The Holy Spirit in Puritan Faith and Experience

by Geoffrey F. Nuttall, Peter Lake

Geoffrey F. Nuttall establishes the primacy of the doctrines of the Holy Spirit in seventeenth-century English Puritanism and demonstrates the continuity of the Reformation tradition from the more conservative views of Luther to the more radical interpretations of the Quakers. Nuttall illuminates prominent spokesmen, including Richard Sibbes, Richard Baxter, John Owen, Walter Cradock, Morgan Llwyd, and George Fox.

In a new Introduction, Peter Lake discusses the relevance of Nuttall's book to, and its influence on, major works in seventeenth-century English history written since 1946.

Genres: Theology, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 1992

Reviews

[C. B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly interesting old history book, but of the old fashioned sort. It's principally endearing for a few broader, theoretical insights about intellectual history:

'The great questions which engage men's minds across the centuries are like streams which flow partly underground. Above ground the stream's appearances are discrete, Below, it is itself continuous. It is continuous, not identical; for lower down not only is it fuller from the rains it received in its upper reaches, its colour also is altered by the new soil through which it now flows. So, of the questions which men ask in any age, it is inevitable that some, at least, should be related, and even similar, to questions asked by other men in earlier generations'. (p. 2, 1947 ed.)

That said, the main argument about the origins of Quakerism is also an interesting one. Essentially, Nuttall argues that it grew 'logically' out of Puritanism:

'Throughout this study it has appeared constantly that Quakerism grew, as all movements of men's spirit must grow, out of the soil and climate of the time'. (p. 150)

[josie march · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to make myself sit down and read it, but whenever I got into it I was glad I did. Confirms my appreciation for the Puritans over the Quakers :)

[Brady Graves · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for PhD seminar

Wheels fell off in the last 5 pages

[Tim Wilder]

This changed my impression of the Puritans as the author takes a broad view and encompasses a spectrum of beliefs from the near high-church to the near Quacker.