This powerful and innovative work by a gifted cultural historian explores the effects of religious conversion on family relationships; showing how the challenges of the Reformation can offer insight to families facing similarly divisive situations today.Craig Harline begins with the story of young Jacob Rolandus; the son of a Dutch Reformed preacher; who converted to Catholicism in 1654 and ran away from home; causing his family to disown him. In the companion story; Michael Sunbloom; a young American; leaves his family's religion in 1973 to convert to Mormonism; similarly upsetting his distraught parents. The modern twist to Michael's story is his realization that he is gay; causing him to leave his new church; and upsetting his parents again—but this time the family reconciles.Recounting these stories in short; alternating chapters; Harline underscores the parallel aspects of the two far-flung families. Despite different outcomes and forms; their situations involve nearly identical dynamics and heart-wrenching choices. Through the author's deeply informed imagination; the experiences of a seventeenth-century European family are transformed into immediately recognizable terms.
#702724 in Books Yale University Press 2012-11-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.49 x .88 x 6.49l; 1.21 #File Name: 0300180772272 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. ExcellentBy Christopher FarrandThis book highlights how the same principles of the Quaker peace testimony led to the Quaker opposition to slavery. Very readable.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Very strong historical workBy m. misalThis is an excellent book for anyone doing work in colonial American history; history of slavery and abolition; or religious history. I used this extensively when preparing a graduate level historiography on Quaker abolitionism in colonial Pennsylvania for my MA History coursework. This does a great job of bringing together the classic viewpoints of people like Jean Sodurland and Gary Nash and Jack Marietta; with the most recent scholarly contributions; which tend to emphasize black agency; women's contributions; and other underappreciated narratives. This is probably the most current scholarship on the topic; and as such is a great starting point for anyone doing primary research; or seeking to understand the state of this field.
