Description
Book SynopsisHistory professors Linford Fisher and J. Stanley Lemons immediately recognised the importance of what turned out to be theologian Roger Williams' final treatise.
Decoding Roger Williams reveals for the first time Williams' translated and annotated essay, along with a critical essay by Fisher, Lemons, and Mason-Brown.
Trade Review"Decoding Roger Williams revels in the ingenuity of American historical scholarship and renews Williams' fame as early New England's most intriguing and challenging figure." -- Jon Butler, Yale University
"A gem of a book and feat of careful scholarship, Decoding Roger Williams illuminates an important aspect of Williams' thinking. It's a very welcome addition to what we know about him." -- David D Hall, Bartlett Research Professor of New England Church History, Harvard Divinity School
"Brilliantly transcribed from Roger Williams' shorthand notes, this previously undecoded manuscript demands reconsideration of New England's encounter with Baptist ideas and also of the colonial effort to Christianize native Americans." -- Francis J Bremer, Professor Emeritus, Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Decoding Roger Williams provides significant insights into the life of Roger Williams, particularly by examining what is likely his latest extant theological writings and by discussing two subjects rarely touched on in his other texts. It will provide much fodder for future scholars, not only in decoding what remains in the gaps of the document, but also in the implications of a fuller picture of Williams's religious beliefs. -- Alyssa N. Gerhardt -- The Journal of Southern Religion
Students of Baptist history and of colonial New England will appreciate this addition to the Roger Williams corpus -- Andrew C. Smith -- American Baptist Quarterly
Table of ContentsList of Figures and Maps Acknowledgments Foreword by Ted Widmer A Key into the Language of Roger Williams: Cracking and Interpreting the Roger Williams Code Roger Williams: "A Brief Reply to a Small Book Written by John Eliot" (1679-1683) John Norcott, Baptism Discovered Plainly and Faithfully According to the Word of God (1675 [1672]) John Eliot, A Brief Answer to a Small Book Written by John Norcot Against Infant-Baptisme (1679) Further Reading and Research Index
