Mark Noll reviews a new book on the politics of the Puritans, Godly Republicanism, and sees the failure of their lofty ambitions to create "a new heaven and earth" as a warning to Christians who expect too much of the world:
[W]hatever shape Christian politics now takes, it would benefit by learning from the Puritans. They were indeed heroic spiritual ancestors. But if they—even with unusual purity of heart and unusual dedication for the long haul—could not succeed, then those of us who are weaker in faith and less self-sacrificing in resolution should look first in our politics to cultivating the virtues that even these hardy pioneers sometimes neglected, including modesty, patience, gentleness, kindness, and self-control.
The Dish 