Evangelicalism In Molly Worthen's Apostles Of Reason

From the first chapter, Marsden notes fundamentalism’s steady march through American history. Starting when America was first diverging from a Christian

1 A) From a historical perspective, the United States was a Christian nation from 1600 to around 1940’s despite efforts to enforce the notion that the state is separate from the church. The main reason for this was due to the characteristics of the Puritans which included being strict and religious. The Puritans were persecuted from Britain for going against the church of England and declaring a divine intervention for their faith known as “Errand in the wilderness”. During the Great Awakening from 1730’s to the 1740’s there was a call for the state to get rid of religious hierarchy and place a more egalitarian system in its place. The great awakening, an Evangelical movement, was marked my emotionally driven sermons, and yet was also marked

The concept of morality is commonly believed to be a byproduct of religion with “[n]early half of Americans believ[ing] that morality is impossible without belief in god” (Pyysiäinen 44). Yet, the correlation between the two seems to be less concrete with research showing that “[c]ountries with high rates of religiosity tend to have higher rates of homicide, juvenile mortality (including suicide), sexually transmitted diseases and adolescent pregnancy, and abortion ( 45). Moreover, a study evaluated by Pyysiäinen finds that “religiosity has little to nothing to do with how people evaluate the goodness or badness and acceptability vs. non-acceptability of particular moral judgements” (Pyysiäinen 47). Instead of religion creating morals, Broom

“As surely as each of them brought a toothbrush with him, he also brought with him his loves and hates, his fears of death and his fears of life, his anxieties, his longings, his pride his doubts…and so did the one who traveled to New Haven to hear them lecture.” This statement from page three of Telling the Truth left me naked and vulnerable as I continued to read the following words of this brilliant work by Fredrick Buechner. As a young college student, pursing ministry, I can’t help but be challenged as I read recognize my self in these words. Every time I get up to preach, I bring with me the world that lives inside of me, and so does everyone who is listening. I am speaking to broken hearts, different personalities and family situations, people who are experiencing extreme financial and marriage trials. Each of who is seeking new life shed on them. Whether they are searching Christ or not, they are undoubtedly searching for and absence or void in their lives to be filled. Thus sets the plot for this work that guides readers on a journey to what it means to tell the truth and

“Beware of the Easter Bunny” by Charles Colson, “Letter from Birmingham Alabama” by Dr. Martin Luther King, and “Salvation” by Langston Hughes depict the ways human have the wrong definition of Christianity. People often expect from God and what He can do, but do not understand the true concept of Christianity.

Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech have many similarities and differences between them. The “Emancipation Proclamation” was written in 1862 and given on January 1, 1863. This famous document freed the all African-Americans from slavery. The “I Have a Dream” speech written and given in 1963 dealt with equality and the way people were treated.

Jonathan Edwards’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” seem at first glance quite similar to one another regarding context, however, after taking a closer look, it becomes apparent that there are some substantial differences. These differences cannot be understood without the knowledge of cultural context concerning the Puritan belief system and their lifestyle.

This religious study will define the evolutionary growth of cultural and racial diversity of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) in the late 129th and 20th centuries. The original pietisten philosophy of the Swedish protestant movement defines the foundations of the ECC in the late 19th century. However, the formation of Mission Friends societies throughout the United States, and especially in the Chicago area, prompted a break towards a more radical evangelical ideology. These “conventicles” would define a distinct American style of evangelical practice through the leadership of Carl Olof Rosenius (1816-1868) and eventually, under the leadership of Paul Peter Waldenström (1838-1917). These cultural shifts would occur during the Great Migration

Typically, America is seen as the land of the free. Citizens have freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion. Legally speaking, a person is entitled to the liberties mentioned above; however, they’re condoned if they do not conform to the values traditionally held by the majority Americans. For instance, everyone is free to practice any religion of their choice, but America is a predominantly Christian nation; therefore, those who practice a different religion are often victimized. In fact, John Oskison highlights America’s hypocrisy in “The Problem of Old Harjo”. In a country, where all are supposed to be welcomed and accepted, Miss Evan and Mrs. Rowell force Harjo to give up one of his wives in order to be accepted into church. Instead of taking the time to build a relationship with Harjo and attempt to understand why he has two

Thomas Howard was a Professor of English and Literature for over 30 years, he was considered a rising star in the Pentecostal Evangelical world until his conversion to Catholicism, his journey on changing denomination is highlighted in Evangelical Is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament. Thomas Howard speaks to those longing for a deeper understanding, for example he himself found, that despite all the passionate zeal that he felt earlier in his life, there was still something missing, he discovered could only be found (much to his surprise) in the liturgy. Definitely the book is starkly against dropping the evangelical roots to one 's life, the book itself is not anti-evangelical in language. To further clarify the core strength

A growing number of young believers are spurning the religious right, defying neat political labels and embracing progressive values. The religious right has lost its hold among millennial Americans. About 23% of millennial Americans are religious progressives which is twice the portion of those 68 and older. White evangelical millennials are also twice as likely as evangelicals over 65 to support same-sex marriage. America has become more secular, and membership in every branch of U.S. Christianity has dwindled, except evangelicalism. A growing minority of millennial evangelicals are non-white and much more likely to support progressive issues including social justice, equal rights, marriage equality, and combatting climate change.

In the beginning of Olson’s book, he sees the roots of the new Calvinism through the works of James Montgomery Boice, R. C. Sporul, Loraine Boettner, Michael Horton, and John MacArthur. Their influence was encouraged by the interest in the theology of Jonathan Edwards. This reads as though Olson was pleased “for someone to point out the flaws and weaknesses in this particular type of Calvinism, the type widely embraced and promoted by leaders and followers of the young, restless, reformed movement” (22).

Religion is a prominent factor in American literature, writers are able to express their values and opinions in several manners, albeit personal or factural. This is established through three writers in the mid-1700s, they are Winthorp, Edwards, and Paine.

"The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children."

With Charlotte Brontë’s father being a clergyman and member of the Church, Charlotte Brontë, as well as her sisters have been in constant contact with religion throughout their whole lives. Even though her father gave Charlotte relative freedom in developing her own ideas and beliefs, religion was an important factor in Charlotte Brontë’s life nevertheless. Through Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë expresses several issues of Victorian Britain, such as gender equality or the class system but religion is a reoccurring and omnipresent subject in Jane Eyre. Throughout the whole novel Jane is confronted with religious characters such as Mr Brocklehurst, Helen Burns and St. John Rivers. Those characters all represent three vastly different variations of Christian faith in the Victorian Era. Over the course of Jane’s journey, she struggles with her own Christian faith in God and beliefs as well as with the approaches to religion the characters Mr Brocklehurst, Helen Burns and St. John Rivers have chosen.