The church and the age of reason, 1648-1789 Book

Cragg's history of the church from the Peace of Westphalia to the beginnings of the French Revolution is a delightful read. Yes, it was first published in 1960, and then revised in 1970, so it is missing the newest findings of cultural history. Instead it is structured around political and the intellectual events, an order that makes sense as the churches, whether Protestant or Catholic, were reactive during this time period, being pushed aside by developing nation states and coping with the intellectual force of the Enlightenment. Cragg is broader on Protestantism than Catholicism, discussing Methodism and Pietism but missing depth on the new devotional movements that drew in Catholic worshippers. He does not address the rise in witchcraft accusations across Europe during his time period (another item of more recent interest to historians). He is deepest in England, his particular area of expertise. I began to fear early chapters on England would swamp me with detail, but that ended quickly and Cragg settled into the judicious summary he is so excellent in providing. It is not simple prose and he assumes you know something of the larger European history being addressed, but he also does an excellent job describing the political, from Louis XIV's reign to the enlightened despotism of Frederick the Great and Joseph II, and intellectual backgrounds, from Descartes through Locke and up to Kant. He addresses the increasing authority of the state and the search for intellectual authority in reason. The book is divided geographically and temporally and finished with one chapter on art, especially architecture and music. He writes with authority, with judicious opinion, and with a style that kept me from skimming the book.

On American Christianity: " The Puritans had stressed the church's responsibility for the whole of life; they believed that every aspect of the community was subject to divine judgment and should be brought into subjection to God's will. Revivalism minimized the role of the church and ignored the religious significance of man's corporate life. Preoccupation with the inner experience of each soul deflected attention from the political, economic, and intellectual implications of the Gospel."

"Wherever Whitefield went he left an overpowering impression of impassioned eloquence; wherever Wesley went he left a company of men and women closely knit together in a common life."

"As the eighteenth century drew to a close, Paley accurately reflected its spirit, and epitomized its strength and its weakness: its lucidity, its vigorous intelligence, its robust common sense (trembling on the brink of pedestrianism), its limited outlook, and its obtuseness to mystery and wonder."