Cotton Mather and Biblia Americana, America's first Bible commentary : essays in reappraisal / edited by Reiner Smolinski and Jan Stievermann. [print]

A collection of essays issued in conjunction with the 2010 publication of volume 1 of the 10-volume critical edition of Mather's Biblia Americana.

Proceedings of a symposium held in October, 2008, at the University of Tubingen, Germany.

Originally published: Tubingen : Mohr Siebeck, 2010.

Includes bibliographies and index.

chapter 1. Cotton Mather and "Biblia Americana" : America's first Bible commentary : general introduction Jan Stievermann -- Part I. The vicissitudes of Mather's reputation -- ch. 2. Glorious translation of an American Elijah : mourning Cotton Mather in 1728 William Van Arragon -- ch. 3. Abridging of Cotton Mather E. Brooks Holifield -- Part II. Mather in the context of international Protestantism -- ch.4. New England Puritanism and the ecumenical background of Cotton Mather's "Biblia Americana" Francis J. Bremer -- ch. 5. World as parish : Cotton Mather, August Hermann Francke, and transatlantic religious networks Oliver Scheiding -- ch. 6. Peter van Mastricht's Theoretico-practica theologia as an interpretative framework for Cotton Mather's work Adriaan Neele -- Part III. Enlightenment rationalism, Biblical literalism, and the supernatural -- ch. 7. Cotton Mather, the "Biblia Americana," and the Enlightenment Winton U. Solberg -- ch. 8. Between biblical literalism and scientific inquiry : Cotton Mather's commentary on Jeremiah 8:7 Michael Dopffel -- ch. 9. Cotton Mather and the invisible world Paul Wise -- Part IV. Mather's historical method and his approach to the history of religions -- ch. 10. Historians as flower pickers and honey bees : Cotton Mather and the commonplace-book tradition of history Rick Kennedy -- ch. 11. "Flee from idols" : Cotton Mather and the historical books Kenneth P. Minkema -- ch. 12. "Eager imitators of the Egyptian inventions" : Cotton Mather's engagement with John Spencer and the debate about the pagan origin of the mosaic laws, rites, and customs Reiner Smolinski -- ch. 13. Euhemerism and ancient theology in Cotton Mather's "Biblia Americana" Harry Clark Maddux -- Part V. Aspects of scriptural exegesis in the "Biblia Americana" -- ch. 14. Cotton Mather and Jonathan Edwards on the epistle of James : a comparative study Stephen J. Stein -- ch. 15. "The perfection of beauty" : Cotton Mather's christological interpretation of the Shechinah glory in the "Biblia Americana" and its theological contexts Paul Silas Peterson -- ch. 16. The eschatology of signs in Cotton Mather's "Biblia Americana" and Jonathan Edwards's case for the legibility of providence Michael P. Clark -- ch. 17. The controversy of the present time : Arianism, William Whiston, and the development of Cotton Mather's late eschatology David Komline -- Part VI. Gender, race, and slavery in the "Biblia Americana" -- ch. 18. Regaining paradise : Cotton Mather's "Biblia Americana" and the daughters of Eve Helen K. Gelinas -- ch. 19. Hair down to there : nature, culture, and gender in Cotton Mather's social theology Robert E. Brown -- ch. 20. Genealogy of races and the problem of slavery in Cotton Mather's "Biblia Americana" Jan Stievermann.

"Cotton Mather's Biblia Americana was the first comprehensive Bible commentary composed in America. This volume serves as an essential companion to Biblia Americana as well as a useful resource in its own right. Written by some of the most prominent scholars in the field, these essays offer original, in-depth studies of Mather and his hitherto unpublished scriptural interpretations in the historical context of the early Enlightenment and the rise of Pietism.Transcending the pejorative image of Puritan witch doctor, Mather emerges from these essays as an erudite scholar and cosmopolitan theologian who was fully immersed in the new developments in biblical exegesis around the turn of the eighteenth century. Whether facing the challenge of historical criticism or examining the meaning of race and gender in the Bible, Mather wrestled with scientific and religious questions that are still relevant today" --

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