The Puritans were not unlearned and ignorant men. The great majority of them were Oxford and Cambridge graduates -many of them fellows of colleges, and some of them heads or principals of the best colleges in the two Universities.
In knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, in power as preachers, expositors, writers, and critics, the Puritans in their day were second to none. Their works still speak for them on the shelves of every well-furnished theological library.
The works of the Puritans’ seventeenth century adversaries are demonstrably inferior to the expositions, commentaries and treatises on practical, casuistical, and experimental divinity produced by the Puritans themselves.
In other words, people who claim that the Puritans were superficial, uneducated men are revealing the extremely superficial character of their own reading, their own lamentable shallowness, and their own ignorance of historical facts.
The Puritans, as a body, have done more to elevate the national character than any class of Englishmen that ever lived.
The Puritans feared God very much, and therefore feared man very little. They were a generation of men who have never received the honor that they deserve from their country. They were avid proponents of civil liberty, and ready to die in its defense. They were mighty at the council board, and just as mighty in the battlefield. They were feared abroad throughout Europe, and invincible at home while united, great with their pens, and no less great with their swords.
Despite their faults, the Puritan leaders were good and great men. They had defects, but as a group they were certainly not the men that some current writers say they were. Historical facts clearly demonstrate otherwise.
They may not admire Puritanism in the abstract, but they will never give any proof that we ought not to admire, value, and study the writings of Puritan divines. (This article has been adapted from the introduction to Thomas Manton’s Works by J.C. Ryle.)
For further information about the Puritans (English Puritans as well as Scottish Covenanters), Puritanism and Puritan Books, please visit PuritanDownloads.com. There are many Reformed theology resources available at that site.
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Puritan Papers, Vol. 1 (Puritan Papers) :: Amazon J. I. Packer, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Iain Murray, and Ernest Kevan are among the distinguished contributors to this compilation of papers on |
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Heaven on Earth (Puritan Paperbacks) :: Amazon Thomas Brooks was born in 1608. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1625, where such New England Puritans as Thomas Hooker, John Cott |
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The Godly Man's Picture (Puritan Paperbacks) :: Amazon 'The Godly Man's Picture' is a superb treatise by the Puritan Thomas Watson on what should mark the character and actions of a person who lo |
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The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the Puritan Classics :: Amazon About the Book The Puritans are frequently maligned but seldom understood. Far from the dour malcontents they are often portrayed to be, mos |
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