Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.29 (680 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B071YPMRFX |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 293 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2018-01-26 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"An excellent new interpretation of Franklin and his faith" according to James P. Byrd. Americans have found a lot to admire about Benjamin Franklin. He was brilliant, witty, and industrious. He was a successful businessman and an invaluable diplomat. Nearly everyone seems to find something to like about him. According to Historian Gordon Wood, Franklin "seems the most accessible, the most democratic, and the most folksy of the Founders." But what about Franklin's religious faith? Here Americans have often drawn. ERIC COLEMAN SMITH said Another excellent and illuminating study from Thomas Kidd. This briskly-paced, well-researched, and clearly written biography sheds new light on the enigmatic religious life of one of America's most significant and beloved founders. Many readers will already know (as his own peers well knew) that Franklin was no orthodox Christian believer. Throughout his life, Franklin openly questioned basic tenets of Christian doctrine, including the deity of Jesus Christ and the need for salvatio. "Kidd's Franklin Religious Views" according to H. Lapp. I have researched and studied Franklin for years. I have occasionally read about his religious views but never indepth. Dr. Kidd does a decent job on a kind of Franklin bio but his major focus was on the doctor's complex spiritual beliefs. Kidd did an excellent job mining the Frankin papers and drew heavily from Leo LaMay, one of Franklin's best biograpghers. I have a tainted view towards authors with strong fundamentalist be
Based on rigorous research into Franklin's voluminous correspondence, essays, and almanacs, this fresh assessment of a well-known figure unpacks the contradictions and conundrums faith presented in Franklin's life.. But Franklin, as a man of faith, was far more complex than the "thorough deist" who emerges in his autobiography. Renowned as a printer, scientist, and diplomat, Benjamin Franklin also published more works on religious topics than any other 18th-century American layperson. As Thomas Kidd reveals, deist writers influenced Franklin's beliefs, to be sure, but devout Christians in his life - including George Whitefield, the era's greatest evangelical preacher; his parents; and his beloved sister Jane - kept him tethered to the Calv