Thomas Kidd on Benjamin Franklin’s Faith

tonygill — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 08:00:29 +0000

Benjamin Franklin is one of America’s most famous Founding Fathers, and is widely regarded as being amongst the “Deist” camp when it comes to religiosity. Prof. Thomas Kidd, a professor of history at Associate Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, joins us to discuss the life and spiritual development of Ben Franklin. We begin with a discussion of where Franklin ended his life and why he has a reputation as being a Deist, and what Deism encompasses, particularly in the late 18th century. We then boomerang to Franklin’s early life growing up in a very strict Calvinist/Puritan household. The King James Bible had an immense formative impact on Ben’s life, who said in his autobiography that he read it by age five. We talk about the relationship he had with some of his siblings including Jane Mecon and James, under who he worked as an apprentice in the printing business. Prof. Kidd walks us through Ben’s rebellious period in his late teens and early twenties, which took him to Philadelphia and abroad to London where he lived a very licentious life for a time. We also talk about some of his early writings under the pseudonym Silence Dogood, a bit of a poke at the famous preacher Cotton Mather, but one that also showed some degree of reverence for the Christian preacher as well. Franklin never received much of a formal education despite being very smart. Tommy speculates that Ben was removed from formal schooling as his parents start to suspect that his contact with educational institutions made him more skeptical of Christianity. We see how this plays a role in his attitude towards college, including a particular view towards Harvard (which we reveal in the podcast). Upon returning from London, we learn about how Franklin’s religiosity and experience with religious diversity gives him a more mature view, forming what Dr. Kidd terms a “doctrinal-less moralist Christianity.” We talk about how religion is laced throughout his most famous writings in Poor Richard’s Almanac and how well he knew the King James Bible, better than many of the more orthodox Christians at the time. The other major influence on Franklin’s development was his relationship with George Whitefield, which first started as a business partnership (as religious tracts and hymnals were popular sellers for printers at the time), and then later becomes a personal friendship. Tommy talks about how the two had numerous respectful conversations over their theological differences. We finish our discussion with Franklin’s later life approaching the US Revolutionary War and Constitutional Convention and how the notion of God’s Providence began to play a larger role in his thinking. Prof. Kidd ends our discussion with some reflections on why understanding Franklin’s religion remains salient for our contemporary understanding of society. Recorded: May 29, 2017

Andrew Hoffecker on Charles Hodge and Princeton Theological Seminary

tonygill — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:00:07 +0000

Happy Birthday Princeton Theological Seminary! To help celebrate the PTS bicentennial, Research on Religion offers up the gift of a discussion on one of its most prolific theologians, Charles Hodge. Prof. Andrew Hoffecker, emeritus professor of history at the Reformed Theological Seminary, discusses his new biography of Charles Hodge (1797 – 1878). Rev. Hodge epitomizes many of the different theological and social tensions that were confronting both the Presbyterian Church and the United States during the first half of the 19th century. We begin by tracing Hodge’s life and decision to pursue an academic career at the recently created Princeton Theological Seminary and spend time looking at his two year sojourn in Germany to experience some of the new intellectual trends appearing at the University of Berlin. Halfway through our discussion, Prof. Hoffecker and I ruminate about the effect that intellectualized seminary training may have on the emotional aspects of spiritual faith and how this might affect denominations. We then return to the United States and look at Charles Hodge’s academic career, including the founding of The Princeton Review and his various positions on controversies dividing Presbyterianism, most notably the 1837 schism. Andy also touches upon Hodge’s positions regarding religious education, Catholicism, and slavery – controversies that were roiling during Hodge’s long career. Our conversation finishes with Prof. Hoffecker discussing Rev. Hodge’s impact on American religiosity and society at large. We note the important role that Hodge played in shaping the evangelical and fundamentalist movements that were to appear at the turn of the 20th century. Recorded: December 30, 2011.

Research On Religion » First Great Awakening

Thomas Kidd on Benjamin Franklin’s Faith

Andrew Hoffecker on Charles Hodge and Princeton Theological Seminary