Models for Reformation: Cotton Mather (1663-1728)
By Jay Rogers
Published March 31, 2008
Cotton Mather was the most famous minister in New England at the close of the 17th century. Toward the middle of the 1600s, the Puritan revival in America began to wane. The social order of Puritan society had begun to degenerate very early in its history because of the lack of a much needed evangelical awakening.
The second generation of Puritans were often unable to claim that they had had the same experience with God as their parents. When the high standard of the law which was embraced by their parents was imposed in turn on their children, it only served to inflame their passions. The result was occurrences in the late 1600s such as the witchcraft hysteria, severe punishments for non-violent crimes such as the stocks, public floggings, hangings, etc.
“By the time Mather undertook his history, Magnalia Christi Americana, the original Puritan community had vanished, leaving behind heirs to its land and fortunes but not to its spirituality…. Everything that Mather wrote can be seen as a call to defend the old order of church authority against the encroachment of an increasingly secular world. As an apologist for the ‘old New England way’ there is no doubt that Mather left himself open to attack, and by the end of the 17th century he had become a scapegoat for the worst in Puritan culture.“1
1 The Norton Anthology of American Literature, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1979. p.4,118.
See also: The Boston Awakening
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The Real Jesus: A Defense of the Historicity and Divinity of Christ (DVD)
Who is the Real Jesus?
Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the “historical Jesus” — a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin.
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The Four Keys to the Millennium (Book)
Foundations in Biblical Eschatology
By Jay Rogers, Larry Waugh, Rodney Stortz, Joseph Meiring. High quality paperback, 167 pages.
All Christians believe that their great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will one day return. Although we cannot know the exact time of His return, what exactly did Jesus mean when he spoke of the signs of His coming (Mat. 24)? How are we to interpret the prophecies in Isaiah regarding the time when “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:19)? Should we expect a time of great tribulation and apostasy or revival and reformation before the Lord returns? Is the devil bound now, and are the saints reigning with Christ? Did you know that there are four hermeneutical approaches to the book of Daniel and Revelation?
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Go Stand Speak (DVD)
With “preaching to the lost” being such a basic foundation of Christianity, why do many in the church seem to be apathetic on this issue of preaching in highways and byways of towns and cities?
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A Revival Account: Asbury 1970 (DVD)
What is true Revival and Spiritual Awakening?
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Freedom: The Model of Christian Liberty (DVD)
“Give me liberty or give me death!”
Patrick Henry’s famous declaration not only helped launch the War for Independence, it also perfectly summarized the mindset that gave birth to, and sustained, the unprecedented experiment in Christian liberty that was America.
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This presentation is a similar call, not to one but many. By reintroducing the principles of freedom that gave birth to America, it is our prayer that Jesus, the true and only ruler over the nations, will once again be our acknowledged Sovereign, that we may again know and exult in the great truth that “where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17).
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This DVD features “Liberty: The Model of Christian Liberty” along with “Dawn’s Early Light: A Brief History of America’s Christian Foundations.” Bonus features include a humorous but instructive collection of campaign ads and Eric Holmberg’s controversial YouTube challenge concerning Mitt Romney’s campaign for president.
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