The Beechers as Theologians
@theologynerd.bsky.social
The Beecher family, perhaps more so than any in the nineteenth century, were a microcosm of the larger changes in American Christianity. This account both celebrates and criticizes their work and witness.
One hundred of Lyman Beecher’s own students left Lane Seminary because the institution prioritized placating the economic interests of Cincinnati, with its close ties to southern enslavement, over abolition. Following the gospel means some things cannot be compromised; compassion, for example.
January 30, 2025 at 9:49 PM
One hundred of Lyman Beecher’s own students left Lane Seminary because the institution prioritized placating the economic interests of Cincinnati, with its close ties to southern enslavement, over abolition. Following the gospel means some things cannot be compromised; compassion, for example.
Social services in Cincinnati only emerged after leadership by Dr. Daniel Drake and others, who sought to shift public health policy AWAY from xenophobia; conservative politicians believed that cholera and TB were caused by immigrants, not bacterial infections. Good thing that’s changed. Oh, wait.
January 24, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Social services in Cincinnati only emerged after leadership by Dr. Daniel Drake and others, who sought to shift public health policy AWAY from xenophobia; conservative politicians believed that cholera and TB were caused by immigrants, not bacterial infections. Good thing that’s changed. Oh, wait.
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January 24, 2025 at 2:30 PM
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January 3, 2025 at 8:51 PM
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1. Victoria Woodhull is the most fascinating person you’ve (most likely) never heard of, and this biography is simply perfect. The Woodhull, as she was known, exposed Henry Ward’s infidelity; her friendship with Isabella alienated the latter from the Beechers. Truly, a masterpiece of writing 10/10
December 31, 2024 at 2:16 PM
1. Victoria Woodhull is the most fascinating person you’ve (most likely) never heard of, and this biography is simply perfect. The Woodhull, as she was known, exposed Henry Ward’s infidelity; her friendship with Isabella alienated the latter from the Beechers. Truly, a masterpiece of writing 10/10
2. In many ways, this book is 1A. Well-written, engrossing, informative, and one of the best biographies I’ve ever read. Anne Hutchinson was a strong and determined woman, whose sense of spirituality, biblical knowledge, and chutzpah ran her afoul of male authorities. A must-read! 9.9/10
December 28, 2024 at 2:24 PM
2. In many ways, this book is 1A. Well-written, engrossing, informative, and one of the best biographies I’ve ever read. Anne Hutchinson was a strong and determined woman, whose sense of spirituality, biblical knowledge, and chutzpah ran her afoul of male authorities. A must-read! 9.9/10
3.This riveting, fast-paced, fascinating biography of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley is a must-read! Both women’s lives were impacted by famous men with whom they shared their lives. Both also were ridiculed and dismissed for decades before scholars/biographers recognized their genius. 9.75/10
December 27, 2024 at 2:00 PM
3.This riveting, fast-paced, fascinating biography of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley is a must-read! Both women’s lives were impacted by famous men with whom they shared their lives. Both also were ridiculed and dismissed for decades before scholars/biographers recognized their genius. 9.75/10
4. This engrossing and in-depth biography of preacher Aimee Semple McPherson catalogues her influential, tumultuous life. A fascinating figure, McPherson was a product of her time; ordained by the Holy Spirit, her ministry was deemed authentic in the holiness movement…until it wasn’t. 9.5/10
December 24, 2024 at 1:15 PM
4. This engrossing and in-depth biography of preacher Aimee Semple McPherson catalogues her influential, tumultuous life. A fascinating figure, McPherson was a product of her time; ordained by the Holy Spirit, her ministry was deemed authentic in the holiness movement…until it wasn’t. 9.5/10
#5 is a three-way tie. HBS wrote a number of stories set in Puritan New England (or with characters embodying Puritan characteristics). In my book, I’ll examine the ways in which she embraces and rejects Calvinist theology and gender expectations. All three slow reads, but informative 9.25/10
December 23, 2024 at 1:13 PM
#5 is a three-way tie. HBS wrote a number of stories set in Puritan New England (or with characters embodying Puritan characteristics). In my book, I’ll examine the ways in which she embraces and rejects Calvinist theology and gender expectations. All three slow reads, but informative 9.25/10
