The Puritans, and Online Resources

In 1987 Dr. S. Lewis Johnson observed the negative slant our culture puts on the Puritans, while emphasizing the positive aspect of true Puritanism:

There is a genuine New Testament Puritanism. A separation from sin and evil that a genuine Christian must cultivate. Even Arminians and Calvinists who don’t agree on soteriological truths, do agree here if they’re believers in Christ. Christians are to separate from evil and sin in their Christian life. …. New Testament Puritanism is no harsh, repellant thing eradicating the affections. It’s the opening of the heart to eternal love, to eternal joy, to eternal comfort in rich fruitfulness. There is puritanism in the New Testament. It’s for everyone of us who named Christ. May God help us to illustrate it in our lives.

Yet in recent years within evangelical Christianity, the Puritans have made a “comeback,” with increased popularity as their writings have become more available to our generation. Over the last few years I’ve come to greatly appreciate Charles Spurgeon and J.C. Ryle, both of whom were influenced by the Puritans. So I’ve recently looked more closely at the Puritans, both in the history and literature, and put together this list of resources for introduction:

Introductory articles:

Why You Should Read the Puritans, by Joel Beeke:

He recommends starting with these three works:

• John Bunyan, The Fear of God
• John Flavel, Keeping the Heart
• Thomas Watson, The Art of Divine Contentment

then move on to the works of John Owen, Thomas Goodwin, and Jonathan Edwards.

History of the Puritan Era

Overview history:

• The Story of the Puritans, by Errol Hulse (Summary of the history)
• The Story of the Puritans (2), by Errol Hulse (this article includes brief biographies of several Puritans)

The detailed history of the Puritans, over a thousand pages in the details starting with Henry VIII, through the late 17^th century, is available online: Daniel Neal’s History of the Puritans.  The full five volumes are available online, both at Google Play and Archive.org. Here are the two volumes of the abridged set, from Henry VIII to the early 18^th century Queen Anne:

• Volume 1 (Henry VIII to King Charles I)
• Volume 2 (King Charles I to Queen Anne)

Collections of Puritan Writings

• John Bunyan Complete Collection: Bunyan Ministries
• Puritan sermons
• CCEL (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)

Puritan Blogs

• A Puritan’s mind
• The Puritan’s Woodshop (includes many free online PDFs by Puritan and Puritan-influenced writers)