Great Works of Christ in America - Vol 1

by Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather (d. 1728) was called "the Lord's remembrancer" for his love of memorializing the first two generations of Puritans in New England. This classic is his magnum opus. If you want to know about the people who founded arguably the most important region in colonial America and you want to learn about them from their own point of view, then this book is a must. But even for the lay Christian who wants to find spiritual lessons for living a committed life, this book is full of such lessons lived out in the lives of real people.

Genres: History, Theology

664 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1989

About the author

Cotton Mather A.B. 1678 (Harvard College), A.M. 1681; honorary doctorate 1710 (University of Glasgow), was a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer. Cotton Mather was the son of influential minister Increase Mather. He is often remembered for his connection to the Salem witch trials.

Mather was named after his grandfathers, both paternal (Richard Mather) and maternal (John Cotton). He attended Boston Latin School, and graduated from Harvard in 1678, at only 16 years of age. After completing his post-graduate work, he joined his father as assistant Pastor of Boston's original North Church (not to be confused with the Anglican/Episcopal Old North Church). It was not until his father's death, in 1723, that Mather assumed full responsibilities as Pastor at the Church.

Author of more than 450 books and pamphlets, Cotton Mather's ubiquitous literary works made him one of the most influential religious leaders in America. Mather set the nation's "moral tone," and sounded the call for second and third generation Puritans, whose parents had left England for the New England colonies of North America to return to the theological roots of Puritanism.