6. This spiritual biography is one of the best books about HBS. Koester adeptly situates Harriet within her family context—a wrestling with Calvinism—and highlights her theological arguments concerning abolition that earned her both praise and criticism. 9.25/10
December 20, 2024 at 2:06 PM
6. This spiritual biography is one of the best books about HBS. Koester adeptly situates Harriet within her family context—a wrestling with Calvinism—and highlights her theological arguments concerning abolition that earned her both praise and criticism. 9.25/10
7. A tie! Both books are about Henry Ward Beecher, the most famous preacher of the 19th century, whose “Gospel of Love” was the theological equivalent of “free love,” at least according to his critics. Both books are bonafide page turners! 9/10
December 19, 2024 at 2:09 PM
7. A tie! Both books are about Henry Ward Beecher, the most famous preacher of the 19th century, whose “Gospel of Love” was the theological equivalent of “free love,” at least according to his critics. Both books are bonafide page turners! 9/10
8. A solid consideration of UTC’s influence, impact, shortcomings, and place in literary history. 8.75/10
December 18, 2024 at 2:18 PM
8. A solid consideration of UTC’s influence, impact, shortcomings, and place in literary history. 8.75/10
9. The first biography of HBS that I read; clocking in at 544 pages, this exhaustive (but not exhausting) look at her life is eminently readable and informative. If I hadn’t read so many books this year, Hedrick’s would rank higher. 8.75/10 #books #bigread #toptenreads #book2024 #harrietbeecherstowe
December 17, 2024 at 1:50 PM
9. The first biography of HBS that I read; clocking in at 544 pages, this exhaustive (but not exhausting) look at her life is eminently readable and informative. If I hadn’t read so many books this year, Hedrick’s would rank higher. 8.75/10 #books #bigread #toptenreads #book2024 #harrietbeecherstowe
Top ten secondary source books I read in 2024:
Mother Seton, the first American saint, founded the Sisters of Charity, who were active in Cincinnati when Harriet lived here (and still are, but in very small numbers).
Mother Seton, the first American saint, founded the Sisters of Charity, who were active in Cincinnati when Harriet lived here (and still are, but in very small numbers).
December 16, 2024 at 3:05 PM
Top ten secondary source books I read in 2024:
Mother Seton, the first American saint, founded the Sisters of Charity, who were active in Cincinnati when Harriet lived here (and still are, but in very small numbers).
Mother Seton, the first American saint, founded the Sisters of Charity, who were active in Cincinnati when Harriet lived here (and still are, but in very small numbers).
Calvin Stowe (4/6/1802-8/22/1886), loving husband of Harriet and a leading biblical scholar who read five languages. They met at Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, where Calvin was on faculty. A brilliant and hypochondriacal man, Calvin’s writings did not have the lasting impact of Harriet’s.
December 13, 2024 at 2:28 PM
Calvin Stowe (4/6/1802-8/22/1886), loving husband of Harriet and a leading biblical scholar who read five languages. They met at Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, where Calvin was on faculty. A brilliant and hypochondriacal man, Calvin’s writings did not have the lasting impact of Harriet’s.
Harriet’s inspiration for writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the death of her son Charley. Connecting her pain to that felt by enslaved mothers torn from their children—and aware of high mortality rates—HBS believed appealing to southern mothers would, with divine assistance, end slavery nonviolently.
December 12, 2024 at 2:04 PM
Harriet’s inspiration for writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the death of her son Charley. Connecting her pain to that felt by enslaved mothers torn from their children—and aware of high mortality rates—HBS believed appealing to southern mothers would, with divine assistance, end slavery nonviolently.
Isabella Beecher Hooker (2/22/1822-1/25/1907), the youngest daughter, was an important suffragist and one of the few siblings to have a happy marriage. A spiritualist, Isabella’s support for the iconoclastic Victoria Woodhull, who rightly called Henry Ward a hypocrite, alienated her from the family.
December 11, 2024 at 2:24 PM
Isabella Beecher Hooker (2/22/1822-1/25/1907), the youngest daughter, was an important suffragist and one of the few siblings to have a happy marriage. A spiritualist, Isabella’s support for the iconoclastic Victoria Woodhull, who rightly called Henry Ward a hypocrite, alienated her from the family.
