"They Preached Liberty"
Dr. Joseph Loconte publishes in the Wall St. Journal
NEW YORK, July 5, 2012—Religious liberty has been a cornerstone of the American experiment since the earliest days of settlement, independence, and development. Did this tradition originate from 18th century Enlightenment thought, or was there more at play in the development of religious liberty in America? Dr. Joseph Loconte, Associate Professor of History at The King’s College, writes for the Wall St. Journal that religious liberty in America grew out of the convictions of religious leaders themselves.
In “They Preached Liberty”, Loconte describes the spirit of liberty that guided American religious leaders in the earliest days of the colonies. Loconte writes:
"It is now widely assumed that religious toleration—a hallmark of the secular, democratic West—grew out of the 18th-century Enlightenment. This may be true in much of Europe, but not in the United States. The evangelical preachers who supported the Revolution knew their Bible and believed it. They insisted that the gospel of Jesus upheld the rights of conscience in religious matters—Jesus never coerced anyone into following him, they pointed out—and that republican government would collapse without it."
Published on June 28th, Dr. Loconte’s article follows directly on the heels of Dr. Loconte’s new book, The Searchers: A Quest for Faith in the Valley of Doubt.
In The Searchers, Dr. Joseph Loconte, Associate Professor of History at The King’s College, explores a thread of the human experience that unifies us all: the search for God.
Dr. Loconte describes The Searchers as “a layman’s effort to understand—in modern times—a remarkable conversation that occurred just days after the death of Jesus between two of his followers and a stranger who joins them on their journey.” The conversation to which Dr. Loconte refers is recorded in Luke 24:13-35, where two disciples, later joined by a third man, discuss what they have seen and heard.
The Searchers is available for purchase on Amazon.com .
The King’s College educates students in the ideas upon which nations rise and fall. With a focused curriculum in the liberal arts tradition, students are prepared to help shape, and eventually to lead, the institutions of government, civil society, media, law, business, education, the arts, and the church. King’s is a Christian college located in New York City.
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