The perfect rule of the Christian religion : a history of Sandemanianism in the eighteenth century / John Howard Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, John Howard, 1968-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sandemanianism--History--18th century.

Sandemanianism.

United States--Church history--18th century.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (249 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : SUNY Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Some thought them dangerous, others credited them with recovering original Christianity. The Sandemanians, a sect with roots in the turmoil of eighteenth-century Scottish Presbyterianism, espoused a radical theology that influenced the development of American Christianity. Founder John Glas blended elements of fundamentalist New Testament Christianity with Enlightenment philosophy to create what he believed to be "the perfect rule of the Christian religion." The history and legacy of the Sandemanians are given full attention in these pages, which reveal the origins of the sect in Scotland and follow its greatest proselyte, Robert Sandeman, across the Atlantic to New England. Author John Howard Smith shows how such a minor sectarian movement could create so much controversy at the time of the First Great Awakening and the American Revolution. The churches Sandeman established were eventually crushed by the Revolution, their adherents scattered, never to grow into a denomination. The Sandemanians are little known today, yet elements of their theology played a key role in the future of American Christianity.

Contents:

""THE PERFECT RULE OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION""; ""Contents""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Introduction""; ""1. “I Thought Myself a Sound Presbyterian�: John Glas�s Break from The Church of Scotland""; ""2. “The Perfect Rule of the Christian Religion�: Glasite Doctrine and Ecclesiology""; ""3. “He Becomes Possessed of a Truth�: Robert Sandeman, Glasite Proselyte""; ""4. “May God Preserve Our [Churches] Amidst All Attacks� : The Advent of Sandemanianism in New England""; ""5. “Spirited Conduct�: Sandemanians in the Crosshairs of Revolution""

""6. “Mine Eyes Must Flow with Rivers of Tears�: Concluding Assessment of Eighteenth-Century Sandemanianism""""Epilogue: “Our Father�s Fortunes Would Almost Teach Usto Renounce His Principles�""; ""Notes""; ""Bibliography""; ""Index""; ""A""; ""B""; ""C""; ""D""; ""E""; ""F""; ""G""; ""H""; ""I""; ""J""; ""K""; ""L""; ""M""; ""N""; ""O""; ""P""; ""Q""; ""R""; ""S""; ""T""; ""U""; ""V""; ""W""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-230) and index.

ISBN:

9781438425191

1438425198

OCLC:

811380562