David Putnam’s "Catastrophically Confused Calvinism" Offers a Dive Into the Origins of Why America is as It is Through the Lens of a French Priest Names Calvin
New Virginia, IA, May 13, 2025 --(PR.com)-- Fulton Books author David Putnam, who earned his doctorate from Drew University with a master’s focused in intercultural studies from Regent University, has completed his most recent book, “Catastrophically Confused Calvinism: Will America Detest to Its Own Demise?”: a compelling exploration of the lasting legacy of John Calvin’s theology on the Christian Church and much of Western civilization.
Author David Putnam has served as a professor of history, ethics, and theology at Pillar College, Newark, New Jersey, and at the American University of Iraq, Baghdad. Extensively traveled with over five thousand public speaking engagements on five continents, Dr. Putnam is an adventurer who has crawled in and around the pyramids of Egypt, slogged through the jungles of the Amazon, explored underwater caves for lost civilizations, and has a love of aviation. Currently, Dr. Putnam holds the position of pastoral fellow at Ormond College, the University of Melbourne in Australia, where he resides with his wife, Claire.
“With the echo of John Calvin’s voice yet reverberating from the walls of St. Pierre’s Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, it is easy to imagine puzzled expressions on the faces of his parishioners as they struggled internally to come to grips with what they were hearing from the pulpit,” writes Dr. Putnam. “Calvin never failed to stir controversy; his pen never dipped a second time into the inkwell before issues were raised and battle lines were drawn in the theological sand.
“His ideas about God and Scripture were critiqued and debated among theologians, engaged by historians and sociologists, and preached by clergy well into the twenty-first century. But with all that scholarly discourse, Calvin’s world-changing influence on Western civilization, arguably the real story, seems to go largely unnoticed and unrealized. Yet it shaped the colonies of the new world; framed thinking as the founding fathers authored the Constitution of the United States; affected society’s views about slavery, leading into the American Civil War; and today has pulled the strings from behind the curtain of culture, making science, the arts, academia, the media, entertainment, religion, and the rule of governments all over the world dance like so many marionettes in a children’s puppet show.
“Calvin’s distinctive theological ideas seemed to have a unique propensity to evoke cultural and linguistic absolutes, often leading to extremes in their applications, perhaps in ways that Calvin himself never intended. These distorted extremes created a sort of cultural rainbow overarching societal skies in Europe, spreading to the United States, and through America’s influence, now extending around the world. Yet few bother to look up to take notice of the sociological colors above them, let alone respond to them.
“Exploring the veracity then of these dramatic claims and how they so powerfully influence thinking today, this book traces an anthropological lineage of John Calvin’s unique view of theology to see how it has been culturally sown into the societal fabric of Europe and the United States, demonstrating how it has assimilated religion, the economy, politics, government, education, and the arts and sciences.”
Published by Fulton Books, David Putnam’s book will uncover Calvin’s influence in evangelical Christianity, as well as the ways in which secularism has been rebranded and masked as “nonreligious” in modern society. Based upon years of scholarly research and study, “Catastrophically Confused Calvinism” promises to be a vital resource for anyone seeking to understand Calvinism’s lasting effects through a modern lens.
Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase “Catastrophically Confused Calvinism: Will America Detest to Its Own Demise?” at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
Please direct all media inquiries to Author Support via email at support@fultonbooks.com or via telephone at 877-210-0816.
Author David Putnam has served as a professor of history, ethics, and theology at Pillar College, Newark, New Jersey, and at the American University of Iraq, Baghdad. Extensively traveled with over five thousand public speaking engagements on five continents, Dr. Putnam is an adventurer who has crawled in and around the pyramids of Egypt, slogged through the jungles of the Amazon, explored underwater caves for lost civilizations, and has a love of aviation. Currently, Dr. Putnam holds the position of pastoral fellow at Ormond College, the University of Melbourne in Australia, where he resides with his wife, Claire.
“With the echo of John Calvin’s voice yet reverberating from the walls of St. Pierre’s Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, it is easy to imagine puzzled expressions on the faces of his parishioners as they struggled internally to come to grips with what they were hearing from the pulpit,” writes Dr. Putnam. “Calvin never failed to stir controversy; his pen never dipped a second time into the inkwell before issues were raised and battle lines were drawn in the theological sand.
“His ideas about God and Scripture were critiqued and debated among theologians, engaged by historians and sociologists, and preached by clergy well into the twenty-first century. But with all that scholarly discourse, Calvin’s world-changing influence on Western civilization, arguably the real story, seems to go largely unnoticed and unrealized. Yet it shaped the colonies of the new world; framed thinking as the founding fathers authored the Constitution of the United States; affected society’s views about slavery, leading into the American Civil War; and today has pulled the strings from behind the curtain of culture, making science, the arts, academia, the media, entertainment, religion, and the rule of governments all over the world dance like so many marionettes in a children’s puppet show.
“Calvin’s distinctive theological ideas seemed to have a unique propensity to evoke cultural and linguistic absolutes, often leading to extremes in their applications, perhaps in ways that Calvin himself never intended. These distorted extremes created a sort of cultural rainbow overarching societal skies in Europe, spreading to the United States, and through America’s influence, now extending around the world. Yet few bother to look up to take notice of the sociological colors above them, let alone respond to them.
“Exploring the veracity then of these dramatic claims and how they so powerfully influence thinking today, this book traces an anthropological lineage of John Calvin’s unique view of theology to see how it has been culturally sown into the societal fabric of Europe and the United States, demonstrating how it has assimilated religion, the economy, politics, government, education, and the arts and sciences.”
Published by Fulton Books, David Putnam’s book will uncover Calvin’s influence in evangelical Christianity, as well as the ways in which secularism has been rebranded and masked as “nonreligious” in modern society. Based upon years of scholarly research and study, “Catastrophically Confused Calvinism” promises to be a vital resource for anyone seeking to understand Calvinism’s lasting effects through a modern lens.
Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase “Catastrophically Confused Calvinism: Will America Detest to Its Own Demise?” at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
Please direct all media inquiries to Author Support via email at support@fultonbooks.com or via telephone at 877-210-0816.
Contact
Fulton Books
Media Relations
800-676-7845
www.fultonbooks.com
Media Relations
800-676-7845
www.fultonbooks.com
Contact
Categories