Protestants: A History from Wittenberg to Pennsylvania, 1517-1740 presents a comprehensive thematic history of the rise and influence of the branches of Christianity that emerged out of the Protestant Reformation. - Represents the only English language single-volume survey of the rise of early modern Protestantism from its Lutheran beginnings in Germany to its spread to America
- Offers a thematic approach to Protestantism by tracing its development within the social, political, and cultural context of early modern Europe
- Introduces innovative argument that the central dynamic of Protestantism was not its struggle with Catholicism but its own inner dynamic
- Breaks from traditional scholarship by arguing that the rise of Reformation Protestantism lasted at least two centuries
- Unites Old World and New World Protestant histories
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Law and Gospel 1
1 Foundations 8
Wittenberg and Rome 9
Leucorea 9
Our theology 11
Theses, dialogue, and debate 15
Martin Luther and the German nation 19
Swiss Protestants 24
The gospel of Christian freedom 24
Reformations 33
Order 33
Disorder 40
Geneva and Europe 47
The honor of Christ 47
The Reformed matrix 55
2 Kingdoms 60
Kings, Priests, and Prophets 61
Civic Protestantism 65
Theaters of reform 65
Commune and covenant 70
The Politics of Faith 74
Protestant polities 74
Conscience and authority 82
Scripture and identity 87
3 Communities 93
Biblical Utopias 94
The Pursuit of Purity 98
Wheat and tares 98
Godly people 107
New World Protestants 115
The holy commonwealth 115
The ways of providence 121
4 Dominions 128
Bonds of Communion 129
Under the cross 129
Confessional culture: the Protestants of Germany 135
Christian Subjects 144
The pansophic mind 144
The biblical soul 150
Protestant Environments 158
Liturgy and architecture 158
Christianography 163
The Missionary Turn 168
5 Revivals 174
Signs of the Times 175
Histories 175
Prophecy and wrath 180
True Christianity 184
Pietists 184
The radical rebirth 197
The End of Reformation 205
Politics and piety 205
Mixed multitudes 212
Epilogue: Modern Protestants 223
Endnotes 229
Index 261
About the Author :
C. Scott Dixon is Senior Lecturer at Queen’s University of Belfast, UK. He is the author of numerous books and articles on early modern religious history, including The Reformation and Rural Society (1996) and The Reformation in Germany (2002). Dixon has been the recipient of Alexander von Humboldt research fellowships in association with the Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel and the Freie Universität Berlin.
Review :
“In this thoughtful and highly original book, Scott Dixon takes a thematic approach to the process of building the new Christian communities … Scott Dixon has done an admirable job, given the constraints of space and the breadth of his coverage, in painting a broad-ranging and sophisticated picture of a complex and expansive movement.” (EHR Oxford Journal Clippings, 6 June 2012)
"Dixon's contribution lies, rather, in his fascinating and highly original thesis that the formative phase of Protestantism, as a creative social force, must be viewed as extending to the revivalist impulses of the 18th-century Great Awakening in the New World...Dixon's writing here is detailed, solid, and compelling. Summing Up: Highly recommended." (Choice, 1 May 2011) "This is a remarkable work, for its striking originality, its powerful and independent-minded synthesis, its sensitivity to the primary and secondary material, its deployment of really gripping examples and case studies, and its conjoining of the European and North American Protestant experience….”—Mark Greengrass, University of Sheffield
