"Christian theology never expressly identified God and nature; but the point is that natural theology and nature-preaching had implanted within Protestantism an increasingly strong leaning in this direction. Ministers often forgot Calvin's warnings, misunderstood Edwards, ignored Bushnell; natural theologians wanted not just to glorify God in nature but to see Him there ....-- James Turner, Without God, Without Creed: The Origins of Unbelief in America.
In the end, the most influential church leaders tried to protect belief by making peace with modernity, by conceiving God and His purposes in terms as nearly compatible as possible with secular understandings and aims. A minority insisted that a transcendent God must utterly elude human grasp."
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Protecting belief
Posted on 04:48 by Unknown
Posted in American religion, atheism, belief, James Turner, natural theology, secularity, secularization
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