All About Angels and Their Impact on the Puritans
Listen to the lecture “All About Angels and Their Impact on the Puritans” in the media player below or directly on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Listen on Spotify or Apple Media.
Transcript of lecture:
Quick links to some primary sources: Increase Mather’s Angelographia, Cotton Mather’s diary, Samuel Willard’s A Compleat Body of Divinity
As a reminder, the learning goals of the lecture are:
…for learners to be able to explain one of the three characteristics of angels that I discuss and also draw connections between angels and media.
Discussion questions and forum:
- Which of the three facets of angels from Puritan writings that I have described interests you the most? Why? What did you know about this already and what did you learn? What is your own response to this particular facet? (to what extent to you agree or disagree and why?)
- What are some of the connections that you see between angels (however you understand them) and communications/media? How might knowing about the Puritans help you to extend or develop these connections? In your discussion, if you would like, respond to this quote from Increase Mather’s sermon in order to analyze how Puritans thought about angels conveying messages.
- “3. The Holy Angels have a great influence, upon the thoughts, minds, and Spirits of men. Evil Angels inject evil thoughts into the mind [this section is about evil angels communicating but we can focus on what we typically think of as angels, “good angels,” for now, since this lecture focuses on them] …So have the Holy Angels a great influence on the Spirits of them that fear the Lord, exciting them unto the things that are good. They have the benefit of Angelical Suggestion, in many good motions, more than themselves are aware of. It is true, that all Holy thoughts are originally from the Spirit of God: Nevertheless, He is pleased oftentimes to make use of the Ministry of Angels therein. Angelical motions are ab extra. Angels do not dwell in the Souls of Believers, as the Holy and Eternal Spirit doth: nor have they power to make their Suggestions effectual: they can’t give Life & Grace with the good motions Suggested by them, as the Spirit of God doth. Ministers in Preaching may propose Arguments to men, and can do no more. The Eternal Spirit only can make those Arguments to prevail. That which Ministers do externally and visibly, the Holy Angels do after a Spiritual and invisible manner” (Increase Mather Angelographia part A 45-6)
Respond to these discussion questions (or other topics of your choosing, relating to the lectures) here: