Welcome back to another episode of five minutes in church history. On this episode we'll

be talking about a forgotten founding father. Recently there was a book

published on John Winthrop and he was called America's Forgotten Founding Father, but I'd like to talk to you about

another forgotten founding father and that is Cotton Mather. Cotton Mather was born to Increase Mather. Coton was born to Increase Mather and Maria made named Cotton Mather in 1663.

He was for all intents and purposes, royalty and Puritan New England.

His father, In Crese Mather, was not only a minister there in Boston, but for much time he would be president of Harvard University.

An increase his father, this would be Cotton's grandfather, Richard Mather, came to New England

in 1635 and also pastored there in Massachusetts.

On the maternal side of Cotton Mather, his grandfather was John Cotton.

John Cotton was probably one of the preeminent

pastors of the Puritans, both in Old England and in New England.

And so we have the pedigree of Cotton Mather.

He went on to Harvard and received his bachelor's degree when he was 15 going on 16, and

then he started pastoring at second congregational church there in Boston

and also took a master's degree from Harvard.

In a few years under his preaching,

the second congregation church would grow to over 2,000 members.

Not only was he the pastor of a busy in growing congregation, he wrote in the neighborhood

of 450 published pieces.

These included sermons and they included small tracks on a variety of subjects

and it also included a number of major treatises. Among those books is his

book Magnalia Christi Americana, a Latin title that means the glorious works of Christ in America. It was published in 1702 and it chronicles

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