tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post6467617483913919138..comments2024-03-28T10:44:30.518-06:00Comments on American Creation: Understanding New England via SermonsBrad Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17669677047039491864noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-33682138131891589642015-12-21T22:52:32.953-07:002015-12-21T22:52:32.953-07:00Brad . . . Stout argues that no secularization of ...Brad . . . Stout argues that no secularization of Puritanism took place in the churches. (I am not up on the historigraphical issues in the boldfaced section of your post.) Does Stout address secularization of life OUTSIDE the churches? That seems just as consequential--when people no longer understand their day to day affairs within their religious worldview. That's when Puritans--people devoted to creating a "city upon a hill" become Yankees--people shrewd at making money. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-72186314947688028542015-12-17T23:51:01.886-07:002015-12-17T23:51:01.886-07:00And though I found Stout's book to be both inf...<i>And though I found Stout's book to be both informative and compelling, there are a few areas of concern. First, it would be easy for the casual reader to assume that the Puritan message was the dominant message of Colonial America. New England, rightfully so, received a tremendous amount of credit for being the soil in which revolution was allowed to germinate. With that being said, it is important that we keep in mind the many other factors that led not only to revolution but allowed each colony to develop on its own. Puritanism, though a powerful force, was not the only big kid on the school yard. </i><br /><br />Excellent analysis, B. Wouldn't want to build a bridge too far for Presbys, and overstate the case, but we certainly agree that a bridge too far has been built by the secularists glorifying the Enlightenment.<br /><br />The vast majority of the colonists were religious--Christian, Protestant, even Calvin-influenced--more than "Enlightenmentalists." That was the elite, like Jefferson, who mostly kept his anti-Christianty under wraps.<br /><br /><br />Outside of New England, they were more Anglican/Episcopal than Presbyterian, true.<br /><br />But it's interesting that the only anti-revolution Presbyterian clergyman that friend-of-the-blog Mark David Hall could find anywhere <br /><br />http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/john-j-zubly-1724-1781<br /><br />got his library thrown in the river by the people of Savannah, Georgia. Members of the Church of England were understandably ambivalent about the revolution--the Anglican clergy swore an oath to the King--but the Presbyterians [and the Baptists were also all Calvinists back then] had no duty to the English crown on any level. <br /><br />http://www.davekopel.org/Religion/Calvinism.htm<br /><br /><i>Christ is our king!</i>Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.com