--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Middle Ages are generally reckoned to…" description: "\"“The Middle Ages are generally reckoned to have ended at least a century before America’s founding. By the 1620s in the Old World, literal belief in bi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/kurt-andersen-8221_bible_the-middle-ages-are-generally-reckoned-t_1168220.jpg" --- # The Middle Ages are generally reckoned to have ended at… ![“The Middle Ages are generally reckoned to have ended at least a century before America’s founding. By the 1620s in the Old World, literal belief in biblical end-time prophecies was fading, along with other medieval artifacts. But not among the Puritans. They took the Bible as literally as they…” quote by Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/kurt-andersen-8221_bible_the-middle-ages-are-generally-reckoned-t_1168220.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/kurt-andersen-8221_bible_the-middle-ages-are-generally-reckoned-t_1168220.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/kurt-andersen-8221_bible_the-middle-ages-are-generally-reckoned-t_1168220.jpg) > ““The Middle Ages are generally reckoned to have ended at least a century before America’s founding. By the 1620s in the Old World, literal belief in biblical end-time prophecies was fading, along with other medieval artifacts. But not among the Puritans. They took the Bible as literally as they could, especially this most spectacular piece of it. That the Catholics had for centuries downplayed end-of-the-world prophecies was, for Puritans, all the more reason those prophecies must be true.”” [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Puritans clung to literal biblical prophecy long after Europe moved on, using it to justify their worldview. **In simple terms:** Puritans kept believing end‑times prophecies when others stopped. Key Takeaway Recognize how selective belief shapes culture. Themes religion history interpretation Mood reflective critical Type historical analytical When to use this quote - theology studies - historical analysis - religious education Key Concepts Biblical literalism cultural persistence Questions to Reflect On - How does literal belief affect modern faith? - What drives groups to retain outdated doctrines? A Different Perspective The literal belief may conflict with scientific understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Middle ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-ages/) [Old world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-world/) ## Related quotes > [“The Left Behind series by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye presents a detailed and adrenaline-laced roadmap for the authors' beliefs about Biblical end-times prophecy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-economy/the-left-behind-series-by-jerry-jenkins-and-tim-lahaye-presents-a/) Peter Economy > [Until now has there ever been a time in which so many of the prophecies are coming together? There have been times in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/until-now-has-there-ever-been-a-time-in-which-so-many-of-the/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“Major world events have occurred in the last 60 plus years that should give any person cause to seriously ponder Biblical end times prophecies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-price/major-world-events-have-occurred-in-the-last-60-plus-years-that/) [John Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-price/) > [“It is a well-known fact among prophecy scholars that there were more than one thousand prophecies contained within the Bible at the time that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-is-a-well-known-fact-among-prophecy-scholars-that-there-were-more/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [“You must know, my loved one, that there are beings in the elements which almost appear like mortals, and which rarely allow themselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-de-la-motte-fouqu/you-must-know-my-loved-one-that-there-are-beings-in-the-elements/) Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué > [“It was a brave old world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-a-rayner/it-was-a-brave-old-world/) [Mark A. 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There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [The notion that you could discard the old world and now make a new one. This is what was so bad about Modernism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/the-notion-that-you-could-discard-the-old-world-and-now-make-a-new/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“The world remembers the battle ever since by the taxis. A hundred of them were already in the service of the Military Government of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/the-world-remembers-the-battle-ever-since-by-the-taxis-a-hundred-of/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [I read American sagas (of the west) and I do not see people who went in search of material things. I see people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/i-read-american-sagas-of-the-west-and-i-do-not-see-people-who-went-in/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [“In these days of faith-cures, and hypnotism, and telepathy, and subliminalities – why, the simple old world grows very confusing. But rarely, very rarely novel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-de-la-mare/in-these-days-of-faith-cures-and-hypnotism-and-telepathy-and/) [Walter de la Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-de-la-mare/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) ## More by Kurt Andersen > [“Since the turn of the century, American fundamentalists had reveled in their sense of persecution by an infidel elite, but in the 1960s the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/since-the-turn-of-the-century-american-fundamentalists-had-reveled-in/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“If I think it’s true, no matter why or how I think it’s true, then it’s true, and nobody can tell me otherwise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/if-i-think-it-s-true-no-matter-why-or-how-i-think-it-s-true-then-it-s/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“Libertarianism used to have a robust left wing as well. Both disliked government. Both were driven by a fantastically nostalgic conviction that a country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/libertarianism-used-to-have-a-robust-left-wing-as-well-both-disliked/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“But what other place on Earth has been more congenial to believers and promoters of mad dreams and schemes of so many kinds? 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The nationalization of its Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/in-addition-to-having-become-a-distinctly-christian-party-the-gop-is/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“Sixteen hundred years ago Saint Augustine instructed, basically, Don’t be stupid. “Shall we say, then,” he wrote about Genesis, “there was such a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/sixteen-hundred-years-ago-saint-augustine-instructed-basically-don-t/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“After more than three decades and many hundreds of studies, the overwhelming scientific consensus is that GMO foods are safe to eat. The National…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/after-more-than-three-decades-and-many-hundreds-of-studies-the/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“P. T. Barnum was the great early American merchandiser of exciting secular fantasies and half-truths. His extremely successful precircus career derived from and fed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/p-t-barnum-was-the-great-early-american-merchandiser-of-exciting/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [I am proud to be American. We wouldn't have our big dreams without this quality, but if we can't agree on the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/i-am-proud-to-be-american-we-wouldn-t-have-our-big-dreams-without/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“In 1848 the Homeopathic Medical College was founded in Philadelphia, eventually becoming the Drexel University College of Medicine. Homeopathic M.D. degrees were issued by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/in-1848-the-homeopathic-medical-college-was-founded-in-philadelphia/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) [Explore all 83 Kurt Andersen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. 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