Never Before in History: America's Inspired Birth

by Gary Amos

Greek, Roman and Enlightenment philosophers had an important role in shaping American political ideals. But a closer analysis shows that Christianity's role in the American founding was profound, giving rise to our political ideals of religious liberty, inalienable rights, and secular reform.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Read For School, School, American History

213 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 1998

Reviews

[Sarah Grace Grzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting perspective on the side of history not often taught in schools.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frankly turned off by the title ("Never Before in History"-- smacks of the myth of American exceptionalism) and generally unaccustomed to reading high school textbooks, I might well have hestitated to open this book. This would have been to my great loss, because this is easily the best thing I have read so far this year. In fact, I was amazed to find that among all of the reading I've done while completing undergraduate and graduate degrees in American history this book ranks as the best work I have ever read on the colonial and revolutionary periods. Simply masterful from start to finish, Gardiner and Amos artfully fashion a wonderful portrait of the genesis of our nation. Leaving aside the superficial and the cliche so characteristic of such works, the authors penetrate to the roots of the American experience and gently expose and deflate a whole lot of bloated revisionists history in the process. This book will revolutionize its readers understanding of the origins of America. Beware, this book will have the unintended result of getting you angry at your high school and college history teachers- you'll feel certain that they either lied or were criminally ignorant. My advice: buy this book and read it. Then buy a copy for your favorite teenager and bribe him or her to read it too. This is one of those rare books that reminds me of why reading is so wonderful. I just can not conceive of a better written, more thoughtfully crafted, better illustatrated or packaged book of its kind.

[G. Buckner · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Starting Points is over... :( One last discussion and its all over.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the title fool you, so far this is one of the most facinating books I've gotten to read in history.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great review of the thoughts and philosophies behind the foundation of the US government. I was surprised to learn how much of the ideas promoted in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution had already been discussed at great lengths in England for centuries prior to the US Revolution. I learned as much about English history as I did about American history.

Although the book is formatted like a text book, it's easy to pick up and read. Highly recommended for anyone interested in this time period.

[Jack W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of my favorite books from High School, I think it does an exceptional job trying to balance out the historical record without falling into gross simplifications. Amos traces in an understandable fashion the connection between the Reformation and the American Revolution in a way few other books do with such ease and readability. It is good overview for entering into more serious works like those of Mark David Hall or other professional historians who draw the connection between the Revolution and the earlier Reforms of the Reformation.

Two criticisms stand out: Amos is biased towards the Puritans and assumes the worst of the Establishment church in England, which leads him to give too much grace to the interregnum period (if only it were implemented more perfectly...), and he oversimplifies Martin Luther. Luther's ideas might have fertilized America, but only at a distance. This work tries too hard to make Luther look like a friend of Revolution, and he just wasn't. He was a man of his time, and the early Reformers were far more cautious with their medieval worldview than were later thinkers in dealing with tyrants.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for curriculum review project. When even the forward mentions that the book neglects full discussion of the Enlightenment thinking and other philosophies in its effort to prove that America was founded on Christian ideals, you know there's an issue.

[Charis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and interesting to read

[Paddy Persa]

Amo’s birth

[ally (ia) · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read this for school. it was ok

[Elizabeth Haarsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very excellent textbook! I really found so much of it very interesting and fascinating especially with current politics!

[Dawn Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another preview for dd's worldview course. This book has been extremely enlightening for me. I read English history for years, as well as early American history. This book makes several connections I had been missing, following the progression of the Puritan revolutions of Britain in the 17th century with the revolutionary ideas of the American colonies in the 18th. This book also describes the explicit Christian mission of the first universities in America--most students and faculty today probably wouldn't recognize the spiritual and political role designed by the Puritans for these institutions to train the next generation of Christian/Whig clergy.

Includes great discussions of some of the most important documents affecting religious liberty in our country's early days, and makes a strong case for the Protestant Christian thought behind the "establishment clause."

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent view of the American Revolution and the events leading up to it from a Christian world-view. It begins with the Reformation and explains how it influenced the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and how the American Revolution probably would never have happened without the Reformation. It then explains about the religion of the settlers in general and a few of the religious controversies in the Colonies, including the trial of Anne Hutchinson over the Antinomian Controversy. I read this book for Starting Points class, and it is an excellent book to read with world-view questions in mind (especially "What is the nature of man?", and "What is the nature of the universe?").

[Kyrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book purports to show the undeniable role Christianity played in the founding of the United States of America. In his efforts to hammer his contention home, I felt he inserted his own interpretations in place of what the authors might have meant. I would have been more persuaded had he not said things such as Jefferson was definitely referring to Jesus Christ, when I could read the words and was not at all certain that was who or what Jefferson meant. I don't disagree with his assertation that Christianity played a role. I just don't like the way he ramrods it home. His lack of room for argument just makes me want to argue.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never Before in History is an excellent text for high school students, and I’ve also had great success using it with middle schoolers. Gary Amos presents America’s founding with clarity and depth, highlighting its unique spiritual and moral foundations.

The book is both accessible and engaging, making it a strong choice for students and adult study groups alike. It deserves to be more widely read—not just in classrooms but in homes and communities—inviting readers to reflect on the principles that shaped our nation and inspiring a deeper appreciation of our heritage.

[Bill&Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly full of learning!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A complete and informed view on the founding of America and our Christian roots.