Category Archives: God’s Providence

God’s Providence: What did Early American Religious Thinkers Believe about the Role of God in Human Affairs?

Posted on March 29, 2024 by theamericanplutarch

The eighteenth century in America was a time of awakening from the slumber of the past. Light was shed on the darkness of superstition, irrationality, autocracy, aristocratic privilege, and dogma. The individual, weighed down by the chains of time, institutions, … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Christianity, God's Providence | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

All Things are Possible

Posted on August 27, 2017 by theamericanplutarch

Recent conflict and protests in America, about statues and monuments recalling troubling events in the past, seem to be dividing a country that clearly needs uniting. Those who focus on division rather than unity seem to think that all things … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Christianity, God's Providence | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Historical Sites along the Maine Coast: Kittery to York

Posted on July 13, 2017 by theamericanplutarch

Kittery, Maine, situated on the northern shores of the Piscataqua River, was a home to seamen and fishermen. Most such men of the salt sea were not well known in their own time and forgotten today. An exception was Lieutenant … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, books, Christianity, God's Providence, Great Commission | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Independence: Disorder in a Democracy

Posted on July 4, 2017 by theamericanplutarch

In today’s day, we are confronted with disorder, almost chaos and anarchy at times. How do we bring order out of a disorderly situation? The concluding years of the American Revolution in the 1780s provides us with an example. The … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, books, Christianity, God's Providence, Government | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Animals and Time

Posted on June 28, 2017 by theamericanplutarch

Do animals have an experience of time similar to humans? I believe so. I propose that each life, whether human or animal, experiences time and the passage of time, hence history, individually, uniquely. It is difficult for a human to … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, General Essays, God's Providence | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

There are Trillions of Lives–What about Me?

Posted on October 31, 2016 by theamericanplutarch

There are 7.5 billion humans residing on this small Earth, which is 15% of how many people (demographers estimate) that have lived on this Earth over the course of its 4.5 billion year history. Therefore, more people are dead, have … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, God's Providence | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Answer Is: Power, Love, Self-Control

Posted on October 2, 2016 by theamericanplutarch

I belong to a group of men, the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, most of whom are of the Anglican tradition, who meet weekly to discuss Christianity, and to share a meal as well as Eucharist or Morning Prayer from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, God's Providence, Great Commission, Reflections on the Psalms | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

George Washington and Providence

Posted on July 14, 2016 by theamericanplutarch

Jeremy Belknap, a patriot, scientist, historian, and minister in the late eighteenth century, wrote during the War for Independence to his friend Ebenezer Hazard, praising General George Washington: “A man is never more truly noble than when he is sensible … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Biography, Christianity, God's Providence | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

And God Saw Every Thing that He had made, and Behold, it was Very Good

Posted on July 6, 2016 by theamericanplutarch

The title of this post comes from Genesis, 1:31, the final verse of the first chapter of the Old Testament. This final verse provides commentary on the sixth day of the Creation, in which God had, after the creation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, God's Providence, Reflections on the Psalms | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Reflections on “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”

Posted on May 22, 2016 by theamericanplutarch

First, I will admit that I have been teaching American history for almost 35 years and have never, until recently, read Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Why? For several reasons, I suppose. First, it was never assigned in any … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, books, Christianity, God's Providence | Tagged , , | 4 Comments