Caterpillars and Newfangled Religion: The Struggle for the Soul of Colonial American Presbyterianism [Paperback]

This work explores the conflicts within colonial American Presbyterianism, providing a new explanation for the schism of the Presbyterian Church in 1741. Because of the nature of the conflict, the struggle for the soul of the church provides a rich case study in which to explore the broader transformation of patterns of thought and social structures in the middle colonies.Thomas H.L. Cornmanis Vice President and Dean of the Undergraduate School, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois.

Chapter 1Part One: General Contexts:The Scope of the Study; The Contour of the Eighteenth-Century Transatlantic World; The Evolution of Presbyterianism
Chapter 2Part Two: Dimensions of Conflict, 1722-1738:The Search for Doctrinal Purity; The Proper Education of the Clergy; The Assessment of Itinerancy; The Proper Theological Grounding
Chapter 3Part Three: Schism and Accommodation, 1739-1788:The Split and Its Quasi-Resolution; The Elusiveness of Unity
Chapter 4 Appendix
Chapter 5 Bibliography
Chapter 6 Index