Sex, Politics, and the Preacher

 

Debby Applegate's Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Henry Ward Beecher (2006) is well worth reading.  All of the elements that make for a compelling story are here (at least for those who frequent this blog):  a sex scandal and a sensational court trial, the fiery preaching of political activism and social reform, and an open disdain for confessional Reformed theology.  And this, one hundred years before Jim and Tammy and brother Swaggart made the headlines for much the same.  As Yogi Berra aptly put it, "the more things change, the more things stay the same."  There are many echoes of the "evangelical" preacher Henry Ward Beecher in today's evangelicalism.

Beecher was for a time--as the title of the book informs us--the most famous man in America.  The brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe (the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin) and son of famous Congregationalist/tepid Presbyterian preacher Lyman Beecher, as well as an acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln's, Henry Beecher's story is quite remarkable, and sadly, altogether typical of someone who has lost his way--theologically and morally.  Beecher's story plays out during the pre-Civil War years (and beyond) as we witness Beecher's ambivalence about hitching his personal wagon (and his future as a preacher) to the Abolitionist movement. 

In the "how quickly we forget" department, Beecher stands at the formative headwaters of a distinct "evangelical movement" as several evangelical ministers of that era (when relocation to the West was an important opportunity for empire building) sought more and more public prominence (and larger and more influential churches), and in the process, gave up their fading loyalties to the established Protestant denominations and doctrine of Colonial America.  If Henry Ward Beecher was the most famous man of his day, he is surely among the most forgotten of ours.

Several things ought to be mentioned as items of interest.  As for Beecher's disdain for Reformed theology, Applegate describes Lyman Beecher (Henry's father) as an "orthodox Calvinist" (20), teaching his family a religion of fatalism, fear of sin, and a vivid awareness of human corruption (25).  The Beecher's Calvinism was characterized by a stern and rigorous life of family worship, church attendance (including lectures, memorization of the Westminster Confession, and prayer meetings) as well as continuous religious instruction throughout the week (28).  Henry recalls the Lord's Day as the "dreadful day of the week," a day of "thou shalt not, thou shalt not" (35). 

Applegate makes no mention of the role of Christ's cross in any of this, repeatedly describing the family's religious life as one of a joyless, almost fatalistic drudgery, capped off by a constant fear of hell.  If this is an accurate representation of life in the Beecher home, we can hardly wonder why Henry W. rejected the Calvinism of his father, even as his father did later in life.  The Calvinistic "orthodoxy" of Lyman Beecher is suspect to the degree to which law is divorced from Gospel.  There is an important lesson in this, since this form of joyless "Calvinism" sounds very much like the predestinarian moralism identified and repeatedly trounced by Scott Clark.

One especially interesting vignette (208-209) is the account of Henry's ordination examination before a board of congregational ministers, including the famed "liberal" pastor Horace Bushnell of Hartford--who did not believe a word of the Reformed doctrine Henry Beecher was required to define and defend in Bushnell's presence. 

When Henry Beecher was asked about the doctrine of election (the first question in his exam), Beecher answered that he had been so busy trying to "save souls" during his time in Cincinnati, that he had not the time to engage in the spiritual calculus he associated with the doctrine of election and its attending doctrine, reprobation.  Whatever reservations the examiners had (apparently enough that Henry did not sustain the exam), they were outweighed by Henry's personal testimony (no surprise there), and his brother Edward's pleas to reconsider (Edward was also a Congregationalist minister and was present for the exam).  Despite the initial negative vote, Henry was eventually, albeit reluctantly, approved by the examiners.  

The Beecher family had a good laugh about the exam later.  Probably not something to laugh about, but exactly what you would expect of Henry Ward Beecher.

All is all, this is a good read, and certainly might be of interest to many of you (especially those with Amazon gift cards to redeem).

