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Chapter 20: Part II – Pietism, Moravians, Methodists, The Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards, African-American Spirituality, and the Founding Fathers
Jonathan Edwards and the Great Awakening
We will be concluding Chapter 20 this Sunday.
For this Sunday, please write on one of these topics:
- Discuss the origins and goals of Pietism. Why was it formed? What were their grievances against conservative (‘Orthodox’) Lutheran civil authority and clergy? What influence did Lutheran pastor August Hermann Francke have with the Pietist movement? How did this movement affect the Great Awakening in America?
- How did the Moravian Church come about? What was unique about their beliefs? Discuss the impact Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf had upon the Moravians.
- Discuss John Wesley and how the Methodist Church came about. What was Wesley’s greatest impact to Evangelical Christianity that still resonates into the modern era?
- Discuss the Scotish-Irish impact upon Evangelical Christianity and their outside gatherings to hold ‘revivals‘. How did their churches flourish across America, especially the Middle colonies in America?
- What were Jonathan Edwards contributions to the Great Awakenings in America? Discuss how his eschatology of ‘postmillennialism‘ shaped part of American identity during this time. In fact, what was the overall impact of the Great Awakenings upon American religion? How did worship change as a result of it?
- Why was the Great Awakenings such a great success among the African-American slave population? What was it about the evangelical message or theology that attracted them to convert? What was the reaction of the white Evangelical population to their presence?
- What were the reactions of American Evangelical denominations toward the American Revolutionary War (i.e., Baptists, Quakers, Methodists, Anglican, etc.)? After reading about MacCulloch’s viewpoint of the spirituality of the Founding Fathers, would you consider America to be founded upon Christian principles? Why or why not? How did the shaping of the Constitution by the Founding Fathers and the revolutionary elite impact the way religion was practiced in America?
Please submit by tomorrow, Saturday, July 26.
UPDATE: Chapter 20 Protestant Awakenings (1600 – 1800) – Part I: Protestants and American Colonization & The Fight for Protestant Survival (1600 – 1800)
William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, (1644 – 1718)
We begin with the British colonization of eastern North America and the impact Protestantism had there.
Here are our essays concerning slavery, the Quakers, William Penn, and John Locke.
Also, Michael placed a late submission for Chapter 19 concerning the influence of pagan practices inherited from the Roman Empire into Christian traditions we often take for granted. Many Christians are quick to dismiss the often categorized “pagan” aspects of other religious traditions such as voodoo, without realizing the blatant paganism inherent within Christian practices itself. Before we quickly judge others, it’s best to know our history and where our beliefs and traditions originated from.
Chapter 20 – Protestant Awakenings (1600 – 1800): Part I
Puritans Land Near Salem, Mass.
For next Tuesday, July 15 please read the first two sections of Chapter 20: Protestant Awakenings – Protestants and American Colonization and The Fight for Protestant Survival (1600 – 1800).
Please write a one page summary on one of the following topics:
- How did early English settlers to North America use Protestant rhetoric to justify colonizing eastern North America in relation to Catholic settlers from Spain and France?
- Summarize how the Puritan and Reformed themes of covenant, community, and being in the “wilderness” formed early New England identity. What were the theological aims of the Puritans? Were they separatists?
- Describe how English Protestant evangelical aims were different than Catholic missionaries to the native Indians. Include the efforts of Roger Williams and John Eliot to the Native American population.
- Describe the efforts of William Penn, the Quakers, the formation of the Pennsylvania colony, and their belief in the freedom of religion.
- Summarize the reign of King James II of England and the political turmoil he caused. Who were the ‘Whigs’ and the ‘Tories’ and why were they important? Describe his relationship with Prince Willem of Orange of the Netherlands and his campaign against Catholics.
- How did John Locke appeal to the Bible to provide the basis for his philosophy of the social contract and raise doubts about a sacred monarchy?
- How did England become the major super-power of the world during this era in history? What events contributed to the expansion of the English empire? How did Britain make Protestantism to become the forefront of Christendom and Christianity?
Please submit by Monday, July 14.
Project Augustine 