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Puritanism has a reputation for being emotionally dry, but seventeenth-century Puritans did not only have rich and complex emotional lives, they also found meaning in and drew spiritual strength from emotion. From theology to lived experience and from joy to affliction, this volume surveys the wealth and depth of the Puritans' passions.
List of contents
Introduction; Alec Ryrie and Tom Schwanda
1. 'Light accompanied with vital heat': affection and intellect in the thought of Richard Baxter; Keith Condie
2. Thomas Goodwin and the 'Supreme Happiness of Man'; Karl Jones
3. The Saints' Desire and Delight to be with Christ; Tom Schwanda
4. 'Milke and Honey': Puritan Happiness in the Writings of Robert Bolton, John Norden and Francis Rous; S. Bryn Roberts
5. Affliction and the Stony Heart in Early New England; Adrian Chastein Weimer
6. Piety and the Politics of Anxiety in Nonconformist Writing of the Later Stuart Period; David Walker
7. Resting Assured in Puritan Piety: the Lay Experience; Kate Narveson
8. Emotions and the Development of Virtue in Puritan Thought: An Investigation of Puritan Friendship; Nathaniel Warne
9. Puritan Emotions in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Piety; Willem J. op 't Hof
About the author
Alec Ryrie is Professor of the History of Christianity at Durham University, UK, and author of books including The Age of Reformation (2009) and Being Protestant in Reformation Britain (2013).
Tom Schwanda is Associate Professor of Christian Formation and Ministry at Wheaton College, USA. His books include Soul Recreation: The Contemplative–Mystical Piety of Puritanism (2012) and The Emergence of Evangelical Spirituality In the Age of Edwards, Newton and Whitefield (2015).
Summary
Puritanism has a reputation for being emotionally dry, but seventeenth-century Puritans did not only have rich and complex emotional lives, they also found meaning in and drew spiritual strength from emotion. From theology to lived experience and from joy to affliction, this volume surveys the wealth and depth of the Puritans' passions.
Additional text
“The diversity seen in figures, subject matter, and context also extends to sources, which include treatises, casuistries, sermons, letters, journals, and poems. Those working with rare books will be pleasantly surprised by tidbits on writing, publishing, and translating practices. … it should be read critically, with a sensitivity to possible future developments.” (Jenny-Lyn de Klerk, Evangelical Quarterly, Vol. 89 (4), 2018)
“All of the essays in this volume adhere closely to puritan texts in their effort to prove the importance of happiness for puritans, and to reflect the concern of puritan writers that happiness should be properly understood. … All of the essays in this volume, and Narveson’s especially, merit attention not only by specialists in puritanism, but also by historians interested in puritanism’s place in the history of Christianity, and its contribution to the emergence of modern humanism and psychology.” (Amanda Porterfield, Church History, Vol. 86 (3), September, 2017)
Report
"The diversity seen in figures, subject matter, and context also extends to sources, which include treatises, casuistries, sermons, letters, journals, and poems. Those working with rare books will be pleasantly surprised by tidbits on writing, publishing, and translating practices. ... it should be read critically, with a sensitivity to possible future developments." (Jenny-Lyn de Klerk, Evangelical Quarterly, Vol. 89 (4), 2018)"All of the essays in this volume adhere closely to puritan texts in their effort to prove the importance of happiness for puritans, and to reflect the concern of puritan writers that happiness should be properly understood. ... All of the essays in this volume, and Narveson's especially, merit attention not only by specialists in puritanism, but also by historians interested in puritanism's place in the history of Christianity, and its contribution to the emergence of modern humanism and psychology." (Amanda Porterfield, Church History, Vol. 86 (3), September, 2017)
