Popular Religious Liberalism In America 1770 1880

In this volume Ann Lee Bressler offers the first cultural history of American Universalism and its central teaching -- the idea that an all-good and all-powerful God saves all souls. Although Universalists have commonly been lumped together with Unitarians as "liberal religionists," in its origins their movement was, in fact, quite different from that of the better-known religious liberals. Unlike Unitarians such as the renowned William Ellery Channing, who stressed the obligation of the individual under divine moral sanctions, most early American Universalists looked to the omnipotent will of God to redeem all of creation. While Channing was socially and intellectually descended from the opponents of Jonathan Edwards, Hosea Ballou, the foremost theologian of the Universalist movement, appropriated Edwards's legacy by emphasizing the power of God's love in the face of human sinfulness and apparent intransigence. Espousing what they saw as a fervent but reasonable piety, many early Universalists saw their movement as a form of improved Calvinism. The story of Universalism from the mid-nineteenth century on, however, was largely one of unsuccessful efforts to maintain this early synthesis of Calvinist and Enlightenment ideals. Eventually, Bressler argues, Universalists were swept up in the tide of American religious individualism and moralism; in the late nineteenth century they increasingly extolled moral responsibility and the cultivation of the self. By the time of the first Universalist centennial celebration in 1870, the ideals of the early movement were all but moribund. Bressler's study illuminates such issues as the relationship between faith and reason in a young, fast-growing, and deeply uncertain country, and the fate of the Calvinist heritage in American religious history.

Howe's treatment covers the span from the first gathering in 1793 of people who called themselves "Universalists" to the 1961 merger with the American Unitarian Association to present-day UUism. This comprehensive volume deals with the struggle's of a new religion, women pioneers, early missionary efforts, involvement with social concerns and the branding of a theological school. Includes bibliography, appendices and an index.

William Bentley was pastor of the East Church in Salem Massachusetts from 1783 intil his death in 1819. There, he ministered to the sailors, widows, artisans, and captains of the waterfront. He offered his flock a faith grounded by the dual pillars of a benevolent deity and salvation through moral living.

Profiles the lives and achievements of more than 270 spiritual leaders, arranged alphabetically, who made major contributions to the history of American religious life.

New England Christianity in the nineteenth century produced an almost unending stream of new and old denominations that speckled the landscape. Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, Universalists, Spiritualists, Unitarians, Restorationists, and Calvinists—to name a few—beckoned each individual to join their growing movements. Each professed its truths and some proclaimed theirs was the only path leading to salvation. Admist this Christian angst, Adin Ballou began his spiritual quest to obtain truth. Through Ballou's lengthy spiritual quest, from 1820 to 1880, this book examines how denominational histories, however important, do not explain what a nineteenth-century New England Christian became. Ballou exemplifies this paradox. Always fixed, but never settled. Once a believer chose a path, new phenomena and teachings immediately appeared leaving one's truth claims transient. Through the Christian maze of nineteenth-century New England, Ballou's Christian faith was simply his own.

Designed for an educated lay audience and students in introductory college and seminary church history courses, this visually stunning textbook is carefully written for first-time learners in the subject areas. Invitation to Church History: American chronicles American church history from the pilgrims to contemporary denominations in the United States. In this full-color textbook, many features facilitate learning: photos make the material come alive for the reader; diagrams clarify and distill complex concepts and sets of information; and review materials aid the student in processing and retaining the concepts in each chapter. Readers will gain a clear understanding of the meaning of the gospel, the wonder of divine redemption, and the majesty of God. The story of the church is presented as part of the redemptive history of God and His people. With a conservative, Christ-centered perspective, Hannah writes with fairness and generosity toward diverse views.