God's Plot: Puritan Spirituality in Thomas Shepard's Cambridge

by Michael McGiffert (Editor)

Thomas Shepard, minister of the Cambridge church, stands out among the first generation of settlers in Massachusetts Bay as a rigorous-minded Puritan driven by his piety. Shepard's Autobiography and Journal are extremely valuable sources for an understanding of the perennially fascinating Puritan mind. The Autobiography reveals the arduous physical and mental life of the Puritans--the persecutions in England, the tempestuous Atlantic crossing and, always, the inner turmoil of a lifelong search for the meaning of God's ways. The Journal , written between 1640 and 1644, toward the end of Shepard's life, takes the reader who is willing to grapple with issues of faith and doctrine deeply into the psychology of the Puritan. The publication of these two works constitutes a significant contribution to Puritan scholarship from both a literary and an historical point of view.

Newly transcribed from the original manuscripts, the volume has been edited by a leading specialist in Puritan studies, Professor Michael McGiffert of the University of Denver. He has also written a perceptive introduction, guiding the reader with a sure hand through the labyrinth of Puritan spirituality. The last edition of the Autobiography appeared more than forty years ago. The Journal , published in an incomplete version by Thomas Prince in 1747, is now printed for the first time in its entirety.

Professor Edmund S. Morgan of Yale University has commented about the Journal , "I know of no other unpublished manuscript of comparable importance by a first-generation New England minister."

God's Plot is the first volume in The Commonwealth Series of the University of Massachusetts Press. Under the general editorship of Professor Winfred E.A. Bernhard, the series will present new scholarly editions of classic works revealing the cultural development of New England.

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1994

Reviews

[Jenn Avery]

Thomas Shepard’s autobiography in God's Plot reveals his personal struggle with cognition in a world in which positive/negative, good/evil can not peaceably coexist. As an authority figure for Puritan doctrine Shepard purposefully constructs his autobiography to reflect the enlightened path of the ecclesiastically elite; it speaks to divine transformation and serves as a testament of conversion from heathen to visible saint. Similar to most stories of religious conversion, there are many examples of blind faith and testimonies of covert presence and miraculous intervention. However, while Shepard’s texts undeniably reveal his piety, his zealous religious fanaticism suggests an unstable state of mind that I couldn't easily dismiss. I found tracing the markers of schizophrenic behavior throughout Shepard’s works fascinating.

[JonM]

Great book. It adds information to Albro's biography. The Thomas' journal notes is what makes this worth reading. He was very introspective (albeit too introspective at times)