America” are mobilized in ways that are similar to their references to ancient Israel. Certainly, rapport between Solomon Islanders and American G.I.s is well-documented. Both Pastor Anne’s and senior men’s tendency to side morally with America, without critically evaluating US motives and violent excesses, parallels might-makes-right treatment of Old Testament narratives. Moral associations with America are so pervasive that they often provide the primary imagery for “being a Soldier of Jesus” in the present day. The moral integrity accorded the US is reflected again in COC members’ celebration of America’s strength within the international Pentecostal revival movement, the spiritual “world war.”
