Tim Cooper, author of Fear and Polemic in Seventeenth-Century England: Richard Baxter and Antinomianism (Ashgate, 2001) will be in London later this month and is leading a seminar at the Institute of Historical Research entitled ‘Why Did Richard Baxter And John Owen Diverge? The Impact of the First Civil War’ on the 25th November. Details here . I gather that he will be looking at how Owen’s and Baxter’s very different experiences of the Civil War coloured their outlook on a number of issues. I’m pretty sure there will be no talk of kung-fu.    ... [read more]

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The Westminster Conference moves to a new venue in central London for 2008 and has a shiny new website . The program is below.   Tuesday, 9th December Iain Murray: What can we learn from the Puritans John J Murray: The Recovery of the Reformed Vision Paul Brown: E F Kevan and the Grace of Law  Wednesday, 10th December Robert Godfrey: Reformed and Puritan Views of Tradition Jonathan Watson: Thomas Brooks and Spiritual Conflict Faith Cook: William Grimshaw       

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  The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism, eds. John Coffey and Paul C.H. Lim (Cambridge University Press, 2008). For what it’s worth, a few thoughts: Up until last week, if you had asked me what was the best place to approach the study of Puritanism from I would have had to scratch my head and think about it. There was no really obvious starting point to begin reading. It would depend on one’s special interests and the period under consideration. For those simply wishing to read Puritan practical divinity for personal edification I would still recommend J.I. Packer’s The Q... [read more]

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(I have an affinity for alliteration, don’t I). Amazon.co.uk claim they will have the Cambridge Companion to Puritanism in stock in 10 days time. This will be essential reading for all students of the period. I have pasted the contents list below. Juicy. Introduction John Coffey and Paul C. H. Lim  Part I. English Puritanism  1. Antipuritanism - Patrick Collinson  2. The growth of English Puritanism - John Craig  3. Early Stuart Puritanism - Tom Webster  4. The Puritan revolution - John Morrill  5. Later Stuart Puritanism - John Spurr  Part II. Beyond England  6. Puritani... [read more]

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I have spent a cheery day reading John Stachniewski’s The Persecutory Imagination: English Puritanism and the Literature of Religious Despair. This paints Calvin’s theology in dark colours, arguing that his doctrines of election, reprobation, and temporary faith did untold damage to the psyches those that sat under the preaching of Reformed ministers in seventeenth-century England. The puritan self in particular was driven inward in search of signs and marks. This introspection would all too often lead to religious despair and contemporaries recognized that suicide had be... [read more]

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An excellent graphic from the Cranmer blog:

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A little gem on the fruit of assurance from Thomas Brooks. Assurance makes the believer ‘more motion than notion, more work than word, more life than lip, more hand than tongue’. Sweet.

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  Well, I’m back. The last couple of months have been very busy, but now back in Oxford, head down, getting on with it. Mrs. S. and I were married at the end of July. A miserable summer, even by British standards, threw up a dry and sunny day when required. The picture above is from the ceremony at St. Ebbe’s, with Vaughan Roberts officiating. It was a great day and it was so good to have many of our friends with us. There is much blogging to do…

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I am delighted to see the revamped Themelios journal available free online with the steady hand of Don Carson on the rudder. Carl Trueman continues to contribute a column by popular demand. This is worth bookmarking.

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One for Tim. Did you know…that before the days of Wii-Fit, William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury and nemesis of many a godly puritan took the occassional work-out by swinging two heavy books, and once managed to rupture himself doing so. Could we call that aerobooks? Speaking of Laud, you can get a fascimile set of the 19th-century edition of his works, including his diary, for just £50 (normally > 500 Euros) at Postscript . This is a bargain, a great opportunity to read this much misunderstood man.  

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