The difference between being a simple theologian and being a charismatic minister is simple: marketing. A theologian can develop brilliant theories but a minister can sell brilliant theories to an audience. Throughout Cotton Mather’s The Christian Philosopher, Mather uses various, marketing techniques in order to connect with his audience and sell his point of view.
The very existence of the The Christian Philosopher can be seen as a marketing ploy. In the Age of Enlightenment, reason and science posed a significant threat to faith. In order for Mather to create and sustain an audience in the Age of Reason he had to adapt to the times. He saw the direction social interest was heading and was able to harness it in The Christian Philosopher. Rather than completely reject the change that was happening in the world, Mather explored the shift towards reason from a Christian perspective. Mather created a hybrid of scientific, secular culture and faith-based religious culture. This technique has been repeated many times throughout history (see Revolve or The Book). Mather was able to make a Christian world-view cool and hip by acknowledging non-Christian world trends.
Aside from the text as a whole, Mather also shows effective marketing techniques by sprinkling each essay with theological dogma. One of the most commonly known keys to good marketing is repetition, repetition, repetition (see Head On). Though Mather comments on a variety of subjects from essay to essay, there is a consistent talk about God. In fact, in all of The Christian Philosopher the single word that appears most frequently is “God” coming in with 523 occurrences. (The word coming in second is “upon,” with 385 occurrences, but nobody ever notices prepositions.) Whether the reader notices it or not, Mather is constantly drilling the idea of God into their heads.
There are two things Cotton Mather was born as: one is a Christian, the other is a salesman. In an age where change was overwhelming the world, Cotton Mather was able to provide a Christian point of view on hip, new ideas while still evangelizing using constant repetition, repetition, repetition.
God controls universal laws...apply directly to your dogma.
* The concordance used was located at www.Amazon.com.
1 comment:
John,
Great job. You've highlighted an important concern for Mather and his society in your claim that "reason and science posed a significant threat to faith." It sounds like you think Mather is entirely successful in wedding these opposing tendencies. Do you see anywhere that Mather fails or is less successful?
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