tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post1643078819741283779..comments2024-03-27T18:18:11.525-06:00Comments on American Creation: Deists in DisguiseBrad Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17669677047039491864noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-61190756444658067272010-07-23T14:59:52.945-06:002010-07-23T14:59:52.945-06:00As Tom states, if we open the question up the the ...As Tom states, if we open the question up the the full 2,000 years of Christian thought, then the re-emergence of Arianism(and other anti-trinitarian doctrines) becomes just that; nothing NEW.King of Irelandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11793825722325763371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-22816539675424695032010-07-20T14:29:14.085-06:002010-07-20T14:29:14.085-06:00Good post, Jon!Good post, Jon!Brad Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17669677047039491864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-10145681546080552602010-07-20T10:26:17.599-06:002010-07-20T10:26:17.599-06:00Or, as Philipp Melanchthon thought in the 1500s, u...Or, as Philipp Melanchthon thought in the 1500s, unitarianism---the return of Arianism---was a natural result of Protestantism.<br /><br />Since Michael Servetus is a pre-Enlightenment figure, this has some currency.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-64143038023583895172010-07-20T07:02:40.587-06:002010-07-20T07:02:40.587-06:00.
The advent of modernity blew hot blasting winds ....<br />The advent of modernity blew hot blasting winds that cut deep into the ice of traditional teachings sculpting out new ideas.<br />.<br />Unitarian thinking was/is one of the results.<br />.<br />Of course the traditionalists were upset. They always are.<br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-5057780503626849282010-07-19T19:23:52.021-06:002010-07-19T19:23:52.021-06:00The Presbyterians tried these:
• Sun, Light and B...The Presbyterians tried these:<br /><br />• Sun, Light and Burning Ray<br /><br />• Compassionate Mother, Beloved Child and Life-giving Womb<br /><br />• Rainbow of Promise, Ark of Salvation and Dove of Peace<br /><br />• Overflowing Font, Living Water, Flowing River<br /><br />• Fire That Consumes, Sword That Divides, and Storm That Melts Mountains<br /><br /><br />Eh. Mankind has already tried the Sun God thing, and too much of Him gives you skin cancer. "Our Rainbow Who Art (Am, Is) Wherever" makes me want to fetch my Divine Coloring Book. With the recent floods in the northeast, overflow is counterintuitive: Dear Overflow, leave us alone, willya? And here in California, a Storm That Melts Mountains caused a landslide that almost took out my patio deck.<br /><br />I don't think the Presbs go nearly far enough. <br /><br />--Solar, Wind, and Clean-Burning Hydrogen Power (Enviro-God)<br />--Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Holy Flamingo (Kung-Fu God)<br />--Owner, Driver, Pit Crew (NASCAR God)<br />--Apatosaurus, T. Rex and Archaeopteryx (Jurassic God)<br />--Pop, Snap & Crackle (Breakfast God)<br />--Tinker to Evers to Chance (Teamwork God)<br />--Townshend, Daltry, Entwistle (The Writer, The Song and The One Who Played Bass God)<br />--Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness (Separation of Church and God God)<br /><br />Well, it's quite a fruitful vein. One Presbyter said you might as well call 'em Huey, Dewey and Louie, but I think he isn't quite down with the Spirit of the thing. The Deity Formerly Known as The Triune God has got to get into the 21st century.<br /><br />[The latter bit is from an old post.]Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-37920422676863283902010-07-19T19:23:05.009-06:002010-07-19T19:23:05.009-06:00In this interdisciplinary field of history/politic...<i><br />In this interdisciplinary field of history/politics/theology...</i><br /><br />Unless we find evidence outside the natterings of clergy, we're really only doing one out of three. I just haven't run across the evidence that normal people [heheh] cared much.<br /><br />As we saw, John and Samuel Adams made a revolution even though we find out that John leaned unitarian. We know that until the unitarians started legally taking over churches c. 1810-1820, Trinitarians and unitarians shared the same pews [and pulpits!].<br /><br />Nobody---even clergy---seemed particularly bugged in real life that Franklin was agnostic on Christian doctrines like the Trinity. The revivalist Whitefield and Franklin were friends.<br /><br />And Franklin, Jefferson and John Adams contributed to the support of churches, not necessarily their own. In fact, John Adams, a bigtime anti-papist, was on the committee that helped raise funds for the first Catholic church in Boston!<br /><br />Although his defenders denied his unorthodoxies, there were doubts, but Jefferson got plenty of "evangelical" votes anyway, since he was seen as a reliable protector of the rights of the minority sects.<br /><br />Ethan Allan [the bottom of the Deist barrel, quickly reached] wrote a best-selling memoir, and claimed he defeated the British "in the name of Jehovah!"<br /><br />There was a debate between Calvinist Samuel Adams and unitarian William Ellery Channing on the Trinity [JQ Adams said he thought Sam won]. I cannot think if the split were that drastic, the men could have taken the stage together to debate. [You might find that one interesting, though. I've never dug into it.]<br /><br />It seems to me that the rise of unitarianism [1815-1845?] was a bit of a bump, a fad, and was counterbalanced by the Second Great Awakening. Theologically, it's interesting, but historically, mostly interesting because the unitarian takeover of the Congregationalist churches led to the disestablishment of the last state church in America: Congregationalism, Massachusetts, 1833.<br /><br />There was a point where I thought the FFs were all unitarians, but that turned out not to be so. Further, I was surprised to learn that unitarianism of John and Abagail Adams and Channing wasn't as radical as it seemed like modern UUism, or even the English version of Priestley and Belsham. It still believed Jesus was some sort of Messiah and the Bible was God's Word.<br /><br />John Adams' thanksgiving proclamation of The Father of Mercies, The Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit seems much more Trinitarian than some mainline Protestant versions today.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.com