Why you should read the Puritans
March 22, 2007
Our blogging friend Tony Reinke at The Shepherd’s Scrapbook has posted the notes from Joel Beeke’s address, Why You Should Read the Puritans, given at last week’s Ligonier Conference in Orlando. Last year Dr. Beeke and Randall Peterson wrote an outstanding book called Meet the Puritans, loaded with information and biographies on more than 140 Puritan authors, overviews of over 700 Puritan volumes, a list of all the known reprints published beween 1956 and 2005, excellent articles ,and a helpful glossary. At 900 pages, it’s a deep well of information, and as a clothbound, will endure years of use. It also includes chapters which explain who the Puritans were in their theological and historical context and why we should read them today. Here is one quote from the section explaining why we should read the Puritans today:
“With the Spirit’s blessing, Puritan writings can enrich your life as a Christian in many ways as they open the Scriptures and apply them practically, probing your conscience, indicting your sins, leading you to repentance, shaping your faith, guiding your conduct, comforting you in Christ and conforming you to Him, and bringing you into full assurance of salvation and a lifestyle of gratitude to the triune God for His great salvation” (xix).
