Reformers and Puritans as Spiritual Mentors by Michael Haykin
The Puritan figures covered are Richard Greenham, Oliver Cromwell, John Owen, Richard Baxter and his wife Margaret, and John Bunyan.
Historian Michael Haykin examines the lives of such Reformers as William Tyndale, Thomas Cranmer, and John Calvin to see how their display of the light of the gospel in their day provides us with a “usable past,” i.e. models of Christian conviction and living who can speak into our lives today. Born in a time of spiritual darkness, they model what reformation involves for church and culture: a deep commitment to God’s Word as the vehicle of renewal, a willingness to die for the gospel, and a rock-solid commitment to the triune God. As a reminder that at the heart of the Reformation was a confessional Christianity, an essay on two Reformation confessions is also included.
In addition, a study of the translation of the King James Bible reminds us that the Puritans, like the Reformers, were Word-saturated men and women… may we be as well.
196 Pages
Published January 2012
About the Author
Michael A. G. Haykin (PhD, University of Toronto) is professor of church history and biblical spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has authored or edited more than twenty-five books, including The Emergence of Evangelicalism: Exploring Historical Continuities and Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church.