The English Reformation and the Roots of Atheism and Fundamentalism

282 Pages·2018·2.947 MB·English

by  Liam Fraser

Atheism, Fundamentalism and the Protestant Reformation
Thisstudyofnewatheismandreligiousfundamentalismadvancestwo
provocative – and surprising – arguments. Fraser argues that atheism
andProtestantfundamentalisminBritainandAmericashareacommon
historicaloriginintheEnglishReformation,andthecrisisofauthority
inaugurated by the Reformers. This common origin generated two
presuppositions crucial for both movements: a literalist understanding
ofScripture,andadisruptiveunderstandingofdivineactivityinnature.
Through an analysis of contemporary new atheist and Protestant
fundamentalisttexts,Frasershowsthatthesepresuppositionscontinue
tostructurebothgroups,andsupportarangeofsharedbiblical,scien-
tific, and theological beliefs. Their common origin and intellectual
structure ensures that new atheism and Protestant fundamentalism –
while on the surface irreconcilably opposed – share a secret sympathy
withoneanother,yetonewhichleavesthemunstable,inconsistent,and
unsustainable.
Rev.Dr.LiamJerroldFraserisChurchofScotlandCampusMinisterat
theUniversityofEdinburgh.

Atheism, Fundamentalism and the
Protestant Reformation
Uncovering the Secret Sympathy
LIAM JERROLD FRASER
UniversityofEdinburgh
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title:Atheism,fundamentalismandtheProtestantReformation:uncoveringthe
secretsympathy/LiamJerroldFraser,UniversityofEdinburgh.
description:1[edition].|NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,2018.|
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
identifiers:lccn2018006514|isbn9781108448611(pbk.)
subjects:lcsh:Reformation.|Christianityandatheism.|Fundamentalism.
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Contents
Acknowledgements page ix
Introduction 1
1 The Unfinished Reformation 16
Reformationto Revolution 17
The Civil War 31
Restoration andRestraint 35
Freethought ina Protestant Key 43
Re-Narrating Nature 56
2 ThingsFall Apart 67
Dissenters and Evangelicals 69
The Gathering of Infidels 73
Origins and Ends 88
Walking Apart 94
3 AnInductive Theology 111
The Scottish Philosophy 113
An EvangelicalEmpire 119
The Shock of the New 128
Death inTennessee 142
4 The Secret Sympathy 149
Contemporary Context 150
The Bible: Literal, Univocaland Perspicuous 159
DivineActivity: DisruptiveandSubstitutionary 173
Opposites Attract 188
vii
viii Contents
5 A House Divided 205
New Atheists 206
ProtestantFundamentalists 222
Dialectic of Protestantism 230
Conclusion 245
Bibliography 248
Index 266