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Isaac Backus and the Second Reformation is unavailable, but you can change that!

Whatever happened to the Christian Reformation which began under Martin Luther? When did it end? Or better yet, where did it end? Some would say in Puritan England. Others would argue that its terminus ad quem was in the failed Puritan experiment in Colonial New England. But the actual answer lies in the aftermath of the Great Awakening when the Congregational system gave up thousands of...

The preparation doctrine further demonstrates that many of the clergy observed the instantaneous nature of the new birth in their own churches during the Awakening and considered it to be “enthusiasm” or emotion-based because there was no logical or observable pattern to the phenomena of conversion. Early Puritan concerns about uncontrolled enthusiasm and subsequent civil disorder with Anne Hutchinson differed little from the Awakening concerns regarding instantaneous salvation. By 1740, with the
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