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An Investigation of the Seventeenth- to Nineteenth-Century Puritan Vernacular Tradition

To Please God or to Not Please God

An Investigation of the Seventeenth- to Nineteenth-Century Puritan Vernacular Tradition cover

An Investigation of the Seventeenth- to Nineteenth-Century Puritan Vernacular Tradition

To Please God or to Not Please God

Description

An Investigation of the 16th-18th Century Puritan Vernacular Tradition argues that Puritan writers, specifically from the 17th to the 19th century, developed a collective vernacular which was intended to—in the words of John Milton—"justify the ways of God to man." However, their phrases (much like the Puritans themselves) never achieved a sufficient level of uniformity. As a result, their verbiage, though quite often similar, the manner in which it is used frequently differs. Puritan authors' routine suggestion that certain circumstances "pleased God" began as an attempt with which to interpret God's involvement in their day-to-day lives. However, as time passed, these interpretations became further removed from the Scripture and ultimately functioned as a way for writers to indict God when things badly or to praise him only when he showed them favor.

Table of Contents

Introduction: “To Please God” or to “Not Please God”: The Puritan Question

Chapter 1: The Puritan Vernacular as a Means of Establishing Permanency in the New World

Chapter 2: “It Pleased God”: The Old English Puritan Vernacular Tradition As A Response To New England

Chapter 3: Benjamin Franklin: Philadelphian, Philanthropist, Philanderer . . . Philistine?

Chapter 4: The Puritan Frame of Mind

Product details

Published Jul 15 2020
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 200
ISBN 9798216234715
Imprint Lexington Books
Illustrations 6 BW Illustrations, 4 Tables
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

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