Customer Reviews

Sounding Forth the Trumpet Children's Activity Book

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is the third volume of the Author's Christian History of the United States. Sounding forth the trumpet covers the period from 1837 to 1860, The period leading up to the Civil war. The Authors give a very honest, detailed account of Negro slavery in the U.S.They point out that the Anti-slavery movement was born in the great revival of the 1830's. The Authors make a strong case that the Father of the movement was not William Lloyd Garrison or Wendell Philipps. But rather the great Evangelist Charles Finney. The book exsposes the fundamental dishonesty of Southern Church Leaders who tried to use the Bible to defend slavery, The book provides marvelous sketches of the marvelous cast of characters of this period especially Abraham Lincoln.The book also gives a new interpretation of the Mexican war that is worth reading. In fact the whole book is well worth reading, especially for those who don't realize that religion is the most important factor in human history.

. . .to American history. However, he is just plain wrong!

Don't get me wrong, I have a tremendous respect for Peter Marshall as a person. However, as with my reviews of his previous two books in this series, I find many flaws.

Item: (And this is technically not a flaw) The authors, in order to move the flow of the book along, do so by means of dialogue. This DOES have the advantage of making history come alive -- but the reader has to be alert that not all of the dialogue is historical, but rather based on what is known of the characters. This is especially important for homeschooling parents (and I am one) so their children will understand the difference.

Item: The authors tend to view American history filtered through their Calvinist theology. Unfortunately, if one is not using a Calvinist lens, their conclusions are far less convincing. It is quite true that many, many religious Americans in the 18th and 19th century WERE Calvinists; and it is equally true that many aspects of American civilization were highly influenced by Calvinist thought -- but there were other major influences as well, and these tend to be minimized. With Calvinists no longer having nearly the prominent influence in American society as they did 150 years ago, the average reader will have difficulty making the paradigm shift necessary to fully understand the author's perspective.

Item: One element which was NOT covered in this volume concerns the hideous persecution of Catholics in the United States -- by Calvinists, especially in the North. The ideas of religious freedom which were part of the founding documents in our land were seriously compromised during the time period under consideration. It is one thing to exercise one's right to criticize another belief system -- but many, MANY Calvinist clergy of that era crossed the line into outright hate-speech and deceit. (The Beechers, for example). In fact, the American Party (otherwise known as the "No-Nothing" Party) was a hotbed of anti-Catholic, anti-immigration American nativism.

Item: This is the most serious. The authors devote virtually all of the discussion of the causes of the Civil War to the single issue of slavery. That is just not historically accurate. (And I'm a conservative northerner!) While slavery was AN issue, and certainly a "hot button" issue, it was BY NO MEANS the ONLY issue -- or even the FIRST issue. The most significant issue concerned state's rights and the balance of power between the several states and the federal government. Another issue was one of economics, and the radically different economic views held by the North as opposed to the South. To play up the issue of slavery as THE issue just doesn't fly.

Item: The issue of Lincoln's attitude toward slavery is problematic. Yes, Lincoln was opposed to slavery. Yes, he was opposed to the expansion of slavery. However, his NUMBER ONE CONCERN, as is evidenced in his own writings, was the preservation of an intact Union, REGARDLESS of how the slavery issue turned out. This can easily be verified merely by reading the various citations on the first floor of the Lincoln Memorial.

So there it is: This is one conservative, northerner, Christian clergyman, homeschooling father who does NOT recommend this book as a primary text -- and frankly, I'm undecided on its value even as a secondary text.

A very good historical look of the history in the USA between the years 1836 -1860. What I found interesting was that it tells of people and events that are not known to most Americans. Who were Presidents James Polk or Zachery Taylor? This book talks about any strengthes or weaknesses that they may have had. The authors go into details about what happened during the war with Mexico. The struggles of how new states would be added to the republic, either free or slaves. All of this with a Christian perspective that does not cram religion down one's throat. I would recommend all three volume of theirs.

"Sounding Forth the Trumpet" is an excellent book and has inspired me to study further into our American, and more importantly Christian, roots. Too many of us do not know where we have come from and certainly do not know where we are going. God does have a plan for us, we need to seek Him so we can know it!! I eagerly await the next volume in the series.

I think that this is the best volume in Marshall and Manuel's "providential history" series. The material on the prayer revival of 1857-59 is easily worth the price of this book for any American believer.

A word about this series as a whole:

While I slightly prefer the treatment of the same subject in William P. Grady's WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT to the ongoing history presented in this series, I will say that M & M's treatment of Lincoln and the spiritual causes of the civil war were, to me, far superior. I would still, however, recommend that you read both this series AND Grady's wilder, more hardcore fundamentalist approach. Between the two you will have much to consider.

All in all, a great read. AL

So far I've read all three books in the series, and I eagerly await the fourth! Marshall and Manuel describe the period leading up to the Civil War in a way that you will not see done in government schools today.

Again, this is a must-read for anyone who is either home-schooling their children, or for those who have children in government schools. So much of history is distorted today. It is refreshing to read an historical account written from a Godly perspective.

Sounding Forth the Trumpet By Peter Marshall showes the progress of our nation and discribes the real reason we fought the Cival War. An excelent read.

The authors do a delightful job of showing the religious influences of the time -- something which secular authors would either ignore or distort.

Regrettably, in dealing with the issue of slavery and the Bible the authors gloss over and essentially ignore the extensive Biblical teaching on slavery, except where it parallels their absolute opposition to it. They express shock and disbelief that many ministers at the time before the Civil War actually argued that the Bible allowed and even advocated slavery. But the authors never even attempted to deal with their arguments or the Scriptures supporting it. As a result, their portrayal of the role of evangelicals in fomenting and intensifying the bellicose atmosphere of the country that led to the Civil War is unjustifiably complementary and benign.

A more honest appraisal would have been to show that by championing single political causes in isolation from the complete teaching of Scripture, the Northern evangelicals made matters worse and were a major part of the problem, not of the solution. Furthermore, by surrendering bold adherence to Scripture (even when it was personally distasteful to them), the evangelicals set in motion a trend that continues to this day. It is not surprising that the revival of 1857-58 they describe was a prayer revival. The Word had already been sifted through the PC views of the day.

This is a superb synopsis of a watershed period in American history. The theme is slavery and the ensuing rift that widened into war. The author's Christian perspective offers insight and depth never taught in the woefully weak history classes I suffered through. Every Christian should read this and the other two books in the "series" (The Light and the Glory and From Sea to Shining Sea). Kudos!

This is the third book in a series about God's influencing the development of America. It covers a period from 1837-1860. You should read the other two books first. It is written in an easy to read style, and it is fun to read how Peter Marshall and David Manuel think God has influenced America. I've read them all twice! I can hardly wait for the fourth book to come out! You can buy them all on Amazon.