The idea of covenant was at the heart of early New England society. In this singular book David Weir explores the origins and development of covenant thought in America by analyzing the town and church documents written and signed by seventeenth-century New Englanders. Unmatched in the breadth of its scope; this study takes into account all of the surviving covenants in all of the New England colonies. Weir's comprehensive survey of seventeenth-century covenants leads to a more complex picture of early New England than what emerges from looking at only a few famous civil covenants like the Mayflower Compact. His work shows covenant theology being transformed into a covenantal vision for society but also reveals the stress and strains on church-state relationships that eventually led to more secularized colonial governments in eighteenth-century New England. He concludes that New England colonial society was much more "English" and much less "American" than has often been thought; and that the New England colonies substantially mirrored religious and social change in Old England.
#274163 in Books Grove Press 2011-04-12Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 5.75 x 1.50l; 2.15 #File Name: 0802145582640 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great Summary of Complicated HistoryBy Alexander T. BarclayVery well written and thorough given its expansive topic and single volume length. With the kindle version it can be difficult to understand the geography as you have to keep switching back to the maps. The names of places in India have changed a number of times throughout the centuries and it takes some effort to follow at times; for someone who has never been to India and had minimal understanding of its history before reading the book. I do feel like I understand the history; culture and current state of affairs much better.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I ENJOYED the most of the bookBy P. RaoI thought of reading Indian History after reading the Roman history to understand how different it is from others. When looked for a books; only few books came out on Indian History including Nehru's book. Since I want to remove nationalistic narrations and I want a comparative view. so I chose this book.I ENJOYED the most of the book. Some interesting topics I liked are VERY LONG history; Aryanization process; LONG secularist traditions practiced by empires until British started muddying the water in early 20th centuries( which continue to burn even to this day); origins of the so called Hindu religion. Though most of the dots are taught in the history lesson; it is the connecting narration the creates the perspective. Author has done a good Job; though he seems to have softened British involvement( understandable as he is British author and have career in British main stream media). Author thinks Pakistan has no involvement in khalistan saga; which is not true. Leaving aside those minor issues; I recommend it for people who enjoy the history from sidelines or wants a different perspective.6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. A well researched book; free from the prejudices we ...By Deepak KamathA well researched book; free from the prejudices we Indians would have from growing up in India and having our own mix of history plus mythology tutored from a young age.His unbiased reading of Indian history ensures that the glorious past that Nationalists proclaim and the barbaric practices that apologists talk about are are portrayed in a realistic manner; and what emerges is a very balanced; indeed moderated account of our history.Chronicling Indian history is beset with the problem of lack of written evidence (surprisingly Keay is silent on the burning and destruction of the Universities) and the plethora of the opinions / memories / legends; but the little that is being slowly unearthed is presented well; its interpretations are also projected with restraint.
