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Title: America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln by Mark A. Noll ISBN: 0-19-515111-9 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: October, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: cultural and political confluence with religious thinking
Comment: I came to the book at a result of reading _Jonathan Edwards: A life_ by Marsden. M.Noll like G.Marsden has made my short list of i-must-read-them authors. This is perhaps my 5th book by him i've run across and looked at during my year's study of the issues in the creation-evolution-design(CED) debate. It is, to me, a rather important book for it puts together several issues i have been thinking about but had not related, in particular slavery and evolution being, in the conservative Christian community, similiar issues revolving around the interpretation of Scripture, i intend to follow up this idea. Furthermore, the very systematic way he goes about building a case for the influences of republican ideals on Reformed theology interests me as a very concrete example of the way the cultural matrix determines religious thought. Noll doesn't use the term "American captivity of the Christian Church" but the critical ideas are presented to make such a case.
It's a rather long (450pages) book, with a complex structure and at times detailed arguments, so i find myself wondering to whom to recommend it. Because of it's historical nature and subject material, simply reading the chapters that most interest you is not as good an option as it would be in reading a collection of essays. So if you simply want to get a taste of the book i would read the first 20 or so pages which are the introduction to both the book, how Noll approaches his subject and what he intends to show with this scholarly research. I found chapters 18 and 19 the most interesting: chapter 18 "The 'Bible Alone' and a Reformed, Literal Hermeneutic", and
chapter 19 "The Bible and Slavery", i have several long quotes from these chapters on my extended review at: www.livejournal.com/users/rmwilliamsjr/84610.html
. I think if someone is adequately motivated that the book is accessible to anyone with an interest in history but if your knowledge of the time period or of the theologies discussed is inadequate you will wonder what the fuss is all about, perhaps many secular people will wonder that in any case.
The theme of the book is not hard to summarize. It is that forces of the political life of the US, in particular, republicanism, Whiggery, the demand for equality, had a very important influence on the evolution of each American Christian theology. So too did several cultural influences in the philosophic sphere: common sense moral reasoning via the Scottish enlightenment, an anti-authoritarianism that reached out to all authorities-kings, priests, intellectuals, elites, these too influenced the evolving theology. But the influence was not just a one-way street, but rather in the search for converts the churches became a dominant influence in the culture, not just themselves but the myriad voluntary organizations they gave rise to. So by the Civil War we have a voluntary church, disestablished where those in Europe were not, filled with republicans, certain that their common sense will rightly interpret the Bible, and their morality derived thusly will support a glorious city-on-the-hill that they envisioned for the US. But the devil is in the details, and this is where the book gets really interesting. How do these forces relate? How does theology evolve, why and who is doing what thinking and writing? All done with a scholarly professor's mind, tying together the years of research with a joy and exuberance that is catching. Thanks M. Noll for another most excellent read.......
Rating: 5
Summary: America's God by Mark Noll
Comment: This is an outstanding work on the development of the American
theocratic tradition from colonial times up through the
Civil War and President Abraham Lincoln. The author develops
the concept of individual freedom and intuitive reasoning.
He traces the Shakers of the 1750s and their need for
Divine Action. The colonists were classic preachers- they
educated large audiences of believers. There were some divisions
in the early American religious tradition. Presbyterian
conservatives feared the theology of the Northeast. The 1850s
brought about a period of intellectual fragmentation.
This period preceeded the Civil War and came just after the
political discourses of Karl Marx. The work develops an
American Methodism consisting of an Apostolic Church as
the engine to salvation through God. Religionists of the
period held important beliefs and convictions which were
debated against the intellectual relevancy of the Civil War
political theorists. This period saw an explosion in the
printing of new Bibles. Lincoln deferred to the will of God.
This work is an important exploration into the American
Religious traditions. As such, it provides entertaining
literature for a wide constituency of readers. i.e.
historians, religious educators, American history enthusiasts
and a host of scholars in many related disciplines
Rating: 5
Summary: Remarkable Tracing of Theology, American Style
Comment: Noll is truly a treasured Christian historian of our times, documenting with his many writings the tracing out of theological influences in our country's development.
Since there is much being said currently concering "the Americanization of Christianity," this massive historical work will add much to that discussion.
Noll's careful trip down memory's lane of the time between the Revolution and the Civil War (Edwards to Lincoln) is thorough, and concentrates on primary sources. This is supplemented of course with secondary sources including the author's opinions sprinkled about.
What he concludes fits the proponderance of historical stream which he has presented, namely that in bringing Christianity to this country, America molded "American Christianity" in the doing.
This is well worth the careful read, then re-read. And has Noll proclaims: read Edwards!
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Title: Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M. Marsden ISBN: 0300096933 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Theology in America: Christian Thought from the Age of the Puritans to the Civil War by E. Brooks Holifield ISBN: 0300095740 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon by Stephen Prothero ISBN: 0374178909 Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 15 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark A. Noll ISBN: 0802841805 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: October, 1995 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: The Old Religion in a New World: The History of North American Christianity by Mark A. Noll ISBN: 0802849482 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: October, 2001 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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