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Ch 12: The Birmingham Church Bombing

Tough read, given the nature of the issues that are at play. The argument is both nuanced and utterly plain. There were supposed Christians at the time that acted in such a non-Christian (by my standards) way that it is difficult to reconcile.

Ch 11: The Scopes Monkey Trial 1925

Science vs. Religion. The most interesting thing in this chapter was the religious influence on the intensity of the debate, both from domestics and influences abroad, and the result of the trial influencing the creation of more religious schools and communities. Shout out Harry Emerson Fosdick too. Thoroughly agree with his take as presented in the chapter.

Ch 10: Azusa street revival

The rise of Pentecostalism in America should definitely be studied. The emphasis on spiritual warfare weaponized religion in a not-dissimilar way to the way Christianity was used to justify religious wars. The history of Pentecostalism is no different than the Protestants that came before them.

Ch 8: The division of the church on slavery

Survey of how this issue split Protestants across America and the religious justifications used on both sides and the ramifications now. The critique leveled by Catholics at Protestants was interesting, I wonder what the opinion of the Pope on slavery was at the time.

Ch 9: Student led missions

And the explosion of humanitarian organizations that had Christian origins

Ch 7: There was a lot going on during the 1800s. While the increase in women's political movements, the forcing of black Americans out of America, and the interest in temperance was interesting, the most interesting aspect of this time period to me was the influx of Bible translations and versions that accumulated over this time.

Ch 5 and 6: If Christianity persists another 100 year, will people look back on us and wonder, “why didn’t they understand this sooner?” The most dangerous aspect of misquoting or utilizing Scripture with an agenda, is quite possibly that they did so while pursuing the truth. It’s scary to think that I might be one of those people today.

Ch 4: The First Great Awakening Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield and the Wesleys and others.

Famous characters enter the scene during the 1730s-60s and for good reason. Some of these names are still heralded as arguably the most famous in Protestant Evangelical circles. Their actions defined much of what Protestantism is today both doctrinally and in practice.

Ch 3: King Phillip's War

The conflict between Native Americans and their dealings with Christians who built schools and removed many of them from their tribal lands over time. While there were some positive contributions made by missionaries, that did not seem to be the majority. Most interesting point for me was the complexity of living as a Native Christian, and how different people interpret that identity.

Ch 2: the removal of Roger Williams from the Church.

A really interesting chapter regarding first, the various Protestant factions and their interactions, particularly around Williams. Secondly, Jefferson’s famous “separation of church and state” mirrored one of Williams’ chief concerns. Really liked the emphasis on the different paths that both men took to arrive at the same conclusion.

The Spanish Catholics built up a bad name for themselves. As Coffman writes, some of that reputation is deserved, while some is not, a narrative pushed by rival English colonizers. The French relationship to the indigenous people, while better than the Spanish and English, still resulted in conflict if supplies became scarce. Dutch from the Netherlands seemed to play a more minor role than the other 3 powers.