Seers Of God by Michael P. Winship

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Synopsis

Observing that intellectual changes within late-seventeenth-century Massachusetts Puritan culture closely paralleled changes within Puritan culture in England, Michael Winship re-examines one of the more nettlesome issues in the intellectual history of early New England. How did the logic of Puritanism square itself with the increasingly hostile assumptions of the early Enlightenment? And, faced with a new intellectual world whose parameters were formed to a large extent in opposition to Puritanism, how did Puritans try to maintain credibility? In Seers of God, Winship's compelling analysis of topics ranging from theology to witchcraft places the problem of intellectual change fully in a transatlantic context.

Booknews

Winship (history, U. of Georgia) examines how Puritans in early America dealt with the tension between their logic and their belief that the workings of God were to be found in such events as storms and earthquakes, fainting, and depression. Focusing on Cotton Mather, he emphasizes how the tension influenced the witch trials and the eventual decline of belief in wonders. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Biography

Michael P. Winship is an associate professor of history at the University of Georgia.