tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post7641022966011542554..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: Roger Williams, the First American? Some Thoughts on John Barry’s Roger Williams and the Creation of the American SoulPaul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-66564527228310523012012-09-06T11:30:22.802-06:002012-09-06T11:30:22.802-06:00Linford: Sorry I'd missed this thoughtful piec...Linford: Sorry I'd missed this thoughtful piece. I'll look for the review in C&S. As you aptly put it, this is an interesting book, but like David Barton too, Barry wants to appeal to history, or a slice of it, as justification for his version of the present. Williams was, as Perry Miller reminded us, a Puritan--not just culturally, but theologically. And trying to turn him into the founder of modern democratic liberalism is deeply problematic. Thanks for your reminder.Curtis Freemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10969990860857021066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-39755737505619334782012-07-13T19:06:21.436-06:002012-07-13T19:06:21.436-06:00Thanks, Curtis -- in many ways Barry's work (t...Thanks, Curtis -- in many ways Barry's work (truly valuable as it is, as I've stated) is a recovery of the interpretive lens of an older generation, perhaps even dating back to Perry Miller's time. But you just made me want to go re-read "Errand," which I haven't for a while. Just for fun.linfordfisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02959202271556738127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-87666154003599446352012-07-13T11:49:22.530-06:002012-07-13T11:49:22.530-06:00Lin, excellent review and critique of Barry's ...Lin, excellent review and critique of Barry's book, which I've yet to read. Really fascinating story that you tell. I've always found Perry Miller's few paragraphs in his essay ("The Puritan State and Puritan Society") on Roger Williams in the "Errand Into the Wilderness" collection to be absorbing reading. Though obviously dated, I think Miller notes succintly some of the complicated ways in which Williams' advanced his arguments for religious liberty. Your work is still on my "must read" list.Curtis J Evansnoreply@blogger.com