Richard Baxter, one of the most famous Puritans of the seventeenth century, is generally known as a writer of practical and devotional literature. But he also excelled in knowledge of medieval and early modern scholastic theology, and was conversant with a wide variety of seventeenth-century philosophies. Baxter was among the early English polemicists who wrote against the mechanical philosophy of René Descartes and Pierre Gassendi in the years immediately following the establishment of the Royal Society. At the same time, he was friends with Robert Boyle and Matthew Hale, corresponded with Joseph Glanvill, and engaged in philosophical controversy with Henry More. In this book, David Sytsma presents a chronological and thematic account of Baxter's relation to the people and concepts involved in the rise of mechanical philosophy in late-seventeenth-century England. Drawing on largely unexamined works, including Baxter's Methodus Theologiae Christianae (1681) and manuscript treatises and correspondence, Sytsma discusses Baxter's response to mechanical philosophers on the nature of substance, laws of motion, the soul, and ethics. Analysis of these topics is framed by a consideration of the growth of Christian Epicureanism in England, Baxter's overall approach to reason and philosophy, and his attempt to understand creation as an analogical reflection of God's power, wisdom, and goodness, or vestigia Trinitatis. Baxter's views on reason, analogical knowledge of God, and vestigia Trinitatis draw on medieval precedents and directly inform a largely hostile, though partially accommodating, response to mechanical philosophy.

Richard Baxter, one of the most famous Puritans of the seventeenth century, is generally known as a writer of practical and devotional literature. But he also excelled in knowledge of medieval and early modern scholastic theology, and was conversant with a wide variety of seventeenth-century philosophies. Baxter was among the early English polemicists who wrote against the mechanical philosophy of René Descartes and Pierre Gassendi in the years immediately following the establishment of the Royal Society. At the same time, he was friends with Robert Boyle and Matthew Hale, corresponded with Joseph Glanvill, and engaged in philosophical controversy with Henry More. In this book, David Sytsma presents a chronological and thematic account of Baxter's relation to the people and concepts involved in the rise of mechanical philosophy in late-seventeenth-century England. Drawing on largely unexamined works, including Baxter's Methodus Theologiae Christianae (1681) and manuscript treatises and correspondence, Sytsma discusses Baxter's response to mechanical philosophers on the nature of substance, laws of motion, the soul, and ethics. Analysis of these topics is framed by a consideration of the growth of Christian Epicureanism in England, Baxter's overall approach to reason and philosophy, and his attempt to understand creation as an analogical reflection of God's power, wisdom, and goodness, or vestigia Trinitatis. Baxter's views on reason, analogical knowledge of God, and vestigia Trinitatis draw on medieval precedents and directly inform a largely hostile, though partially accommodating, response to mechanical philosophy.

Richard Baxter (1615–1691) was arguably the greatest English Puritan of the seventeenth century. He is well known for his ministerial manual "The Reformed Pastor", in which he expressed the unusual conviction that parish ministers were better off unmarried. And yet, Baxter seemed to contradict himself by marrying one of his parishioners, Margaret Charlton. Though Baxter claimed to be happily married, he continued to champion celibacy for the rest of his life. This book explores Baxter's argument for clerical celibacy by placing it in the context of his life and the turbulent events of seventeenth-century England. His viewpoint was shaped by several factors, including the Puritan literature he read, the context of his parish ministry, his burdensome model of soul care, and the formative life experiences shaping his theology and perspective. These factors not only explain why Baxter became the only Puritan to champion clerical celibacy but also why he continued to do so even after marrying.

Thomas Vaughan’s challenging books on alchemy, magic, and other esoterica make better sense in the context of the Rosicrucian ideas he introduced to English readers in the seventeenth century. This is the first scholarly book on his life, sources, writings, and subsequent influence.

Evaluating the writings of one of the most significant religious figures in early modern England, this volume summarizes Owen's life, explores his various intellectual, literary and political contexts, and considers his roles as a preacher, administrator, polemicist and theologian. It explores the importance of Owen, reviews the state of scholarship and suggests new avenues for research. The first part of the volume offers brand-new assessments of Owen's intellectual formation, pastoral ministry, educational reform at Oxford, political connections in the Cromwellian revolution, support of nonconformity during the Restoration, interaction with the scientific revolution and understanding of philosophy. The second part of the volume considers Owen's prolific literary output. A cross-section of well-known and frequently neglected works are reviewed and situated in their historical and theological contexts. The volume concludes by evaluating ways that Owen scholarship can benefit historians, theologians, biblical scholars, ministers and Christian readers.

