{"product_id":"hanging-between-heaven-and-earth-capital-crime-execution-preaching-and-theology-in-early-new-england-hardback-9780875804026","title":"Hanging Between Heaven and Earth; Capital Crime, Execution Preaching, and Theology in Early New England (Hardback) 9780875804026","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eHanging Between Heaven and Earth\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eCapital Crime, Execution Preaching, and Theology in Early New England\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eScott Seay (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780875804026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 17 June 2009\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e232 pages\u003cbr\u003e21.6 x 14 x 2.4 cm, 0.454 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdmirably well-organized and clearly written. [Seay] demonstrates a superb grasp of the history of preaching and criminal justice and the cultural history of colonial New England.\u003c\/p\u003e - W. Clark Gilpin, University of Chicago Divinity School \u003cp\u003eSeay's book will complement and complete previous scholarship.... [I]t joins several fine books that are together creating a new school of thinking about early American religious history.\u003c\/p\u003e - Philip Goff, Director, Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of the most ritualized spectacles of colonial and early national New England, public execution was intended to warn of the wages of sin, reconcile the convict to both God and the community, and demonstrate the cooperative authority of church and state. The clergy played a central role in the ritual itself and provided one of the primary explications of it: the execution sermon. In his in-depth study, Seay analyzes just over 100 such sermons preached and published in colonial and early national New England.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter placing the execution sermon in its ritual and literary context, he explores three interrelated themes—human sinfulness, the economy of conversion, and the nature and function of civil government—and outlines how theological explications of capital crime and its punishment changed over the course of 150 years. Seay offers more than a description of the content of these sermons; he explores how theological interpretations evolved in relation to larger cultural trends in early New England.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSeay concludes that as long as the Congregational church remained established, executions were public, public discourse was restricted to an educated elite, and execution sermons remained the definitive word on crime and punishment. The decades following the American Revolution, however, brought the slow disestablishment of the church, the privatization of executions, and the democratization of public discourse. As a result of these cultural changes, the execution sermon slowly lost its currency in New England, and this genre of preaching simply disappeared. This book will appeal to those interested in American History, theology, and the ministry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable of Contents\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments \u003cbr\u003e Introduction \u003cbr\u003e Chapter One: The Contexts of the Execution Sermon \u003cbr\u003e Chapter Two: Human Sinfulness \u003cbr\u003e Chapter Three: The Economy of Conversion \u003cbr\u003e Chapter Four: Civil Government \u003cbr\u003e Chapter Five: A New Moral Discourse \u003cbr\u003e Conclusion \u003cbr\u003e Notes \u003cbr\u003e Works Cited \u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Northern Illinois University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52584753430808,"sku":"9780875804026","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/hanging-between-heaven-and-earth-capital-crime-execution-preaching-and-theology-in-early-new-england-hardback-9780875804026","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}