Benjamin Franklin
Subtitle: the religious life of a founding father
By: Thomas S. Kidd
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 278
ISBN-13: 9780300217490
Subjects: Religious life; Biography; Statesmen
Description: "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." -- Publisher's description
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Child of the Puritans; title: Exodus to Philadelphia, sojourn in London; title: Philadelphia printer; title: Poor Richard; title: Ben Franklin's closest Evangelical friend; title: Electrical man; title: Tribune of the people; title: Diplomat; title: The pillar of fire.