DO NOW: READ AND ANSWER ANALYSIS QUESTIONS ON “A FAITHFUL NARRATIVE OF THE SURPRISING WORK OF GOD” BY JONATHAN EDWARDS- WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARMINIANISM AND PREDESTINATION -Chapter 6 and questions DUE MONDAY -Read John Lock’s “Two Treatises of Government” and complete analysis questions DUE THURSDAY

REVIEW THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN AMERICAN HISTORY While the dominant narrative of the American Revolution focuses on its political causes, the factor of religion cannot be ignored. Many settlers came to the North American colonies seeking the freedom to practice their religions. For the Puritans, who established a vision for their colony, calling it a “City upon a Hill,” religion was intertwined with America’s destiny to become a beacon for the world. One cannot fully understand the minds of the Revolutionary generation without considering the place of religion in the social and political life of the colonists, including the revivals of Protestant evangelicalism in the mid-eighteenth century. John Adams said, “The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligation. This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American revolution.” (John Adams to Hezekiah Niles, February 13, 1818, The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1856), 10: 282)

A MODEL OF CHRISTIAN CHARITY From the reading, identify Puritan values. What is the meaning and implications of the phrase “city upon a hill” What exactly is the meaning of this text as a whole? What is the meaning and implication of “posterity”? How does this text apply to the United States today?

THE ENLIGHTENMENT IN AMERICA -Enlightenment thinkers in Europe advanced four fundamental principles:  The law-like order of the natural world  The power of human reason  The “natural rights” of individuals (including the right to self govern)  The progressive improvement of society -John Locke  English philosopher John Locke was a major contributor to the Enlightenment. He stressed the impact of environment and experience on human behavior and beliefs, arguing that the character of individuals and societies was not fixed but could be changed through education, rational thought, and purposeful action.  His “Two Treatise’s of Government” argued that political authority was not given by God but was derived from social compacts that people made to preserve their natural rights to life, liberty, and property. In his point of view, people should therefore have the power to change government policies of even GASP their form of government

ENLIGHTENMENT’S IMPACT ON RELIGION Some clergymen responded to these developments by creating a rational form of Christianity. Rejecting supernatural interventions and a vengeful Calvinist image of God, Congregationalist minister Andrew Eliot maintained that “there is nothing is Christianity that is contrary to reason”. Another reverend in Massachusetts (John Wise) used Locke’s ideas to defend giving power to ordinary church members. Just as the social compact formed the basis of political society, he argued, so the religious covenant among the lay members of a congregation made them- not the bishops of the Church of England or even ministers like himself- the proper interpreters of religious truth. Suddenly instead of blaming things (such as widespread disease) on people’s sins and God’s will, they began to advocate for scientific preventions/cures!

THE GREAT AWAKENING

AMERICAN PIETISM AND THE GREAT AWAKENING! Not that kind of Awakening Beyoncé! #NotFlawless

PIETISM Thousands of colonists turned toward Pietism, a Christian movement originating in Germany around 1700 and emphasizing pious behavior. In its emotional worship services and individuals striving for a mystical union with God, Pietism appealed to believer’s hearts rather than their minds. In the 1720s, German migrants carried Pietism to America, sparking a religious revival in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where Dutch minister Theodore Jacob Frelinghuysen preached passionate sermons to German settlers and encouraged church members to spread the message of spiritual urgency!

NEW ENGLAND REVIVALISM At the same time, an American-born Pietist movement appeared in New England. Revivals of Christian zeal were built into the logic of Puritanism. In the 1730s, Johnathon Edwards, a minister in Northampton, Massachusetts, encouraged a revival there that spread to towns throughout the Connecticut River Valley. Edwards guided and observed the process and then published an account entitled “A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God”. He also expressed the Great Awakening ideas in a series of sermons, notably one called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (1741). Invoking the Old Testament scriptures, Edwards argued that God was rightfully angry with human sinfulness. Each individual who expressed penitence could be saved by God’s grace, but the souls who paid no heed to God’s commandments would suffer eternal damnation!

SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD As you listen and read along to Edward’s sermon, list the images he invokes and the religious beliefs he is expressing through those images.

GEORGE WHITEFIELD While Edwards mostly influenced New England, George Whitefield, who came from England in 1739, spread the Great Awakening throughout the colonies, sometimes attracting audiences of 10,000 people. In barns, tents, and fields, he delivered rousing sermons that stressed that God was all-powerful and would save only those who openly professed belief in Jesus Christ. Those who did not would be damned into hell and face eternal torments. Whitefield taught that ordinary people with faith and sincerity could understand the gospels without depending on ministers to lead them.

RELIGIOUS IMPACT The Great Awakening had a profound effect on religious practice in the colonies. As sinners tearfully confessed their guilt and then joyously exulted in being “saved” emotionalism became a common part of Protestant services. Ministers lost some of their formal authority among those who now studied the Bible in their own homes. The Great Awakening also caused divisions within churches, such as the Congregational and Presbyterian, between those supporting its teachings (New Lights) and those condemning them (Old Lights). More evangelical sects such as the Baptists and Methodists attracted large numbers. As denominations competed for followers, they also called for separation of church and state.

POLITICAL INFLUENCE A movement as powerful as the Great Awakening affected all areas of life, including politics. For the first time, the colonists- regardless of their national origins or their social class- shared in a common experience as Americans. The Great Awakening also had a democratizing effect by changing the way people viewed authority. If common people could make their own religious decisions without relying on the “higher” authority of ministers, then might they also make their own political decisions without deferring to the authority of the great landowners and merchants? This revolutionary idea was not expressed in the 1740s, but 30 years later, if would challenge the authority of a king and his royal governors.

EXIT SLIP Consider which has a greater influence over British colonial thinking by religious thought or secular thought. Explain your reasoning with evidence.