In the seventeenth century scientific discoveries called into question established Christian theology. It has been claimed that contemporary thinkers contributed to this conflict model by using the discoveries of the natural world to prove the existence of God. Calloway challenges this view by close examination of five key texts of the period.

A great deal of scholarship has too often juxtaposed scholasticism and piety, resulting in misunderstandings of the relationship between Protestant churches of the early modern era and the theology taught in their schools. But more recent scholarship, especially conducted by Richard A. Muller over the last number of decades, has remapped the lines of continuity and discontinuity in the relation of church and school. This research has produced a more methodologically nuanced and historically accurate representation of church and school in early modern Protestantism. Written by leading scholars of early modern Protestant theology and history and based on research using the most relevant original sources, this collection seeks to broaden our understanding of how and why clergy were educated to serve the church. Contributors include: Yuzo Adhinarta, Willem van Asselt, Irena Backus, Jordan J. Ballor, J. Mark Beach, Andreas Beck, Joel R. Beeke, Lyle D. Bierma, Raymond A. Blacketer, James E. Bradley, Dariusz M. Bryćko, Amy Nelson Burnett, Emidio Campi, Heber Carlos de Campos Jr, Kiven Choy, R. Scott Clark, Paul Fields, John V. Fesko, Paul Fields, W. Robert Godfrey, Alan Gomes, Albert Gootjes, Chad Gunnoe, Aza Goudriaan, Fred P. Hall, Byung-Soo (Paul) Han, Nathan A. Jacobs, Frank A. James III, Martin Klauber, Henry Knapp, Robert Kolb, Mark J. Larson, Brian J. Lee, Karin Maag, Benjamin T.G. Mayes, Andrew M. McGinnis, Paul Mpindi, Adriaan C. Neele, Godfried Quaedtvlieg, Sebastian Rehnman, Todd Rester, Gregory D. Schuringa, Herman Selderhuis, Donald Sinnema, Keith Stanglin, David Steinmetz, David Sytsma, Yudha Thianto, John L. Thompson, Carl Trueman, Theodore G. Van Raalte, Cornelis Venema, Timothy Wengert, Reita Yazawa, Jeongmo Yoo, and Jason Zuidema.

In Printing Spinoza Jeroen van de Ven systematically examines all seventeenth-century printed editions of Spinoza’s writings, published between 1663 and 1694, as well as their variant ‘issues’. In focus are Spinoza’s 1663 adumbration of René Descartes’s ‘Principles of Philosophy’ with his own ‘Metaphysical Thoughts’, the ‘Theological-Political Treatise’ (1670), and the posthumous writings (1677), including the famously-known ‘Ethics’. Van de Ven’s descriptive bibliography studies, contextualizes, and records all aspects of the publication history of Spinoza’s writings from manuscript to print and assesses their immediate reception. It discusses the printed books’ codicology, philology, typographical and textual relationships, illustration programmes, as well as their dissemination in early Enlightenment Europe, in view of the physical aspects of 1,246 extant copies and their provenance.

Uniquely authoritative and wide-ranging in its scope, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church is the indispensable reference work on all aspects of the Christian Church. It contains over 6,500 cross-referenced A-Z entries, and offers unrivalled coverage of all aspects of this vast and often complex subject, from theology; churches and denominations; patristic scholarship; and the bible; to the church calendar and its organization; popes; archbishops; other church leaders; saints; and mystics. In this new edition, great efforts have been made to increase and strengthen coverage of non-Anglican denominations (for example non-Western European Christianity), as well as broadening the focus on Christianity and the history of churches in areas beyond Western Europe. In particular, there have been extensive additions with regards to the Christian Church in Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, and Australasia. Significant updates have also been included on topics such as liturgy, Canon Law, recent international developments, non-Anglican missionary activity, and the increasingly important area of moral and pastoral theology, among many others. Since its first appearance in 1957, the ODCC has established itself as an essential resource for ordinands, clergy, and members of religious orders, and an invaluable tool for academics, teachers, and students of church history and theology, as well as for the general reader.