You can find the book here: The Most Famous Man in America

Allen Guelzo on the Civil War

It is my contention that every American should know something about the American Civil War.  Ken Burn's wonderful PBS documentary is the place to start, but certainly not the place to finish.  The documentary is visually compelling, but pretty thin on substance.  Besides, if you go no further than the Burn's documentary you cannot advance to Civil War "buff" status.  Those of you familiar with the Seinfeld-Costanza dialogue on this topic will know what I mean.

The Civil War looms large even today.  The war was a national trauma.  The scars remain.  Those who have walked the Antietam battlefield and stood at the end of "bloody lane" can only imagine the carnage which took place there.  Those of you who have been to Gettysburg have seen something of the size and extent of the war's various battles.  The scale (the battlefield covers miles) and huge number of monuments from individual states and their regiments reveal the fact that this was a national war.  Men who likely never left their hometowns before, died in droves in far away Pennsylvania.  The national cemetery (where Lincoln gave his famed address) is a grim reminder of this fact.  

More importantly, the Civil War provides the historical context for virtually all contemporary discussions of race, state's rights, and even economics.  The Civil War gave us several presidents (i.e., Grant, Hays, and Garfield), left us with a more centralized and powerful federal government (for good or ill), gave us some of our greatest heroes (Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain comes to mind, as does Clara Barton), two of our greatest generals (Lee and Jackson), and some of our most controversial figures (i.e., John Brown, Abraham Lincoln) as well as notorious villains (John Wilkes Booth and Nathan Bedford Forrest).

For many years I have recommended James McPherson's Pulitzer Prize winning book on the Civil War, Battle Cry of Freedom (Click Here).  I still recommend it.  It is well written, covers the subject quite well (for a survey), and is especially strong in recapping the War's many brutal and bloody battles.  Everyone should read it.  It will get you started as my own Civil War library will attest.

But Allen Guelzo's new book on the war, Fateful Lightening, is also a must read.  Guelzo gives us a much more wide-ranging survey than does McPherson.  Guelzo's volume is not as strong on the details of battle, but he does something from which the average reader choosing a single volume survey will greatly benefit--a thorough explanation of the causes of the war, an important discussion of the debate during the war over slavery and its future, as well as an important treatment of the turmoil created in the war's aftermath (reconstruction).  

Guelzo writes well, and has a wonderful knack for how much human interest material to include, so as to continually remind the reader that this was a war fought by real folk who underwent tremendous personal suffering and manifested remarkable courage.

If you've seen Ken Burn's PBS documentary and stopped there, press on!  You still need to read Guelzo or McPherson (probably both).  Of the two (and it is a close call), read Guelzo.  You can find it here:  Guelzo on Amazon

From Biblical Metaphor to National Myth

For those of you interested in American church history and/or modern politics in light of the two kingdoms debate, you will certainly profit from Richard Gamble's recent book, In Search of the City on a Hill:  The Making and Unmaking of an American Myth.  You can find Gamble's book on Amazon here.

Gamble discusses in great detail the historical context for John Winthrop's famous 1630 sermon "A Model of Christian Charity" given onboard the Arbella before his group arrived in the New World.  As Gamble points out, near the end of his famous sermon Winthrop used the image of a "city on a hill" (found in Matthew 5:14) in a very conventional and biblical way (as an image of the church's witness and pastoral ministry).  Winthrop intended far less by his use of this metaphor than many have assumed. 

How then did this simple biblical image (as used by Winthrop) become such a powerful and ubiquitous political metaphor (dare I say political "myth") in which America (and American exceptionalism) is now, supposedly, the proper point of reference?  Gamble carefully explains the three hundred year evolution of the biblical metaphor into a uniquely American national myth.  The story may not be pretty to those who care about how Scripture is to be handled and interpreted, but it is certainly interesting nonetheless.

