Books you should read, though take with a 'grain of salt."

Some of you are interested in the antecedents and backgrounds to Russell's beliefs. These books will help you. That I'm listing them does not mean that I endorse them in every respect.

1. William Sims Bainbridge: The Sociology of Religious Movements.  A bit dated and often based on secondary sources. However, a good overview.

2. Claud Welsh: Protestant Thought in the Nineteenth Century. Obtuse, occasionally turgid. Welsh presumes you know things you probably do not. This really isn't a history of Protestant thought; it is a history of rationalist thought. However, Russell reacted to and opposed this. So the background is useful. Take this with a grain of salt and a bit of doubt. The author approves of rationalism. It's essentially an an anti-traditionalist book. Read it anyway.

3. David D. Hall: World's of Wonder; Days of Judgment: Popular Religious Belief in Early New England. Useful.

4. Connors and Gow: Anglo-American Millennialism, from Milton to the Millerites, Useful but sometimes misdirected. Read it anyway.

More later ... maybe.