Clarke Morledge -- Computer Network Engineer, College of William and Mary...
I hiked the Mount of the Holy Cross, one of the famous Colorado Fourteeners, with some friends in July, 2012. My buddy, Mike Scott, snapped this photo of me on the summit.
In this second blog post reviewing Catherine A. Brekus study of the life and writings of Sarah Osborn, an early American who experienced the revivals of the 18th century Great Awakening, we dig a little more deeply into the life of this remarkable woman. Sarah Osborn tells us not just about herself, in the 18th century, but she also shows us a lot about what it means to be a Christian in America in the 21st century.
Sarah Osborn grew up exposed to Christian teaching, but she admitted that a rebellious attitude sought to dull her spiritual sensitivities. At times, Sarah would have experiences that would lead her to seriously consider growing in her faith, but these moments were often followed by extended times where her thoughts were redirected elsewhere. She enjoyed frivolous activities with friends, such as “card playing” and “dancing,” but these were often frowned upon by Puritan preaching. Nevertheless, her personal struggles also brought back times of sobriety where she was able to reconsider what it meant to have faith in God. Continue reading
In early 17th century Jamestown, both the English and Native Americans used children to try to improve inter-cultural relations between the two groups. Young people were able to pick up new languages more quickly than adults, and such young people proved to be a useful means of acquiring information about the other side. But often, they had divided loyalties, which could put them in difficult situations.
In Pocahontas and the English Boys: Caught between Cultures in Early Virginia, Historian Karen Ordahl Kupperman tells the story of four such young people, three of them English boys who lived among the Native Americans, and Pocahontas, the prized daughter of Powhatan, who became fascinated with the English, and lived among them.
Portrait of Pocahontas by Simon van de Passe, in 1616, when she made her journey to England. This was within about a year, prior to her death.
Secondly, there was Christopher Tolkien, the son of one of the Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien. The elder Tolkien had written much of his works on Middle Earth, with his son, Christopher, in mind. Christopher Tolkien managed his father’s literary estate, after his father’s death, publishing previously unpublished J.R.R. Tolkien’s works, including The Silmarillion.
As part of a focus on American Church History, over the next few months, I will blog my way through a book that I found both thoughtful and enthralling. I read it as I sat with my mother, a little over four years ago, when she dying of cancer.
The history of Christianity has been dominated by male voices. Some of the most profound literary contributions of women have simply remained forgotten. So when someone rediscovers a woman’s voice of faith from the past, it can be a real treasure to find.
Harvard Divinity School religious historian, Catherine Brekus, has given us a remarkable gift by recovering for us the lost story of Sarah Osborn (1714-1796), a poor woman from New England who met Jesus during the great revivals of the mid-18th century. It was during this “First Great Awakening” where the English speaking world was greatly impacted by the dynamic preaching of George Whitefield and John Wesley, which helped to define contemporary evangelicalism. I hope you enjoy her story as much as I did as I post up various blog summaries of Brekus’ wonderful book. Better yet, read the book yourself!
Australia’s fires overlaid on a map of the United States.
We have had a rough start to 2020. A lot of news, and we are less than two weeks into the year! A couple of items stick out to me, that I am thinking about in particular.
How should Christians respond in leading efforts to care for God’s good creation?? (Here are some ways to help)
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Secondly, the other story that jumped out this week is the death of Neil Peart, the legendary drummer of RUSH, the Canadian rock music trio, that has been playing music since the 1970s. So much of popular rock music has been riddled with lyrics that are far from being spiritually edifying. But once Neil Peart joined RUSH as their drummer and chief lyricist, Peart went against the grain. Neil Peart was known to be a sensitive thinker, a lyric writer who was not known for shallowness.
Neil Peart was also an atheist, having been raised in church, but leaving it at a young age, due to a growing skepticism. Peart became particularly enamored with the philosophy of Ayn Rand.
In 1997, Neil Peart took a break from the band, when his college aged daughter died in a car accident, shortly followed by the death of his wife, due to cancer. As a kind of therapy, Neil Peart road his motorbike solo across the United States, to work through his spiritual questions and doubts. Sadly, Neil Peart was not impressed with his experience with Christian churches, and his lyrics often reflected his disillusionment.
Neil Peart never came across as a “faith basher” to me, but his skeptical outlook on the world, and his negative experience with Christianity, as evidenced by some recorded interviews, like this one, is representative of some of the more thoughtful skeptics in my generation, as well as in up-and-coming generations. One of the reasons why I am so passionate about the study of Christian apologetics is because I believe that Christians can supply good answers to many of the tough questions posed by skeptics, like Neil Peart. Sadly, relatively few Christians seem to be that concerned about the Neil Pearts in our world, who are honestly looking for answers to life’s difficult questions.
Neil Peart died at the age of 67, after battling brain cancer himself, for the past three years. I wonder if in some quiet way, the Lord Jesus and Savior of the World might have revealed Himself to Neil Peart, in those difficult, dark days.
May we as Christians learn to have a stronger desire to love the Neil Pearts, among our neighbors, families, and friends, for the sake of the Gospel.
Here is Neil Peart talking about the early years of the band:
I have seen RUSH perform live four times. Great every time. Here is the master at work, live in Frankfurt, Germany.
With the whole band, performing “Secret Touch,” one of my favorites, from 2002’s “Vapor Trails” album:
Veracity 