In September 1776; two men from Connecticut each embarked on a dangerous mission. One of the men; a soldier disguised as a schoolmaster; made his way to British-controlled Manhattan and began furtively making notes and sketches to bring back to the beleaguered Continental Army general; George Washington. The other man traveled to New York to accept a captain's commission in a loyalist regiment before returning home to recruit others to join British forces. Neither man completed his mission. Both met their deaths at the end of a hangman's rope; one executed as a spy for the American cause and the other as a traitor to it.Neither Nathan Hale nor Moses Dunbar deliberately set out to be a revolutionary or a loyalist; yet both suffered the same fate. They died when there was every indication that Britain would win the American Revolution. Had that been the outcome; Dunbar; convicted of treason and since forgotten; might well be celebrated as a martyr. And Hale; caught spying on the British; would likely be remembered as a traitor; rather than a Revolutionary hero. In The Martyr and the Traitor; Virginia DeJohn Anderson offers an intertwined narrative of men from very similar backgrounds and reveals how their relationships within their families and communities became politicized as the imperial crisis with Britain erupted. She explores how these men forged their loyalties in perilous times and believed the causes for which they died to be honorable. Through their experiences; The Martyr and the Traitor illuminates the impact of the Revolution on ordinary lives and how the stories of patriots and loyalists were remembered and forgotten after independence.
#1272140 in Books 2015-09-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.30 x 1.20 x 9.30l; .0 #File Name: 0199844615336 pages
Review
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful. A magnificent history of conscienceBy Duncan ReyburnPossibly the most electrifying and potent book on the religious tensions within Modernity to date; Dominic Erdozain’s 'The Soul of Doubt' could well have been called 'A History of Conscience: The Religious Roots of Unbelief from Luther to Marx.' As something that reads like a philosophical whodunit; it provides a thrilling and masterful account of the way that a number of individuals have responded to the pressures of religious orthodoxy and various strains of monstrously self-righteous (usually Calvinist) dogmatism. Erdozain argues; with precision and great fidelity to his (many) sources; that doubt is not predominantly a secular or purely atheistic attitude towards the world; but is a profoundly Christian posture; or; as Erdozain writes; “The ‘secular’ critique of Christianity was a burning product of the religion it dared to appraiseâ€; we know that even the “Bible continues to justify its critics.†He remarks elsewhere in a blog for Oxford University Press that “the nemesis of Christian orthodoxy is Christian spirituality itself.†It is the committed believer who poses the most perspicacious and acerbic questions to others who share the general framework of his or her belief.It turns out; as Erdozain demonstrates in his book—with reference to figures like Luther; Franck; Castellio; Spinoza; Voltaire; Bayle; Darwin; T. H. Huxley; George Eliot and Feuerbach; among others—that the soil for the seeds of outrage and dissent was the very mercy and generosity proclaimed by the Jesus of the New Testament. Modernity; it is argued; is therefore not primarily concerned with the disintegration of religious ideals; rather; it is characterized by the internalization and practical value of those very ideals. In the end; religion is not a detached intellectual concern; rather; it is a matter of how love is directed or misdirected. Here; then; the usual caricature of religion as a naïve and ignorant participant in a drama of skepticism is overruled with wonderful erudition. We find that the best skeptics are the faithful; the best rebellion is one that takes place within the bounds of a set of ideological coordinates.What makes Erdozain’s book all the more potent and compelling is its biographical focus. Erdozain allows his history to be written; not by the ‘winners’—the pronouncements of institutions or state doctrines—but by thoughtful people caught up in the muck of existence. Questions around persecution by the church; for instance; are therefore handled not as merely theoretical concerns; but as matters of deep and haunting existential relevance. Thus; while the measure of heresy for many proponents of hard-core orthodoxy was the individual's proclamation of allegiance to a set of strict; legal propositions; the greater heresy; for many dissenters against this brand of orthodoxy; was the inability of the establishment to display the kindness of Christ. “Coercion;†as Sebastian Frank wrote; “is a rather foolish thing in the kingdom of Christ.†Still; history exposes the way that theological formulations have often masked a human desire to play God.It is not an overstatement to say that I enjoyed every word of 'The Soul of Doubt'. Erdozain is both a scholar and a wordsmith. The content is certainly provocative; and it is a real gift to find it so well put. Look at this sentence of example: “Drunk on syllogism and deduction; academic theology served as an anaesthetic for the soul; masking the effects of sin and dimming the spiritual senses.†Or this one: “A healthy conscience was one in which fear turned to hope; and faith did the talking.†Or this one: “The line between prophecy and rage may have been thin; but there can be no doubt that the fiercest criticism emerged from the hottest piety.†I know it is a dangerous thing to rip such sentences from their contexts; but I do so simply to entice you. There is a wonderful energy in the writing. This; together with detailed analysis and careful scholarship; reflects the heart and mind of a scholar who cares deeply enough for his subject to really do it justice. In short; you should read this book. It is likely to change not only the way you see history; but the way you see the world you live in now.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Excellent; excellentBy folmartzMost helpful book I've ever read about the Christian religion. It has clarified and settled a number of religious questions I've had for many years.The many quotations from many other authors; the attitude of Erdozain; both give it a high degree of integrity. Excellent; excellent.
