At 03:12 PM 9/1/99 EDT, [log in to unmask] wrote:
>In a message dated 09/01/1999 2:02:45 PM Central Daylight Time,
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>
>> A young scholar asked me about it pertaining to 17thc.
>> >pietism,
>
>
>The possibility would be tricky to show in Pietism. There is a tendency to
>move away from a mystical point of view in this tradition. There is a link
>toward greater emotionalism within pietism, but like its counterparts,
>English Evangelicalism (Puritanism) and American Evangelicalism (the great
>awakenings) , it focuses most especially on the Bible and its effect on the
>heart of the listener, and not so much on mysticism. Apocalypticism is
>probably a better avenue.
>
>Ken A. Grant
>South Bend
>
>
As a descendant of Puritans who migrated to New England in the 17th
century, I'm interested in the characterization of Puritans as
Evangelicals, and in the delay until the 18th century of an American
Evangelism. Do you intend to imply that what you call American Evangelism
was a development from English Evangelism, and that New England Puritans of
the 17th century and early 18th century, before the Great Awakenings, are
to be classified together with English Puritans? There is justification
for this view, I believe, and such a proposal has been much debated among
historians, at least among American ones.
However, what bothers me can be illustrated by quoting a paragraph from
*The Encyclopedia of American Religious History*, by E L Queen II, S R
Prothero and G H Shattuck Jr, 1996, v 1, p 227:
*evangelicalism*. Evangemicalism is a general term for a religious and
cultural movement that has played a significant role in American history.
Unlike in Europe, where evangelical simply meqans "not Catholic," in the
United States it conjures up both more sweeping and more particular
meanings emphasizing individual conversion, the authority of scripture, and
moral and social reform."
And a little later on the same page: "This emphasis on human ability,
called Arminianism from the Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius (1560-1609),
argues that the individual has the ability to accept or reject God's grace
-- to choose or refuse salvation."
Compare this with following from the same work, v 2, p 533:
"*Puritanism*. Puritanism, a complex religious movement of the 16th
through 18th centuries, played a major role in the development of American
culture. Despite its influence, Puritanism is difficult to define. .....
"At the simplest level the Puritans were English Protestants, loyal in
their own eyes to God, king, country, and the Church of England, who
desired to continue the religious reforms begun during the reign of Henry
VIII. The direction of this continuation was a point of disagreement among
the Puritans themselves. Some, probably the majority, desired to retain
the church as Elizabeth I had organized it, minus bishops. This was the
view of the Presbyterians who, basically satisfied with the Elizabethan
curch, desired only to replace the bishops with a Presbyterian structure
such as existed in Scotland.
"The ither two major forms of Puritanism -- Separatism and
Congregationalism -- sought greater changes. They not only opposed
episcopacy, but also rejected any form of church organization superior to
the individual congregation. They also opposed "human" accretions,
primarily the vestiges of Catholic ritual and inclusive church membership,
that had been introduced into the Church. They saw no biblical basis for
these and wanted them removed from the established church."
A core issue, I think is the difference between individual ability to
accept or reject God's grace, which I take to be a central characteristic
of evangelicalism, and the emphasis in Puritanism, at least before the
splitting off of some Puritans during the Great Awakenings, on authority of
the individual congregations, as contrasted with the authority of
individuals themselves, in connection with salvation and other matters.
Where would you put the Church of England in connection with evangelicals?
Gordon Fisher [log in to unmask]
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