Edward Beecher (8/27/1803-7/28/1895), was a staunch abolitionist and the most accomplished Beecher theologian; wrestling with the Calvinist concepts of total depravity and unconditioned election, he argued for the preexistence of souls over inherited Adamic sin; Lyman did not approve.
December 10, 2024 at 2:15 PM
Edward Beecher (8/27/1803-7/28/1895), was a staunch abolitionist and the most accomplished Beecher theologian; wrestling with the Calvinist concepts of total depravity and unconditioned election, he argued for the preexistence of souls over inherited Adamic sin; Lyman did not approve.
Henry Ward Beecher (6/24/1813-3/8/1887) was at one point considered the most famous man in America. He preached a “gospel of love,” which proved both popular and controversial. He stood trial, accused of seducing the wives of his closest friends, of which he most likely was guilty.
December 9, 2024 at 2:28 PM
Henry Ward Beecher (6/24/1813-3/8/1887) was at one point considered the most famous man in America. He preached a “gospel of love,” which proved both popular and controversial. He stood trial, accused of seducing the wives of his closest friends, of which he most likely was guilty.
William “The Unlucky” Beecher (1/15/1802-6/23/1889), eldest son of Lyman and Roxanna, was never a good student. He barely finished his studies to become a licensed minister; owed to Lyman’s string-pulling, he served churches sporadically. Always poor, his siblings supported him financially.
December 6, 2024 at 4:04 PM
William “The Unlucky” Beecher (1/15/1802-6/23/1889), eldest son of Lyman and Roxanna, was never a good student. He barely finished his studies to become a licensed minister; owed to Lyman’s string-pulling, he served churches sporadically. Always poor, his siblings supported him financially.
Roxanna Foote Beecher (1/10/1775-9/26/1816), Lyman’s first and most beloved wife, was a remarkable woman: intelligent, self-possessed, Episcopalian, and one who challenged Lyman’s sin-soaked theology. Her family opposed the marriage, accusing Lyman of trying to drive her crazy with religious guilt.
December 5, 2024 at 3:37 PM
Roxanna Foote Beecher (1/10/1775-9/26/1816), Lyman’s first and most beloved wife, was a remarkable woman: intelligent, self-possessed, Episcopalian, and one who challenged Lyman’s sin-soaked theology. Her family opposed the marriage, accusing Lyman of trying to drive her crazy with religious guilt.
Catharine Beecher (9/6/1800-5/12/1878) was Lyman’s eldest child and is considered the first American female philosopher and theologian. A prodigious writer, Catharine penned books on biblical hermeneutics, theology, home economics, education, and sociology. Like her siblings, she rejected Calvinism.
December 4, 2024 at 1:33 PM
Catharine Beecher (9/6/1800-5/12/1878) was Lyman’s eldest child and is considered the first American female philosopher and theologian. A prodigious writer, Catharine penned books on biblical hermeneutics, theology, home economics, education, and sociology. Like her siblings, she rejected Calvinism.
Lyman Beecher (10/12/1775-1/10/1863) was born on a farm with a book in his hand. When he arrived at Yale College, he read Jonathan Edwards for the first time. In his autobiography, Lyman says he spent the whole year living in terror that he was doomed to hell with no recourse to change his fate.
December 3, 2024 at 1:29 PM
Lyman Beecher (10/12/1775-1/10/1863) was born on a farm with a book in his hand. When he arrived at Yale College, he read Jonathan Edwards for the first time. In his autobiography, Lyman says he spent the whole year living in terror that he was doomed to hell with no recourse to change his fate.
Harriet Beecher Stowe (6/14/1811-7/1/1896) spent a majority of her life trying to reconcile her experience of Jesus as friend with the “clinical theology” of her father Lyman’s Calvinism. Her novel, _The Minister’s Wooing_, is in many ways a systematic apology for the gospel of love she championed.
December 2, 2024 at 1:50 PM
Harriet Beecher Stowe (6/14/1811-7/1/1896) spent a majority of her life trying to reconcile her experience of Jesus as friend with the “clinical theology” of her father Lyman’s Calvinism. Her novel, _The Minister’s Wooing_, is in many ways a systematic apology for the gospel of love she championed.