A Discourse On The Slavery Question Delivered In The North Church Hartford Thursday Evening Jan

Excerpt from A Discourse on the Slavery Question: Delivered in the North Church, Hartford, Thursday Evening, Jan; 10, 1839 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground. Navigation is dangerous, where two seas meet. The transi tion to my subject is obvious. But let me remind you in passing, that Paul, who was pilot in this memorable scene, did much more magnify his office, than if he had only dared to speak in fair sailing and still water. Perhaps too, it may serve your comfort to add the last words of the chap ter - And it came to pass, that they all escaped safe to land.* Some of you will recollect that I addressed you on the subject of Slaver'y at an early period, or 'within a few days of the first outbreak of that movement which has since agitated our country. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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"Original and wide-ranging, Murphy's discerning and important study is another reminder that America is 'the nation with the soul of a church.'" -Journal of American History "A wide-ranging and thoughtful meditation on how the theo-political stories we Americans tell ourselves resonate with and sometimes even create the communities we inhabit. This book deserves an honored place among the oeuvre of work by political scientists and historians on the jeremiad." -- Politics and Religion "A significant contribution to the historical account of the role of religion in American politics." --Perspectives on Politics "Prodigal Nation is a careful account of how theologies function politically and deserves attention from political scientists, political theologians, American historians, and others interested in the interface of religion and culture." --Religious Studies Review "This highly original and wonderfully written analysis will be invaluable to anyone interested in the meaning of America." --Harry S. Stout, author of The New England Soul and Upon the Altar of the Nation "A brilliant analysis of the American jeremiad. Elegant, powerful, hopeful, and wise - Prodigal Nation is required reading for anyone who wishes to understand the fitful history of the American spirit." --James A. Morone, author of Hellfire Nation and The Democratic Wish

This book examines two important American Protestant theologians: the archconservative Charles Hodge (1797?1878), and the archliberal Horace Bushnell (1802?1876), and their stances on racial slavery. Hodge, with his rigid doctrine of biblical inerrancy, and Bushnell, with his open-ended experiential theology, represent two poles of thought that continually assert themselves when American Protestants speak out on social issues. This book provides a case study in the moral implications of each of these enduring polarities and upsets conventional understandings of the relationship of conservative and liberal Protestantism to slavery and race. The ambivalent attitudes of both men toward slavery and race are significant aspects of both of their enduring intellectual legacies. This is the first book-length comparison of these two theologians on this subject.

This book argues that Horace Bushnell (1802-1876) rejected the prevalent utilitarian moral philosophy of his day and developed an alternative moral theory based upon Christian theology and experience. Bushnell claimed that human nature is inherently social, moral experience is interrelated with estrangement and restoration, and Christian piety is a transforming power in the world. Contents: Preface; Introduction: Bushnell as a Moral Theologian; In Search of a Moral Philosophy: Bushnell and New England Moral Thought in Tradition; From Moral Philosophy to Christian Ethics: Bushnell's Moral Thought Before 1847; Moral Development and the Human Condition; The Moral Restoration of Human Character and Ethical Freedom; Ethics in Tension: Bushnell's Political and Social Thought; Christ Transforming Culture: Providential Progress and the Moral Power of Religion; Bibliography; Index.