One particularly important point in Gamble's volume is his discussion of the use of the "city on a hill" metaphor by several early Puritans (and folk like Jonathan Edwards).  The "city on a hill" image was invoked as support for the supposed existence of a national covenant between God's chosen people living in America (the church) who served as a light to the world.  It was argued that God's providential purpose for America's founding was similar to Israel's role as God's national covenant people under the old covenant.  Gamble discusses the merits (few) and demerits (many) of this view, and points out that at the time a number of seventeenth contemporaries argued against this misuse of national covenant language.  Israel had a national covenant with God.  America does not.  Nor do Christians living in America then or now!  Being members of the covenant of grace in the midst of the civil kingdom will have to do!

This is an interesting and important book and is highly recommended.

There is a helpful interview with the author here:  Interview with Richard Gamble

Horton Reviews Kingdom Through Covenant

Kingdom Through Covenant has been touted as presenting a significant alternative between covenant theology and dispensationalism.  I must confess that I own the volume, but have not yet had a chance to read it.

Mike Horton was asked to review the book and offer his assessment.  You can find that review here:  Horton's Review of Kingdom Through Covenant

Two Important Book Reviews

Dr. Brian Lee (pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Washington, DC) reviews Darryl Hart's important new book on the superficial relationship between Evangelicals and ideological conservatism.

Lee Reviews Darryl Hart

Mike Horton reviews Scot McKnight's new book, The King Jesus Gospel:  The Original Gospel Revisited.  You can read Mike's review here:  Horton Reviews McKnight

Review of VanDrunen's "Living in God's Two Kingdoms"

Here's the link to a recent review of VanDrunen's outstanding book on the two kingdoms

Review of VanDrunen

Because You Asked . . .

Here's Mike Horton's review of Rob Bell's new book Love Wins in a single PDF.

Click Here

Also, Dr. Brian Lee (of Christ Reformed Church in DC) also wrote of review of Bell's book, which was published in the Daily Caller.

Lee's review in Daily Caller

You might say Horton and Lee are giving Bell hell, but that might offend someone.  So we won't say that.

The Next Stephen Ambrose?

I've long been interested in World War 2 naval history--especially the naval battles in and around Guadalcanal at the end of 1942. 

My interest in these battles no doubt stems from my youth.  My family owned a Christian bookstore at Knott's Berry Farm.  Knott's employed a number of Orange County Sheriffs to do security work.  A number of these men often found their way into our store's backroom  My folks always had food and coffee for them.  I remember my dad witnessing to them and debating theology, amidst conversations about Knott's gossip, politics, and whatever else was on their minds.  It was a great environment for a kid.

Several of these men were former WW2 navy men.  One was a highly-decorated Marine corpsman--you'd never know it by looking at him.  Another was on the Helena (CL-50, which fought in several of the battles around Guadalcanal) and which was sunk in July of 1943 by a Japanese sub. 

I'll never forget these men talking about manning anti-aircraft weapons, the concussion they felt when their ships fired their main armament, and the panic of being hit by enemy fire and then realizing that the ship they knew as home was rapidly sinking into shark infested and oil-covered waters.

So, I've read everything on the naval battles of Guadalcanal from S. E. Morison, to Richard Frank, to Eric Hammel.  Although not as comprehensive as Frank's work on the Guadalcanal campaign, James Hornfischer's new book Neptune's Inferno:  The US Navy at Guadalcanal is one of the best books on World War 2 naval combat I've yet read.  

One reviewer calls him the Stephen Ambrose of the US Navy.  Good call.  This is an excellent book--couldn't put it down.  I know many of you are interested in military history, and this is a great read and a compelling story.

Here's some info on Hornfischer's books (The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors is also excellent).  James Hornfischer

A Review of Zaspel's "Theology of B. B. Warfield"

You can find my review of Dr. Fred Zaspel's new book on B. B. Warfield on the Westminster Seminary California's new blog.

In case you don't want to read the entire review, let me just say I really liked the book and think you should buy it!

My Review of Zaspel on Warfield