How did a nation united in Christian faith become divided by war? In this episode, we begin with the Calvinism of the founding and the Great Awakening, and trace the ensuing religious movements that split the nation. We’ll tell the story of how the Unitarians through the universities and the Arminians through the revivals became the religious leaders of the North, and set the nation on the road to division.
Introduction to Death of Death in the Death of Christ by J. I. Packer
Read J. I. Packer’s wonderful description of Calvinism for free on Monergism, or purchase the entire book on Amazon.com
The Canons of Dort
Read the seminal Canons of the Synod of Dort free here at DiscerningHistory.com
Complete interview with Pastor Rob John on George Whitefield
George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival by Arnold Dalimore
This book is composed of two volumes. You can purchase volume 1 and volume 2 on Amazon.com.
On Free Grace by John Wesley
In On Free Grace John Wesley broke with the great Calvinist, George Whitefield, and argued for Arminianism. Read the complete sermon free here at DiscerningHistory.com.
George Whitefield responds to John Wesley
Whitefield responded to Wesley’s sermon against him and Calvinism with a public letter refuting his arguments.
On Revivals of Religion by Albert B. Dod
Rev. Albert Dod of Princeton University was a critic of Charles Finney and his revivalism techniques. He wrote an essay, On Revivals of Religion, in which he pointed out many of Finney’s theological problems. You can download this essay as a PDF here. It is part of a larger book of his essays, this particular one begins at page 76.
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The next step away from Calvinism after Arminianism and Unitarianism vs Transcendentalism. One of the leaders of Transcendentalism was the famous author and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, himself the grandson of one of the Calvinistic patriots of the War for Independence. Ralph Waldo Emerson explained Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay Nature. Read it here at DiscerningHistory.com.