Book Reviewed: Spreading the Gospel in Colonial Virginia: Preaching Religion and Community by Edward Bond

Spiritual encounters in colonial Virginia Colonial Virginia is at odds with the traditional interpretation of Christianism in an American colony. Often the description focusses on the beliefs and practices of New Testament by the followers of the Anglican church (Church of England) who were dominant in the early 18th century. But the later arrival of the Baptists, Presbyterians and Quakers created a caricature of pious dissenters Vs. nominally Anglican planters who were materialistic. They were more concerned with their next crop of tobacco, the price of slaves, or the wealth of the family than spiritual needs. This is a meticulously researched work that that describes the role of the church during the formative years. The author includes sermons and writing of the clergy in the early 18th century including selections of sermons, devotional writings, and their spiritual authority. The book discusses historical arguments between the followers of Anglican church and other protestants about the importance of baptism. The outward visible baptism with water or an invisible baptism of the Holy Ghost. Anglicans traditionally baptized infants by pouring water on the child's head, and the colony's laws required that all newborns be brought to the local parish minister for baptism in a timely manner. Quakers found this practice illegitimate and mocked the practice. The author suggests that the lack of appeal to matters of religion brought dissenters of the Anglican church, especially Quakers who were outspoken about the practice of slavery and became the voice of abolitionists. During the 17th and 18th centuries Christmas was not celebrated in colonial Virginia as it is practiced today. The Anglican Church and many parishes held special services on Christmas Day, but the observance was highly subdued. The American Puritan belief that came down from Plymouth colony and the Massachusetts Bay colony dominated by puritans discouraged the celebration of Christmas in a festive style that was considered as a Catholic tradition. The Christmas sermons emphasized the birth of Jesus and the message of salvation, and political matters relevant to the Virginia. The institution of slavery was justified and defended from the pulpits to protect the economic interests of plantation owners. Samuel Davies’s sermon delivered on the Christmas day in the year 1758 quote thirty-two verses from Bible nine were from the synoptic gospels, four from Psalms and two from Romans. The sermon about the “Duties of Christians to heathens,” makes sixteen references to the Bible and four are from Genesis. William Dawson Christmas sermon in the year 1732 has twelve quotes from Bible, three are from Romans and two are from Psalms. Morgan Godwyn, in the late 17th century condemned the enslavement of Africans and advocated for their humane treatment and freedom. James Blair's 117 sermons remain the largest extant collection of pulpit oratory produced by an Anglican minister in colonial Virginia reveal the commissary as a systematic theologian, and tolerant of other Christian de nominations. The book is written well and readable, I recommend this work to readers interested in the church’s role during the formative years in colonial Virginia.