Benjamin Franklin

The Religious Life of a Founding Father

Nonfiction, History, Modern, 18th Century, Religion & Spirituality, Inspiration & Meditation, Spirituality, Biography & Memoir, Political
Cover of the book Benjamin Franklin by Thomas S. Kidd, Yale University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas S. Kidd ISBN: 9780300228144
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: May 23, 2017
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Thomas S. Kidd
ISBN: 9780300228144
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: May 23, 2017
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English
A major new biography, illuminating the great mystery of Benjamin Franklin’s faith

Renowned as a printer, scientist, and diplomat, Benjamin Franklin also published more works on religious topics than any other eighteenth-century American layperson. Born to Boston Puritans, by his teenage years Franklin had abandoned the exclusive Christian faith of his family and embraced deism. But Franklin, as a man of faith, was far more complex than the “thorough deist” who emerges in his autobiography. As Thomas Kidd reveals, deist writers influenced Franklin’s beliefs, to be sure, but devout Christians in his life—including George Whitefield, the era’s greatest evangelical preacher; his parents; and his beloved sister Jane—kept him tethered to the Calvinist creed of his Puritan upbringing. Based on rigorous research into Franklin’s voluminous correspondence, essays, and almanacs, this fresh assessment of a well-known figure unpacks the contradictions and conundrums faith presented in Franklin’s life.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
A major new biography, illuminating the great mystery of Benjamin Franklin’s faith

Renowned as a printer, scientist, and diplomat, Benjamin Franklin also published more works on religious topics than any other eighteenth-century American layperson. Born to Boston Puritans, by his teenage years Franklin had abandoned the exclusive Christian faith of his family and embraced deism. But Franklin, as a man of faith, was far more complex than the “thorough deist” who emerges in his autobiography. As Thomas Kidd reveals, deist writers influenced Franklin’s beliefs, to be sure, but devout Christians in his life—including George Whitefield, the era’s greatest evangelical preacher; his parents; and his beloved sister Jane—kept him tethered to the Calvinist creed of his Puritan upbringing. Based on rigorous research into Franklin’s voluminous correspondence, essays, and almanacs, this fresh assessment of a well-known figure unpacks the contradictions and conundrums faith presented in Franklin’s life.

More books from Yale University Press

Cover of the book The Old Boys by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book The Letters of T. S. Eliot by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book Making Ireland English by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book Andrew Lloyd Webber by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book A Little History of the World by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book The Future of Nature by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book Vicious by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book The Imprint of Congress by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book "Complicity with Evil" by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book The Bigot by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book King's Dream by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book Meselson, Stahl, and the Replication of DNA by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book The Victorian Frame of Mind, 1830-1870 by Thomas S. Kidd
Cover of the book The Unknown Battle of Midway by Thomas S. Kidd
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy