Book Thoughts: Nature's God by Matthew Stewart

Nature's God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic by Matthew Stewart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading this book, but I do think that its appeal will be limited to certain individuals. The book is truly a joining of history and philosophy, as Stewart traces the history of various philosophical schools of thought and how they support his claim that many of the founders of the United States were, let's say, less than Christian. In this sense, if someone is willing to slog through the lengthy philosphical histories, which includes discussion and analysis from Epicurus to Hume, will ultimately arrive at a better understanding of some of the philosophical origins of the U.S.

In some respects, though, it seems like Stewart overstates his case. Perhaps this is because I'm fairly well read on the history of the founding of the U.S., or have a pretty good background in philosophy, but it seems like he spent too much time trying to argue how extreme the concept of deism was at the time as compared to now. In other words, he spends so much time trying to show that deism in the 18th Century was akin to atheism today, that he forgets that even in showing that the founders were deist, by most any definition, is going to support his thesis that the origins of the country were not Christian. And because he spends so much time on the extreme forms of deism, he then spends too much time connecting that philosophy to some of the outliers of the founders - Ethan Allen, Matthew Young, Thomas Paine - which will instrumental, do not make his point as well as connecting the more moderate form of deism to Jefferson, and the moderate forms of its acceptance by individuals like Adams and Washington.

That said, the book is very well researched and does convincly make Stewart's arguments regarding the "heretical" origins of the United States. But its not reading for the faint of heart, because Stewart's discussion of the various histories of philosophical thoughts are extensive and thorough. But for anyone who has a particular interest in founding of the United States and philosophy, the book will be enjoyable.

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