Taylor and The Decline of New England Congregationalism
It has been argued that the New Haven theology advocated by Taylor (and others) led to the New England Congregational churches being more open and amenable to the theological liberalism that influenced many mainline denominations in the late 19th century - an influence that is still being felt today.
While this may seem a harsh judgement - especially considering Taylor's support of revivalism and the ensuing "conversion" experience that accompanies it - the fact was that Taylor and other proponents of New Haven theology had deliberately abandoned teachings that were, up to that time, considered an essential part of traditional Calvinist Theology. By questioning and abandoning these beliefs, an historical precedent was made which allowed future generations to be more influenced by teachings which went further in denying other Calvinist teachings.
It is certainly true that mainline Protestant denominations that have been historically dominated by Liberal Christianity have declined in number and influence over time. New England Congregationalism, influenced by Taylor's rejection of "Old Calvinism", eventually embraced Liberal theology. Unlike the Southern Baptist Church, however, there was no Fundamentalist reaction to this - which explains why today one of America's most historically significant church groups is no longer a dominant force in American Christianity.
Read more about this topic: Nathaniel William Taylor
Famous quotes containing the words taylor and the, taylor, decline and/or england:
“The Taylor and the Painter often contribute to the Success of a Tragedy more than the Poet. Scenes affect ordinary Minds as much as Speeches; and our Actors are very sensible, that a well-dressed Play has sometimes brought them as full Audiences, as a well-written one.... But however the Show and Outside of the Tragedy may work upon the Vulgar, the more understanding Part of the Audience immediately see through it, and despise it.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
“Oh Sleep! it is a gentle thing,
Beloved from pole to pole!
To Mary Queen the praise be given!
She sent the gentle sleep from Heaven,
That slid into my soul.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)
“But only that soul can be my friend which I encounter on the line of my own march, that soul to which I do not decline, and which does not decline me, but, native of the same celestial latitude, repeats in its own all my experience.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“In England we have come to rely upon a comfortable time-lag of fifty years or a century intervening between the perception that something ought to be done and a serious attempt to do it.”
—H.G. (Herbert George)