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Abbott, Lyman, 1835-1922 to Mr. Davidson

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05508.015 Author/Creator: Abbott, Lyman, 1835-1922 Place Written: Brooklyn, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 2 October 1897 Pagination: 3 p. : Height: 17.6 cm, Width: 11.4 cm Order a Copy

Abbott, a Congregational cleric, clergyman, and author, writes to Davidson, possibly a clergyman in an obscure pastorate. Abbott praises the "quiet work" individually undertaken by "many great men" in an effort to bring about a "new rational faith." This new faith will lay the spiritual superstructure for the coming generations, who will reject the old tradition of ecclesiastical authority. But it must be made palatable to coming generations, or the result will be "spiritual burial, followed by death social and political." Abbott was an exponent of the Social Gospel movement.

Abbott, Lyman, 1835-1922

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